I didn't think I could do this

When I take a string off and the tuner is a little rattley ...... I will tighten up the nut just a little snug so it doesn't rattle. Lose things like that can cause a vibration and noise. I'm careful not to overtighten them though as that will make them turn hard.

thanks for providing the proper names and translating my post into something coherent, gnease. :)
LOL 'blue rinse'...grrl, you are far from that.

thanks for providing the proper names and translating my post into something coherent, gnease. :)
LOL 'blue rinse'...grrl, you are far from that.

yeah, definitely far from incoherent.

When I take a string off and the tuner is a little rattley ...... I will tighten up the nut just a little snug so it doesn't rattle. Lose things like that can cause a vibration and noise. I'm careful not to overtighten them though as that will make them turn hard.

Not the whole tuner, just the capstans. Sounds like that's normal. Cool. :D

I'm still amazed nothing broke.

When I take a string off and the tuner is a little rattley ...... I will tighten up the nut just a little snug so it doesn't rattle. Lose things like that can cause a vibration and noise. I'm careful not to overtighten them though as that will make them turn hard.

Not the whole tuner, just the capstans. Sounds like that's normal. Cool. :D

I'm still amazed nothing broke.

Wood is tough stuff.

Confirming that slightly loose capstans are normal. For mass produced tuners, mechanism is very simple -- delrin bushing and/or washer style capstan bearings if at all. So unless they can be precision machined ($$$), they have to be slightly loose to keep from binding.

You know, it NEVER fails to scare the crap out of me when a string breaks. :shock: I've done it one thousand times and it gets me every time. It's strange how quickly adrenaline can go through your body. :wink:

Same here.

I popped one on my tricone while playing under a tent at a crowded antique engine show on the fairgrounds in Portland, Indiana. Engines chugging and coughing everywhere. When that string let go on the reso, it sounded like a .44 firing, and everyone in the crowd looked around to see where it came from.

I broke the first string I ever tried to put on :)

I was eagerly stringing up my first shiny new low E and didnt leave any slack to wind it around the tuning machine.. Got it around once and thought it was a bit tight, so tried to tune it to E and *SNAP*.. startling indeed. Everything seems okay, thought I'm glad it wasn't on a nice guitar and I was a bit embarrassing buying another set of strings the next day.

Definitely a lesson learned!

You know, it NEVER fails to scare the crap out of me when a string breaks. :shock:

You should hear the noise when a cheap bridge lets go...

My cheapie fixer-upper came to me with a nylon string style bridge (on a steel string guitar) and one afternoon for no particular reason (the guitar was on a stand, I was 10 feet away on the couch) the top half of the wood that the ball-ends were bearing against broke and popped off. :!: :shock: :!:

Now *that* was a noise.

On the upside, it gave me an excuse to try my hand at replacing the bridge on an acoustic. Turned out pretty well, too.
Hopefully when I get around to re-finishing the guitar, you won't be able to tell that the new bridge is a different size from the old one. :roll:

You know, it NEVER fails to scare the crap out of me when a string breaks. :shock:

You should hear the noise when a cheap bridge lets go...

My cheapie fixer-upper came to me with a nylon string style bridge (on a steel string guitar) and one afternoon for no particular reason (the guitar was on a stand, I was 10 feet away on the couch) the top half of the wood that the ball-ends were bearing against broke and popped off. :!: :shock: :!:

Now *that* was a noise.

So you fixed the bridge AFTER you cleaned the stains from the couch??? :P :shock:

So you fixed the bridge AFTER you cleaned the stains from the couch??? :P :shock:

:lol: Good one!

So you fixed the bridge AFTER you cleaned the stains from the couch??? :P :shock:

It was close.
I did have to wait for my pulse to recover and the profanity to die down a bit, though. :lol:

Then I realized I was supposed to start lessons in a couple of weeks (group acoustic lessons, and this is my only acoustic!), so I headed to the store to see what was available for replacement rosewood bridges.

I snapped my Low E string once, doing the same thing you did SG. Was trying to tune to one octave too high. I had my finger on the machine head because it was an open slot (vintage style and all). The string snapped and whipped my finger tip. I gave up putting the rest on after that, I couldn't figure out how to get the strings to stay on the tuner as I wound them.

When I take a string off and the tuner is a little rattley ...... I will tighten up the nut just a little snug so it doesn't rattle. Lose things like that can cause a vibration and noise. I'm careful not to overtighten them though as that will make them turn hard.
:lol: I'm quoting myself ... anyhow .... yes, I'm talking about when the nut and washer are loose and rattling. That capstan is normally a little loose. I've seen some inexpensive guitars where the nuts and washers are so loose it's like six little tamborines up there. :lol: I don't know how the tuners were staying in place.

I saw a picture online somewhere of a guy who'd managed to get a broken string to shoot THROUGH his fingertip! Gave me the heeby-jeebies. :shock: