Tuner rehab idea

[AcornHouse]

I saw a post about restoring some antique tuning machines and got to thinking.
For those tuners that have gotten sloppy over the years, with the gears worn away from a tight mesh, they might be nickel plated to add just enough metal back on to get them tight again.
It would have to be a balancing act to add just enough, but not too much, nickel. But certainly something to consider for some future rehab.

 

[Default]

Sounds like my SF III might benefit. Great Idea!

 

[GAD]

My initial though was that I would be surprised if this worked since plating is very thin. So I went a-googlin’

In this study they plated tight-clearance parts to see if nickel plating would increase load capacity of mated parts (it did) and they measured the thickness of the plating at 150–200 μm which is 0.15-0.2mm after three platings, so I guess it would depend on the level of wear and the thickness of the plating.

 

[AcornHouse]

My initial though was that I would be surprised if this worked since plating is very thin. So I went a-googlin’

In this study they plated tight-clearance parts to see if nickel plating would increase load capacity of mated parts (it did) and they measured the thickness of the plating at 150–200 μm which is 0.15-0.2mm after three platings, so I guess it would depend on the level of wear and the thickness of the plating.

In the one area of the tailpiece that I had to sand back to the original bronze before redoing, there was a noticeable ridge between the bronze and the nickel that remained. Hard to measure accurately, but visible to the bespectacled eye and feelable.