Install Vintage Style Tuners on a Headstock

This video is part of a series of videos I've done on building a Custom Shop style relic vintage Stratocaster, or "partscaster". This particular video focuses on installing the tuners.
See the playlist here: • Relic Nitro Strat Build
*UPDATE - Someone commented with this excellent tip: Buy a cheap bolt, nut, & two flat washers and press the bushing in slowly & evenly by tightening the nut & bolt. BRILLIANT!
/ ncsink
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[@nobodyknows4590]

A couple of tips to save your finish. 1. Buy a cheap bolt, nut and two flat washers and press in the bushings slowly and evenly by tightening the bolt and nut. 2. Wrap sandpaper around the bolt and ream out the holes a little more evenly. All you are out is a few bucks in hardware.

[@NathanSink]

Nobody Knows excellent tip! Thank you for that.

[@lucistired]

I'm about to add these to a '90s american standard strat, and seeing you do it with minimal tools and show that it's not so big a deal has greatly lowered my stress going into this mod. Thanks!

[@NathanSink]

Nice! Glad to help!

[@germanmartinez1994]

thank you so much for these videos, giving me the confidence to pull the trigger on building my first parts caster!

[@NathanSink]

Thanks, and so glad to hear it!! It really is satisfying when you end up with a guitar that has everything you want, and you've put it together yourself. Best of luck!

[@stewroo]

"So isn't that frugal?" You've a natural sense of humour dude.

[@NathanSink]

Thanks. 😂

[@128ajb_02_Music]

very useful. will be using this as a reference for my partscaster tele project

[@NathanSink]

Thanks! Glad to help. 😊

[@tonray9395]

Looks great !

[@NathanSink]

Ton Ray thanks!

[@Robert5185]

If you want the spacing perfect I advise installing one tuner at a time with a fixed straight edge. Mark 1st tuner hole, drill, align and install, mark second tuner hole, loosen first tuner to move away from drill bit, drill 2nd hole, reinstall 1st, align 2nd to 1st, install 2nd, mark 3rd hole, loosen 2nd and move aside, drill 3rd, realign and install 2nd, align and install 3rd, mark 4th.....etc. Do that all the way down and your spacing and alignment should be near perfect and you will not have to buy an expensive guide from StewMac. Your way gets em straight but the spacing will not be perfect as there is play between the bushings and inserts that needs to be accounted for in tuner placement. I got mine installed straight, but soon realized my spacing was off in the high and low tuners with none in the middle. It may not bother some people, but I am kicking myself having not seen that on the initial install on an expensive new neck, The only way to fix it is to refill the holes with epoxy, level sand, and reinstall vintage tuners, or upgrade to modern style tuners and drill all new holes. Oh well...you live and you learn.

[@NathanSink]

Thanks for the tip. "Live & learn": ain't that the truth! I've definitely experienced plenty of those types of instances. That's the benefit of sharing the lessons though. 👍🏻

[@paulcowart3174]

Thanks I'm installing for the first time so good to know

[@JulianLoveMusic]

Thanks!

[@NathanSink]

Glad to help!

[@zettepix2009]

Hi, I really appreciate videos where people don’t use super tools but for the bushings you can get a cheap reamer on aliexpress, use some wax on the bushings for them to slide easier and use a soft hammer. Much easier and no supertools either. Loved the ruler method.

[@NathanSink]

Thanks for the tips!

[@richardchristensen636]

@@NathanSink the

[@NathanSink]

@@richardchristensen636 ?

[@Unknown-yg2xr]

Always a pleasure watching your how to's!! Whats the song in your intro?

[@NathanSink]

Nick Rhodes thanks, I appreciate it! The song is one I wrote, called “I Will”. It’s off my album titled Another Turn. Here’s the full song: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gILYgYatj9d_fpY 😊

[@LuisNunez777]

Did you make that intro song???

[@NathanSink]

Luis Nunez yep. It's an original song called "I Will". You can hear the entire song here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gILYgYatj9d_fpY

[@bilalnachabeh]

I like the sand paper method for non tools owners

[@depraveddegenerate8203]

Hey so I’m installing some prs vintage tuners on my SE. the holes are already larger than the bushing. What can I do?

[@NathanSink]

You need adapter bushings. Something like this: amzn.to/3M7w5Vd

[@richg1221]

The holes on my after market fender style headstock seem to big...the bushings do not fit snug. Are there different sizes??

[@NathanSink]

Yes! So there is a vintage 8mm hole, & then there is the modern 10mm size hole. Sounds like your headstock has the larger one.

[@SHOOTINGCLAYS]

Hey Nathan, I just bought a neck from Musikraft. Any idea what size hex key the truss rod is? the one they sent with it is too big.

[@NathanSink]

SHOOTING CLAYS oh wow, they sent the wrong size?? What type/style of truss rod is it? Everything on their website says 4mm. That size seems to work fine on my Strat neck from them.

[@SHOOTINGCLAYS]

@@NathanSink it's a dual acting at the head, website said 4mm 🤔

[@NathanSink]

SHOOTING CLAYS that's what my Strat is & 4mm works. You have the ball-end style? I'd contact them for help. You don't want to void the warranty or break anything.

[@SIXX2772]

Thanks bro......sitting on alot of sandpaper but didnt think about that for being frustrated lol

[@NathanSink]

Jeff Reed glad to help. 👍🏻

[@SIXX2772]

@@NathanSink doing it now.....thanks again working great

[@DeeTee79]

Are your bushings/tuners chrome or nickel? I’m going with chrome. And are they Gotoh or fender, I think they both have the same 15:1 ratio. Asking bc it’s my next purchase. Thanks.

[@NathanSink]

Mine are Gotoh nickel. This is the set I bought: amzn.to/4c6zUoi

[@peterharoldjanakjr2078]

What is the tiny hole on the back of the tuner cover for? I have Fender vintage tuners. Kluson type. Brand new, each tuning peg wiggles a bit. My low e tuners peg wiggle more than the others

[@NathanSink]

That little hole is for lubricant. A lot of people just use petroleum jelly (Vaseline). You can also clean out the inside of the tuner by flushing it with lighter fluid. I think StewMac has a video on it.

[@peterharoldjanakjr2078]

@@NathanSink cool. Thanks for quick reply. By they way I mentioned that each of my tuning pegs were wiggly, will being secured to the headstock. Found a video with similar Gibson tuners. He squeezes the box of each tuner on the back if the headstock with plyers. On both sides if the tuning peg.. I tried it. No. More wiggle.

[@NathanSink]

@@peterharoldjanakjr2078 Nice! Glad it worked for you.

[@paulcowart3174]

@@peterharoldjanakjr2078 10mm bushing's I ordered some Klusons and the bushings were too small So I emailed the guy(real life relic's) and said he had the correct bushings for it Very inexpensive Never done an install with having to drill so looking for as much info as can

[@gus7avbys]

Sorry for my curiousity, but what type of tuners did you end up going with instead of these once?

[@NathanSink]

No prob! I welcome the conversation. Ok, so the first tuners I wanted to install were the GOTOH SD91-05M STAGGERED. These didn't work with my headstock. I did a review in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d5aZoH2aprSilac Then, I decided to go with the SD91-05MA (the 05MA indicates white plastic buttons). I got these for $17 on eBay! Those are the ones I installed here. Since then, I have kept these tuners on. HOWEVER, I recently changed the plastic buttons to PEARL buttons. I will upload a video on how I did that soon. :)

[@gus7avbys]

Ah I see. Can't wait to see how u did with those pearl buttons. But that means if I want to do something similar to what you've done with the tuners, I'd probably be better of buying the regular SD91 set and then finding pearl buttons on ebay/some other site? Awesome series btw, it has given me alot of ideas and tips for my own custom strat I'll soon start working on, so thanks alot :)

[@NathanSink]

gus7avbys glad to help! The pearl buttons were actually very hard to come by. I had to buy some cheap tuners at eyguitarmusic.com & then switch the buttons. Not for the faint of heart, but I’m stoked about the results. 🤗 Like I said, I’ll do a video soon. 👍🏻

[@cawlos89]

Great video! Just wondering what “relic it” means? Idk if I’m spelling it correctly

[@NathanSink]

Thanks! Relic is just a term for making something looked old, worn out, or vintage. 😊

[@Bliggick]

To get the bushings out I've put a thinner screwdriver in through the top and gently rolled it against the sides and the bushing rises up and nothing gets damaged.

[@NathanSink]

Same here! Usually works pretty well as along as you’re careful not to let it slip. 👍🏻

[@ds2td]

Where did you get those Gotoh tuners at?

[@NathanSink]

The tuners are Gotoh SD91 05MA (that last part indicates white plastic buttons). Here is a an Amazon link: amzn.to/3fzKZjW I actually changed the white buttons out for pearloid ones. I couldn't find them anywhere to buy (you have to special order them or literally buy them with yen from Japan), so I figured out a way to do it myself. You can see the difference at about 6:48 in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJC7e4mVlrVmkLs

[@Nightshade1881]

Man you should have sanded and rounded off those hard edges on the headstock. Vintage 50s and 60s strats have nice rounded off edges on the edges and back of the headstock

[@NathanSink]

emilio olivas You're exactly right. It's one of those hindsight things that I realized after the fact. Oh well. Next time.

[@brucecaldwell5239]

I've always used a punch to gently tap the bushings out.

[@NathanSink]

Bruce Caldwell that’s probably a better way. 👍🏻

[@noah_guitarr]

Do vintage tuners get out of tune easy especially with heavy strings?

[@NathanSink]

I haven't found that to be the case. A lot of times tuning issues get attributed to tuners, when the issue is at the bridge (burs) or nut (badly cut slots).

[@noah_guitarr]

@@NathanSink thank you for clearing that up

[@NathanSink]

@@noah_guitarr 👍🏻

[@Flashlightningstorm4866]

I bought a reamer on Amazon for this project. Less than $5 bucks. Saved a s**t ton of time my man. The hole has to be the right size. Too tight and you force the bushing in the bushing will crack the headstock.

[@NathanSink]

You’re right! I just did that the other day (cracked a headstock). 😬 Except I forced the tuner screw in near the end grain. But, for this a reamer definitely helps. I got mine cheap too…from Harbor Freight. 👍🏻

[@annedank1888]

what do i do if the whole is too big

[@NathanSink]

If you have 10mm holes (vs the more vintage 8mm), then you might need conversion bushings. Try: amzn.to/3fglAha

[@Dkfrmt69420]

Hey I have this problem where the small half holes things on the tuners a too wide apart to be screwed with only one screw but too close to use two.... It's a bullet stratocaster (Squier);;; Could you help me out ?

[@NathanSink]

Luca Saliola I had that same problem between two of the tuners on my Jazzmaster. In my case, the two tuners were a little too far apart, but I was able to make it work with the screw that same with the tuners. If your screws aren’t working, I would suggest finding a screw with a larger head, so that it touches & holds down the adjacent tuners. Check out the 13 minute mark of this video to see my example: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rqm9Y5VonNp-ec0

[@brandontuttle5768]

I also have this exact problem , I bought locking klusons and they fit perfect on my Tele neck, but I tried them on 2 aftermarket necks and they fit retry close on the bass side , but they have approx 1/16 on the last 3, and two also seem just barely out of alignment so they are closer to the tuning key edge. Did anybody offer any insight

[@Cloakdagger639]

Why is the back of that neck grey..?🧐

[@NathanSink]

It’s a relic: supposed to look old and worn in.

[@Robert5185]

If you are inserting press fitting bushings in new fender replacement neck DO NOT use this method. Pliers will mar through the cardboard buffer. Use a center punch with a piece of card board in between the punch and bushing and tap lightly with rubber mallet until square and flush. Also use the same punch to reverse the process if you are uninstalling. The method above will leave small press marks from the pliers and not all pliers work the same.

[@NathanSink]

I agree this is not the best method. It's just a possibility for those without a lot of tools at hand and who want to brave it.

[@Robert5185]

Nathan Sink I didn’t have a reamer, so I had to apply more pressure and didn’t think to use sand paper, but another method would be to apply paraffin wax or soap to the splines before pressing them in. However, if I had it to do all over again I would have used the sand paper method combined with wax or soap, and a center punch or just opt in for StewMac fitting press which is 15 dollars after shipping. My channel locks just marred through the card board on the backside, which is hardly noticeable, but it sucks then you just paid 400 on a new neck. I was kicking myself for that one. An added note. I used the StewMac retro conversion bushing for Kluson style tuners which were 10.5 mm in diameter, and the modern neck holes are 3/8, so the bushings are a slightly tighter fit than what you were using so my situation was slightly different as I needed more pressure to get them to go in. I really wish they would have standard dimensions for all their parts.

[@NathanSink]

Robert5185 I'm glad it worked out for you in the end. I feel your pain. Unless you're a luthier with proper tools (or want to dish out cash for things you might not use very often), it can be rough going. I have to admit that I've got some marks on my Strat (not visible) from using the cardboard method myself. On this later project, I used a small piece of wood & a guitar pick: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r3LVoX1mZrydpJY (at about 8:45 into the video) which seemed to work better.

[@PatRaimondo]

sooooooooo many thats what she said'z in this video!!!!!!!! logging off

[@NathanSink]

😂