What goes in the little hole ?

[blindboygrunt]

I am assuming that the little hole on the back of the kluson style tuners is there for lubrication.

what do you drop in there ??

just plain old 3 in 1 oil ?

olive oil ?

ky jelly?

what's best ?

leave it and don't worry ?

 

cheers folks

[E-minor7]

Thanx for asking, bbg - thought of posting the same Q this very morning. .

[MorrisrownSal]

What goes in the little hole? Why of course a little ... nevermind...

 

I dont think it matters too much as long as the oil doesn't drip on the finish. On my old Sheryl Crow with Klusons I used olive oil.

[Aster1]

It seems like to me that oils w/o any "cleaners", so to speak, are the best bet esp. with Nitro finishes.

 

Find some Tri-Flow or a great grade of non-gumming light machine oil. Even a sewing machine oil is good for a device like a tuner. Wouldn't use olive oil, no disrespect Themis, as that should get gummy as it ages & breaks down. Some greases will do the same thing and they are a mess to clean out and get working again. Also, just a drop in that "little hole" does it too. Lube them when stringing.

 

Just how I work it anyway. We're always having to keep gears, lens movements, slides etc. moving smooth and w/o any gummy breakdown.

 

Aster

[MorrisrownSal]

I defer to you, Aster. Thanks. I'll take your suggestion when it is time to oil the tuners on my SJ

[capmaster]

The few tuners with lubrication holes on my guitars came nicely greased with a nonfluid oil. They work smoothly, and so I'm reluctant to risk washing the grease out. I guess that since decades they use the same lifetime lubrication like they do for closed waffleback or toasterback tuners coming without the holes, and sealed tuners as well.

 

I think they still feature holes for historical accuracy only. In case I had a reason to put anything into it, I would go for using non-gumming oil only but also promptly care for replacement tuners. Anyway, to my experiences, this will never happen.

[fortyearspickn]

I used Transmission Fluid on a 50 year old LG1 3 years ago - seems to have done the trick. I will let those who inherit my other guitars figure out the answer to this question, but I don't think I've got any others with those inviting little holes.

[blindboygrunt]

considering I change car engine oil after 10,000 miles , I'm guessing a little blob the diameter of the circle it drops through once every 10 years for a tuner ?

[mountainpicker]

Why, I prefer Boeshield T-9. I was turned on to it by the bike mechanics that worked for me years ago. It was developed for aircraft parts. But I don't think it matters all that much as I live in a low humidity environment and because my tuners aren't doing thousands of revolutions per minute. More like hundreds of revolutions per decade.

[L5Larry]

The tuning machine style under discussion is designed to be a factory sealed, permanently lubed gear box. The little hole is a "weep hole" (allows the overflow/over-packing to get out), not a fill hole.

 

This gear box is also packed with GREASE not OIL.

 

Just an FYI.

[Phelonious Ponk]

I had a '66 J-200. I never put anything in those holes, and when I sold it after 30 years as my only acoustic, the tuners were still working fine.

 

P

[blindboygrunt]

The tuning machine style under discussion is designed to be a factory sealed, permanently lubed gear box. The little hole is a "weep hole" (allows the overflow/over-packing to get out), not a fill hole.

 

This gear box is also packed with GREASE not OIL.

 

Just an FYI.

 

 

brilliant.

 

 

don't touch it then. my favourite answer. and one which makes sense.

[j45nick]

The tuning machine style under discussion is designed to be a factory sealed, permanently lubed gear box. The little hole is a "weep hole" (allows the overflow/over-packing to get out), not a fill hole.

 

This gear box is also packed with GREASE not OIL.

 

Just an FYI.

 

Yes, and no. Kluson-style tuners are not sealed like rotomatic tuners are. The Kluson covers protect the gearing and keep grit out, but they are not really sealed except to general atmospheric exposure. Yes, they were lubricated at the factory with some kind of grease, and unless the guitar is exposed to dust and grit, the lubrication should last for years, but not necessarily forever.

 

I have seen the grease so congealed that it is non-functional on vintage guitars. In that case, I have removed the tuners from the guitar and flushed the gearing with naphtha injected through the lube hole with a syringe (repeatedly). Let the tuner dry thoroughly, and then inject some Tri-Flow through the hole. Clean the outside of the tuner carefully before re-installing on the guitar. NEVER do this with the tuners installed on the guitar. At best, you will make a mess. At worse, high concentrations of solvents could harm the finish. Even naphtha.

 

The original versions of the sealed Klusons had no lube holes. The holes, in various configurations, showed up around 1950 or so. I have some 1947 versions with no holes, and 1952 versions with holes, so I'm pretty sure it happened sometime in between. There's actually a good website on the history of early Kluson tuners.

 

Unless the tuners are turning hard, there is no reason to clean and lubricate them. In any case, oil would make a mess, and should not be used.

[Chef T]

I emailed Klusen. This is there response. 
This is a lubrication port.  We recommend a grease for gears and not an oil or WD-40 as it will leak out through the housing seams and make a mess.  Big Bends Nut Sauce also is a good form of lubricant and comes in a handy syringe. 

Edited July 8, 2021 by Chef T

[meanstreak]

1 hour ago, Chef T said:

I emailed Klusen. This is there response. 
This is a lubrication port.  We recommend a grease for gears and not an oil or WD-40 as it will leak out through the housing seams and make a mess.  Big Bends Nut Sauce also is a good form of lubricant and comes in a handy syringe. 

I'm buying some just for that name product to be on my shelf lol

[RBSinTo]

Has anyone ever used a  dry lubricant like powdered graphite in tuners?

RBSinTo

[Boyd]

Be really careful if you use grease. I tried that a few years ago and it did help. But outside on a hot summer day, the grease liquified, ran down the headstock/neck and made a sticky mess that was a pain to clean up. If you do use grease, use it very sparingly (unless you always keep your guitar inside an air-conditioned room).

[J185cat]

I would be very concerned that some lubricants could damage the nitro finish if they got on them.  Not being a chemist or knowing what is in all of them I couldn’t say which. We all know the stories of mosquito repellent with DEET.  Anybody have any ideas or am I just being overly cautious?

[RBSinTo]

I did a little research and found that crushed pencil lead or graphite power works very to lubricate guitar machines. However, it should not be used in conjunction with liquid lubricants such as light machine oils as a thick gooey mess will result.

RBSinTo

[kidblast]

14 hours ago, meanstreak said:

I'm buying some just for that name product to be on my shelf lol

!LOL!

if one has guitars with trems or bigsbys, and they don't have some of this stuff, it's a must have item.

Edited July 9, 2021 by kidblast

[Boyd]

38 minutes ago, J185cat said:

We all know the stories of mosquito repellent with DEET.  Anybody have any ideas or am I just being overly cautious?

I learned about DEET the hard way. Lightly sprayed some on my t-shirt (not on my skin) and after playing a short while, it stuck to the back of my 1965 J-50 and etched a fabric weave pattern into the finish, also left it feeling very gummy. Used a liberal amount of Virtuouso cleaner on it the next day which helped, but I can still see a bit of the fabric pattern on the back of the guitar.