burried - recess knobs removal

[Deleted]

Hello!
I have read all the relevant threads about ideas for removing knobs but it does not seem to solve the problem with recess knobs. It is about the Ibanez ARZ800, whose knobs look like these :


So, the shoe lace, tack puller, clothe underneath methods might not work very well. I have read about wrapping the knob with packaging tape and remove it upwards. Would that work?

I am thinking of doing a proper shielding with this one, that's why I am considering ways to remove the electronics without damaging the guitar, since this is the first LP-style guitar that i own, so i am not very fluent in taking it apart. By beating strats you just increase their value, making them "classic", "relic", etc!!. With LPs not so much!

Thanks for any suggestions.

[newey]

The picture doesn't really look like the knobs are recessed, but maybe that's just the photo. Can you get underneath the edge of the knob at all?

Stew-Mac sells a knob puller for about $9 USD, but I don't know if the recess would thwart that tool or not. You do have to be able to get the tool under the knob.

If they're on there so tightly that you can't just pull them up and off with your bare hands, then I doubt packing tape would do the trick. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try that method.

If these are long-shaft pots, there may be a nut on the cavity side to position the pots. If so, and if you can get a needlenose pliers on the nut from inside the cavity, you might be able to loosen that and give yourself some free play to work with. Just a thought, worth a look to see.

[Deleted]

^^^ the last one is a very nice idea. Thanx.

[Deleted]

Finally managed to try the clothe trick, by passing it under the knob from the one spot where there is enough access to reach underneath. Worked like a charm. + 1 for the clothe method.

[sumgai]

I always used a guitar pick, usually a Fender Medium. But for truly recessed knobs, that sometimes can't be done. In such cases, I try to figure out "how would the factory remove these, if it was in for repairs or a complete restoration?" Working in a thin strip of cloth* is the usual answer, but most outfits do have "special" knob pullers that they've made themselves, out of standard pair of pliers.

What I did when I heard that was to go out and buy a pair of pliers that would be dedicated for this purpose. I ground out the center of each tip so that they would no longer meet perfectly flush all the way across the contacting faces, they now would more fully grip a tube, looking at said tube from the end and not from the side. (That took a bit of work!) After that, I dipped each jaw into some liquid plastic and let it set up for several hours. That stuff never dries completely hard, there's always a bit of softness to act as a cushion. (I believe it's called "Tool Dip" because it's often used for tool handles. Makes them easier to grip, and is an excellent electrical insulator.) Voila, a working knob puller, albeit not very useful for much else.

HTH




sumgai

* The strongest and thinnest strip of cloth is, bar none, a selvedge strip from the edge of any cotton material while still on the bolt. This is compressed after weaving in order to prevent the edge of the material from raveling. It's always cut off and tossed out when actually making something from that material, so nearly any fabric/sewing supply store should be able to provide you with a foot or two of the stuff.

[Deleted]

^^^ 2 very nice ideas man! the plastification + the clothe thing. I dint understand many key terms but i got the point for future reference!

[b4nj0]

May I just add a thought regarding push-push switches that are piggy-backed onto potentiometers? If you fail to release the switch by popping it up before pulling or levering the knob off, then you will cattle-truck the latching mechanism, and I have found them impossible to repair.
I have done this twice with Yamaha push-push switches.* I believe that Yamaha UK no longer sell them as spares (even at the grossly inflated Limey prices) so I'm not going to get caught out again!
I realise that push-pulls are much more common, but with a tapered Fender type knob- once you have used push-push you don't want to go back.
(* beer!)
I hope this saves someone a similar calamity...

e&oe...