Help With Classical Tuning Machines

[J.acoustic]

So, my tuning machines on this mini guitar I have suck. They are very similar to these:

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Proline/...-Gear-Plank.gc

And you might or might not notice the tuning pegs are held on by these C shaped pieces of metal. Unfortunately, these pieces of metal have shifted I guess and the D and G tuning pegs (where the guitar often is rested on) are now lose.

So I needed the tuners basically by today / this weekend and ran to guitar center yesterday assuming the ones linked above would work. Well, the screw holes don't match. Why there isn't a standard is beyond me.

Anyhow, I don't feel like plugging the other holes (toothpick and glue?) and redrilling if these low quality guitar center ones also don't match a better brand (not looking to spend more than $50-75 on them so Gotoh or Schaller probably).

Do you guys know if the ones I've linked have any sort of standard screw holes? If they do then I will redrill and replace later... if not, I'm looking for options. My other option was trying to bend and manipulate the metal holder the pegs in to get it tight. I can get it tight but it gets jammed and starts digging into the peg and it just doesn't work.

Anyway, really need to figure something out today. I live in NYC but shops just don't seem to carry these type of tuners? What is my best option here?

[Ned Milburn]

I've tried MANY types of classical tuners. Don't bother trying to find ones with matching screw holes. You'd likely spend more time on the search than the value of paying for decent tuners.

If the tuners have good quality screws, you can use a piercing tool to make a pilot hole (you don't need to drill). But you need to have some skill and care to make the pilot hole correctly so you don't split the wood. Also, make sure the screws are not too long for the wood.

[mc1]

Originally Posted by J.acoustic

So, my tuning machines on this mini guitar I have suck. They are very similar to these:

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Proline/...-Gear-Plank.gc

And you might or might not notice the tuning pegs are held on by these C shaped pieces of metal. Unfortunately, these pieces of metal have shifted I guess and the D and G tuning pegs (where the guitar often is rested on) are now lose.

So I needed the tuners basically by today / this weekend and ran to guitar center yesterday assuming the ones linked above would work. Well, the screw holes don't match. Why there isn't a standard is beyond me.

Anyhow, I don't feel like plugging the other holes (toothpick and glue?) and redrilling if these low quality guitar center ones also don't match a better brand (not looking to spend more than $50-75 on them so Gotoh or Schaller probably).

Do you guys know if the ones I've linked have any sort of standard screw holes? If they do then I will redrill and replace later... if not, I'm looking for options. My other option was trying to bend and manipulate the metal holder the pegs in to get it tight. I can get it tight but it gets jammed and starts digging into the peg and it just doesn't work.

Anyway, really need to figure something out today. I live in NYC but shops just don't seem to carry these type of tuners? What is my best option here?

with your old tuners, is there a bolt at the end of the machine head for tightening it?

as for the new pegs, you might be able to put them in and string them up without drilling holes. that would let you decide of they work well enough to keep. they look ok but not great in the link.