Fear of modding...

[douga]

No power tools required. Don't remember where I got this set but you can easily find similar in electronics or hardware stores.

EDIT:
Found it 38 piece ratcheting set

Thanks. Looks like DeWalt -- should be easy to find with the info you gave.

No, I confused brands, I believe it's a Stanley set.

 

[loocnmad]

Thanks. Looks like DeWalt -- should be easy to find with the info you gave.

No, I confused brands, I believe it's a Stanley set.

Here's the link on Amazon

38 piece ratcheting screwdriver set

 

[douga]

Here's the link on Amazon

38 piece ratcheting screwdriver set

Hey, it was neither of the brands I thought it was. Thanks!

EDIT: my local auto parts store carries this! Woo-hoo!

 

[alantig]

I believe it's a Stanley set.

 

[László]

This will seem weird to many of you, but...

I got a set of locking tuners for my SE Silver Sky, and I'm just afraid to start the process of installing them. I have the correct tool, but I feel like I'm going to break something or otherwise eff it up. I feel like I'm going to break the screws when I take the old tuners out.

I have the same fear about putting in a new tremolo block.

Thank goodness I don't have new pickups. I'd be sitting in a corner shaking....

I'm the same way.

When I had my last recording console delivered, one of the faders was a little bent from shipping. It worked perfectly, but my tech who installed it in the studio said, "I'm going to fix this, but I can see you're going to have a heart attack if you see me doing it, so do yourself a favor and go have a cup of coffee upstairs."

It was perfect when he said to come back. I said, "How'd you fix it?" And he said he straightened it with a pliers.

He was right. I would definitely have had to be hospitalized watching him bending the thing back into shape.

 

[douga]

I took the guitar to a pro to get the locking tuners installed, and I'm glad I did. He just texted my and said "FYI there are a few stripped screw heads."

I now wonder if I actually stripped the one I thought I'd stripped, or if it came pre-stripped. I'd like to think the latter, because then I did everything correctly.

Now looking at pre-packaged "setup kits" from Sweetwater and StewMac, and man, they are _pricey_.

 

[loocnmad]

Stewmac tools are good but pricey. For your basic setups start small: relief, action, intonation. The tools will probably only cost around $20-25

1. Screwdriver for intonating the saddles

2. Hex wrench set for setting action

3. Whatever wrench or truss rod tool came with it to set the relief

4. Maybe a set of feeler gauges to help with relief.

5. One of the little metal card style string height gauges.

 

[douga]

Stewmac tools are good but pricey. For your basic setups start small: relief, action, intonation. The tools will probably only cost around $20-25

1. Screwdriver for intonating the saddles

2. Hex wrench set for setting action

3. Whatever wrench or truss rod tool came with it to set the relief

4. Maybe a set of feeler gauges to help with intonation.

5. One of the little metal card style string height gauges.

Thanks so much! I'm pretty sure the guitar also came with a hex wrench.

Thanks again, though. I've spent enough money on guitars that I might as well invest in tools.

 

[loocnmad]

Check out Dan Erlewine's books, too. The guy's a living encyclopedia.

Most of StewMac's how to videos on YouTube feature either him or people he mentored.

 

[douga]

To further attempt to vindicate myself...even the pro had problems getting the tuner screws out. I don't even want to go into what he did...but it's a good thing I'm planning on keeping this.

Now I have to get going on my home relicing job. It'll take me 10 to 15 years, but it'll look great!

 

[frankencat]

Props for trying and for knowing when to ask for help. Keep at it and eventually you will be doing all of the things with confidence. We don’t get to be pros by osmosis, it takes practice and patience.

 

[frankencat]

This is my favorite driver kit for guitars. I have two of them in my shop and use them every day.
https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-too...ols/screwdrivers/guitar-tech-screwdriver-set/

 

[douga]

This is my favorite driver kit for guitars. I have two of them in my shop and use them every day.
https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-too...ols/screwdrivers/guitar-tech-screwdriver-set/

So what happened to that Doug guy?
I dunno, he stopped buying guitars and started stockpiling tools....

Thanks, @frankencat

EDIT: Just kidding, never going to stop buying guitars.

 

[Broseph]

I took the guitar to a pro to get the locking tuners installed, and I'm glad I did. He just texted my and said "FYI there are a few stripped screw heads."

I now wonder if I actually stripped the one I thought I'd stripped, or if it came pre-stripped. I'd like to think the latter, because then I did everything correctly.

Now looking at pre-packaged "setup kits" from Sweetwater and StewMac, and man, they are _pricey_.

I called it. SE screws are a PIA. Hate them. So cheap. I use properly sized screw drivers too. It happens every once in a while. I nearly lost my mind trying to remove one on a silver sky tuner. What should have taken 5 seconds took 25 mins.

 

[revtime]

Had a guy contact me about a screw he broke off while trying to install a FR string bar. I go over and extract the screw. Later that evening he contacts me, he has done it again. I took the guitar home with me this time. I fixed it up installed the bar and returned it to him.
I politely asked him if he had anymore "upgrades" in mind to let me do them. Apparently I bruised his ego. Have not heard from him since. A man has to know his limitations.

 

[JasonE]

If I had an SE that I wanted to upgrade, ordering new good quality screws would be part of the upgrade. The old ones would come out and the new ones would go in when the upgraded parts went on. Screws are cheap and easy to get good ones. You can find them at your local hardware store or order them online.

 

[loocnmad]

If I had an SE that I wanted to upgrade, ordering new good quality screws would be part of the upgrade. The old ones would come out and the new ones would go in when the upgraded parts went on. Screws are cheap and easy to get good ones. You can find them at your local hardware store or order them online.

Be sure to check the diameter of any new screws before installing. If they are larger than the originals you may need to slightly widen the existing holes or risk splitting the wood.

 

[JasonE]

Be sure to check the diameter of any new screws before installing. If they are larger than the originals you may need to slightly widen the existing holes or risk splitting the wood.

With the small screws the difference would be minimal and would not split the wood. Many of the import guitars use the same screws. It is not that hard to find the size of them. Once you get one out you can take it to the hardware store to get a matching size in a much better quality screw.

 

[frankencat]

A little bit of beeswax or even candle wax on the threads of the new screws will help.