Winged Tuner Missing Parts

[Arahobob]

Hey everyone

I'm hoping someone here can help me out / shed a little light on the subject.
I have a mid 90s custom 24 with the standard issue PRS "winged" tuners of the day. The top two tuners have a single screw holding them down and the back of the headstock (just trying to give a clear picture).

I noticed one night at a gig that one of the threaded screws that hold the wing down had vanished!
I searched high and low, tore my case apart - it was gone.

So I reached out to PRS and asked for help. They basically said my guitar was too old - they couldn't replace the part, they didn't know what size the screw was, wouldn't tell me what I could replace it with short of tracking down an old set, and basically offered me no help to fix the problem - some customer service!!


So what can I do?
I'd love to just replace the screw - the tuners still work great. I've never had a single issue with them.
Anybody know the thread size? I assume it's metric.
Is there an online resource for these winged tuners of old that I haven't found yet?

Thanks in advance for any help.


PS - I did track down a possible source ( John Mann of John Mann's Guitar Vault), but I've gotten nowhere after several email attempts.

 

[Arahobob]

*bump
:hello:

 

[rugerpc]

Paging Sergio....

While we wait for winged tuner man, there is one thing you can do. Remove one of the remaining screws from a working tuner and take it to Home Depot or Lowes or whatever your local hardware store is. They should have a gauge to tell you the exact screw size you need. Once you have that, you can look through their bins or on Stewmac or other online sources.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Not sure about the thread size on yours as there are a couple of different ones depending on your "wings". I'd call John Mann's store and see if you can get ahold of him that way and see if he has any.

 

[Jester]

I have a few spare sets of these tuners. PM me and I will try to hook you up.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

I have a few spare sets of these tuners. PM me and I will try to hook you up.

:santa::star::top::beer::rock:

 

[Jester]

Here are the old and new winged tuners side by side. The old ones are bigger and have a D shaped line around PRS, the new have a O around PRS.

 

[Jester]

The sleeve, washer, C clip, winged collar, and top screw are interchangeable. This is not to say there were not some differences. The early winged collars had no lip or at least a smaller lip around the base. I think John Mann told me that some of the really early winged collars (pre 85) were not curved, they stuck out straight.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Ooh... I 've never seen the little ones before! There is a difference in the thread size of the thumbscrews one these (that I have) and the Schaller big "S" branded ones that I've talked to other wing lovers about.

 

[Jester]

There were definitely some variations in the early years. Those square logo tuners are unusual. Have also seen some with unusually tall winged collars. They seem to have used whatever was within reach at the time.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Those square logo tuners are unusual.

No screws either! They're compression types.

I'd love to see all the variations up close one day.... I'm trying to open the Winged Tuner Museum before I die.

 

[John Mann]

NOS Thumb Screws now in stock

After some serious digging around thru several hundred boxes, in my storage trailer... I found them!
I have 4 complete sets and one individual screw. If you just need the one, email me you address and I'll mail it to you.

I have limited supply available on my webstore and will start stocking these and other NOS tuner parts (including winged collars). Please be patient while I go thru my stockpile and verify that they are good parts...

 

[]-[@n$0Ma☩!©]

Ninja.

 

[John Mann]

BTW... There are American & Metric versions of these screws.
The tuners with black shafts are American and the nickle plated shafts are Metric.
I do have some of both, but only the American Thumb Screws are currently listed on the website.

 

[t.shamone]

Nice!

 

[Jester]

The Mann has spoken.

Glad to see you are making these readily available. Not a big revenue generator I am sure, but it is a great service to the community.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Bangin'!

 

[veinbuster]

The Mann has spoken.

Glad to see you are making these readily available. Not a big revenue generator I am sure, but it is a great service to the community.

Yeah. Well done John.

 

[Boogie]

The Mann has spoken.

Glad to see you are making these readily available. Not a big revenue generator I am sure, but it is a great service to the community.

+1! Another great contribution. Thanks John.

 

[Rider1260]

I was just about to say John is starting to restock the winged tuner parts
Great guy John is

After some serious digging around thru several hundred boxes, in my storage trailer... I found them!
I have 4 complete sets and one individual screw. If you just need the one, email me you address and I'll mail it to you.

I have limited supply available on my webstore and will start stocking these and other NOS tuner parts (including winged collars). Please be patient while I go thru my stockpile and verify that they are good parts...

I was just about to say John is starting to restock the winged tuner parts
Great guy John is