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I pulled it off!

Isaac_James

Isaac_James

May 20, 2021
2,745
5,950
Eugene, OR
#1
Well, I pulled it off! The shaft of my neck pickup volume knob, I mean. Trying to get this push-on knob off didn't go exactly as planned... but fortunately I had the spare parts and a new soldering iron I was keen to try out anyway.
PXL_20231001_052244937.jpg

The weather was nice enough out yesterday that I just set up a table in my driveway to work there. Here are all the parts I needed (or so I thought)...
PXL_20231001_205650284.jpg
 
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#2
Here we see a potential problem I had not considered. I have three normal sized CTS pots from DiMarzio, but the tone knob at the tip of the pickguard here is much smaller. Sure enough, a regular pot is too thick to fit in the cavity as it is.
PXL_20231001_213314169.jpg

Good news, I have a spare mini pot from another project!

Bad news, it's got a 1/4" shaft and this is a 3/8" hole.
PXL_20231001_214543354.jpg

Good news though, I have a length of surgical tubing that's 1/4" on the inside and 3/8" on the outside. trim just a little bit and put it on the shaft...
PXL_20231001_214950512.jpg


Perfect fit.
PXL_20231001_215034742.jpg
 
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#5
I didn't get any pictures of the full wiring job because it was starting to get dicey (read: my kids came out and were very interested in what dad was doing with a very hot iron and all the lead vapors) so I wanted to wrap up the project. So you'll have to take my word that the wiring all held, passed the continuity test with a multimeter, and I got a nice little noise when I plugged in and tapped the poles with my screwdriver tip. I went with jazz bass knobs because I prefer the way they look over metal knurled knobs, and also because I am incapable of learning my lesson when it comes to using push-on knobs.
PXL_20231002_000442836.jpg

By this point it was getting close to dinner time, so cleanup, fretboard oiling and new strings had to wait til late last night. I haven't had a chance to take a photo of the end result yet but will later today, but I played a bit last night and between the new flatwounds and the higher value pots this thing sounds nice and crisp and full. These pickups are just whatever Fender was putting in their Mexican PJs back in the early 00s but honestly they sound great with flatwounds. Rusty poles, shmusty poles. I'm keeping these pups. At some point I probably do need to replace the tuners though, they're getting wobbly. But that's a project for another day.
 
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#8
Isaac_James said:
Well, I pulled it off! The shaft of my neck pickup volume knob, I mean. Trying to get this push-on knob off didn't go exactly as planned... but fortunately I had the spare parts and a new soldering iron I was keen to try out anyway.View attachment 5207685
The weather was nice enough out yesterday that I just set up a table in my driveway to work there. Here are all the parts I needed (or so I thought)...
View attachment 5207691
Click to expand...
That didn't look like a push on Pot. Are you sure there's no set screw?
 
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#10
FunkHead said:
That didn't look like a push on Pot. Are you sure there's no set screw?
Click to expand...

Definitely not, I examined it closely. The other two had set screws. I've tried pulling it out of the shaft but it's really stuck tight.

The pots I had on this before were all mismatched and kind of loose, so I was planning to do this project anyway at some point. The shaft coming off just pushed it up the priority list.
 
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#12
I had to take a Dremel tool with a diamond metal grinding wheel to a Fender P Bass control knob just the other night. The grub set screw on the volume control had corroded in place to the extent that I couldn't even get enough penetrating oil in there to help break the screw loose. Dammit...

Not my idea of fun, but it got the job done. I didn't even destroy the solid pot shaft... let alone yank it out.
 
#16
Grinderman said:
I had to take a Dremel tool with a diamond metal grinding wheel to a Fender P Bass control knob just the other night. The grub set screw on the volume control had corroded in place to the extent that I couldn't even get enough penetrating oil in there to help break the screw loose. Dammit...

Not my idea of fun, but it got the job done. I didn't even destroy the solid pot shaft... let alone yank it out.
Click to expand...

I am not a fan of set screw knobs for this reason, though now I've got a reason to dislike push ons too!

Fortunately I have the know-how now to fix it if something goes awry.
 
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#17
Isaac_James said:
I am not a fan of set screw knobs for this reason, though now I've got a reason to dislike push ons too!
Click to expand...
I am not a fan of push-on knobs myself because they can get really stuck like this. Set screw, I know what to expect and it usually works...

But the ultimate "YUCK!" was a set of knobs I had to pull from a Schecter guitar: splined push-on... WITH SETSCREWS!
WHY!?!?

But anyway, glad the PJ is working out now, looks great!
 
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#19
rojo412 said:
I am not a fan of push-on knobs myself because they can get really stuck like this. Set screw, I know what to expect and it usually works...

But the ultimate "YUCK!" was a set of knobs I had to pull from a Schecter guitar: splined push-on... WITH SETSCREWS!
WHY!?!?

But anyway, glad the PJ is working out now, looks great!
Click to expand...

I have had to use set screw knobs on a post with splines, but I use a little copper bushing so the screw isn't damaging the splines on the post. They're dirt cheap. I don't find that the knobs stay on quite as well though.

KevInDaBassment said:
Dang, you and the guy with broken E and A string tuners! Y'all need to lay off the 'roids! :roflmao:

Glad to hear it's working out, also kudos on being a P/J player :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

I didn't think I was using much force! My best guess is that it's just an old pot and had weakened over time - they were all starting to feel a little loose anyway, so even if it hadn't broken I would have done this anyway.

All of my basses just happen to be PJs, not a deliberate choice but those are the ones that seem to suit me best.
 
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#20
Isaac_James said:
I have had to use set screw knobs on a post with splines, but I use a little copper bushing so the screw isn't damaging the splines on the post. They're dirt cheap. I don't find that the knobs stay on quite as well though.
Click to expand...
Brass pot sleeves. They are definitely helpful for using 1/4"-drilled set-screw knobs on something like a 6mm spline or solid shaft pot. I use them on a ton of stuff! The spline ones though, yeah, a little less reliable. Sometimes the knob won't stay straight. Or if it's the wrong position, it may "crimp" the split.

If you have split-shaft and need to use a solid knob, if you use some kind of filler in the split (a piece of wood or a chunk of an old credit card, for example), it can help it out a little. Not always perfect, but better than nothing.
 
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