[rck46]

Here is a picture of the dissassembled tuning cap shaft on my 37-630.  I took it apart to clean it because it was hard to turn due to dried up grease.  When I try to assemble it I can't get the small shaft on the left of the picture to stay locked inside the larger shaft.   I believe the small shaft is supposed to stay locked inside the larger shaft by the three ball bearings riding in the groove at the end of the small shaft and being held in place by the larger shaft.  I think my problem may be that one of  the ball bearings is smaller than the other two.  You can see the smaller one in the picture.  Has anyone had one of these apart and can you confirm that my problem is the small ball bearing - or am I missing something?   Any advice is appreciated.

Bob

   

[StephenB]

Hi Bob - attached is a picture of the parts inside my 37-650B... appears to be the same.  My problem was that one of small ball bearings was detached from the shaft.  I soldered it back and it works great now.  Based on your pic, it appears you are missing two ball bearings - a large and a small.  I believe there should be two small ball bearings - one on each end of the spring and there should also be three equally sized large ball bearings that hold the fine tuning shaft snugly in place.  Could it be that they went for a ride when the shaft was disassembled?  Or, you could be just missing the large ball bearing and there's still a small one stuck in the shaft.  In any event, the attached picture shows all the parts (and order) needed to make it work.

[Olskuul]

These tuners are a PITA Bob. I've done a few of them.  There's a trick to reassembling them. First, insert the larger ball bearing into the hollow shaft, then add the spring and while depressing it in, insert the two smaller ball bearing in the side of the hollow shaft, making sure they're properly seated in the inner shaft. Hold those into position and slowly release the spring tension. The small bearings should lock in place. I usually add a bit of lithium grease to these pieces prior to assembly.

[Olskuul]

Reverse the ball sizes. The smaller ball goes down the shaft hole in front of the spring. Sorry, my mistake.

[rck46]

Thanks for the responses. I didn't realize the small ball went into the hollow shaft. Looks like I am missing one of the large balls. I think it may have gone bye-bye when I disassembled it.

[jcassity]

this is something i really appreciate about this site,,, i dont feel like an odd ball anymore taking apart things that "nobody" ever thinks of messing with.

[rck46]

Believe it or not but I found the missing ball on the shop floor. Very lucky. The shaft is now assembled and working. Thanks again.

[StephenB]

Congratulations! Surprised all is well without the second small ball bearing tho. Was that one still in the shaft by chance?

[rck46]

The second small ball was still inside the shaft held in place by the old grease.

[StephenB]

Ah, mystery solved. Thanks for the reply.