Is there any hope...

[Off-Beat]

for this pedal?

Busted a pot on my Boss OC-3. I have never really tinkered under the hood of any of my petals before… Is this repairable within reason?

If nothing else, I consider myself lucky that it is stuck in my favorite position!

View attachment 834163

Don't put epoxy on the assembled pedal. You spill a some to the side, because you used to much the pot is stuck in position permanently.

If you wanna go the epoxy route, because you can't get the right poti or can't solder and you're good at crafting elsewise:

-Disassemble the pedal. No need to desolder the pot.
-Level both sides of the pot shaft.
-Measure the diameter of the pot shaft.
-Look up a chart for tapped holes and the drilling diameter you need for certain threads.
-Chose a diameter of maximum of half the diameter on both sides.
-Now cut the thread with a screw tap in both sides of the shaft.
-Insert a tiny amount of epoxy and insert a headless screw fitting the depth of both holes.
-Insert a tiny amount in the other hole and screw it on.

What you need for this:

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Everything else would be half a$$ed and lead to another break of the pot down the road or as I said you could clue the pot to the housing with the epoxy.

€: Just looked on your pic for the second time. If you don't have gigantic hands that shaft is really tiny. I doubt you could find tiny enough screws for that. Definately change the pot. Epoxy on such a little surface won't keep up anyway.

I think it's way easier to get the pot and solder it yourself or get it to a tech of your choice. Also cheaper if you don't have the tools at hand.

 

[Buszkock]

You're not the only one who has had this problem.

As was mentioned earlier, you will need to contact BOSS to get the part.

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[DOMIT]

No! There is no hope!

No idea about the pedal though. I've played amps with broken knobs. Kept a really sharp screwdriver in my case. You know... In case people tried to steal my gear.

Actually the screwdriver idea isn't a bad one... take a dremel with a cutoff wheel and slot the piece of the shaft that is remaining. (yes, you will end up slotting the retaining nut too... no big deal just don't overdo it.) Use the screwdriver to make adjustments. This should hold you over until you can source either a repair or a new pedal.

 

[fendermademygibson]

Yep. Great ideas and advice here.

JB Weld good for a lot of things, but it's tricky with plastics, especially nylon and delrin, two possible candidates in the making of potentiometer shafts.

This is a valid point I had considered.


Sounds like a new pot might not be as difficult as thought.


As for the hack ideas I stand by my assertion that JB Weld will work.

It doesn't seem that you will be switching/stressing this parameter/knob very often.

If you go the epoxy/glue/adhesive route I would strongly recommend against leveling the contact surfaces.
-In this particular type of situation the rougher the surface the better. A "witness point" if you will.
-Your best/favorite tool(s) for this type of fix will be patience and a round toothpick(s). Possibly a small strap of tape.

Again, good luck whatever route you choose.

 

[Novv]

True… but at least it will look normal to the throngs of chicks that check out my gear at gigs.

Pedal scars are good.
Chicks dig scars.

 

[BawanaRik]

Look if you end up wrecking the thing you can buy another on the used market

 

[AshInAmsterdam]

Can't talk for that pedal but all boss pedals I've opened have had board mounted components and easily modified. I think the more recent ones (including oc3) may have some surface mount which I also wouldn't touch, but we're not dealing with that here.

The pots are not board mounted at all, they are wired to the main board. Sometimes with ribbon cable (almost definitely in the case of these small pots).

Should be a simple swap out once you have the right switch.

Edit. I wouldn't use any kind of epoxy to glue it. Temporary at best. The metal used in the switch poles once broken is not the best kind of surface to bond, definitely not a straight pole at the end of it. If you must try, at least remove the guts from the shell so you don't permanently fuse the switch body to the shell.