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Loose tolerances on Schaller trem arms?

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  • Loose tolerances on Schaller trem arms?

    OK this is driving me crazy. I can take two brand new trem arms, screw them both into the same Floyd with the collar with the same tightness, and one will be nice and tight, while the other has a "clunk" to it. The last one I bought was from Allparts (branded as Schaller), and it has the "clunk" to it. I checked a "good one" and a "bad one" with calipers, and that pin on the bad one is like .005" wider. Other than that, they look the same to be. These things aren't exactly cheap...how can I make sure I get a snug fit when I order one?!?
    _________________________________________________
    "Artists should be free to spend their days mastering their craft so that working people can toil away in a more beautiful world."
    - Ken M

  • #2
    You can't, really. Did you get the insert along with the bar? No guarantee they'll be a perfect match though.

    However, if the pin for the bad one is actually wider than the good one, sand it down to match the good one. At least it's not the other way around - bad one has shorter pin.
    I want to depart this world the same way I arrived; screaming and covered in someone else's blood

    The most human thing we can do is comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.

    My Blog: http://newcenstein.com

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    • #3
      Yeah I thought of that, I just didn't want to file away if that's really just a red herring observation. I experimented with different arm/insert combos, and the tightest fit was NOT the matched set.
      _________________________________________________
      "Artists should be free to spend their days mastering their craft so that working people can toil away in a more beautiful world."
      - Ken M

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      • #4
        Interesting.

        I guess all we can do is keep some teflon/plumber's tape handy.
        I want to depart this world the same way I arrived; screaming and covered in someone else's blood

        The most human thing we can do is comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.

        My Blog: http://newcenstein.com

        Comment


        • #5
          Resurrection!!!

          (well, its not that old, and I think this is a perfect validation of the use of the search tool)

          OK - Newc & Axe - is this the problem where the threaded collar stays tight, but the bar still wobbles? Because that's what my brand new, German made bar for my Floyd Rose (made in Germany [by Germans, I'm assuming]) does. So - collar is tight, bar stays where you want it (does not swing free), but bar wobbles when you whammy.

          Is the wobble caused by the pin that goes through the bar (under the collar) being too short? And that's what allows the bar to wobble back and forth? A longer pin that the collar fits snugly on would prevent the bar from wobbling?
          -------------------------
          Blank yo!

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          • #6
            IMO it's the play where the arm fits into the socket, not the pin. The pin doesn't do anything but keep the bar from going farther into the socket. Well, that's not all it does, but IMO it's not related to the "wobble."

            I suspect it's made in Germany by non-Germans or Germans of non-German descent. If this were truly made in Germany by Germans of German descent, this kind of thing would not happen.

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            • #7
              I've heard from a couple different sources that QC started going downhill after the last Schaller (son of the founder) died a few years ago. There's something to be said for having a person whose name is on the product running things, taking pride & not cutting corners.

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              • #8
                I've never been able to fix one, it always seems like it comes down to trial-and-error with replacement parts.
                _________________________________________________
                "Artists should be free to spend their days mastering their craft so that working people can toil away in a more beautiful world."
                - Ken M

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                • #9
                  I buy my replacement arms at a local shop rather than online. It costs $2 more than Stewmac, but I don't have to wait or pay for shipping. It hasn't happened yet, but if I ever get a sloppy one, I'm taking it back & I'll repeat the process until I get a good solid one. IMO, that's the only way companies will get the message that they can't get away with putting out a shitty product.

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                  • #10
                    My RR3 with a JT580lp has this problem on a big scale I thought about using Teflon tape but wonder if it would be some way to make a bushing out of automotive type shim stock? Something a little more durable than teflon.
                    I want to go out nice and peaceful in my sleep like my grandfather, not screaming and hollering like the passengers in his car.

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                    • #11
                      So... Replace the arm or the whole collar assembly as well? Should I get the old style screw in arm?
                      -------------------------
                      Blank yo!

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Grandturk View Post
                        So... Replace the arm or the whole collar assembly as well? Should I get the old style screw in arm?
                        Ugggggghhhhhh no those screw in jobs really suck ass.
                        _________________________________________________
                        "Artists should be free to spend their days mastering their craft so that working people can toil away in a more beautiful world."
                        - Ken M

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          I have an 9year old PS-2 with a JT500 with the screw in arm although it's a pain to thread in all the time but it's always tight, better than the one in my 5 year old RR3 anyways.
                          I want to go out nice and peaceful in my sleep like my grandfather, not screaming and hollering like the passengers in his car.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Axewielder View Post
                            OK this is driving me crazy. I can take two brand new trem arms, screw them both into the same Floyd with the collar with the same tightness, and one will be nice and tight, while the other has a "clunk" to it. The last one I bought was from Allparts (branded as Schaller), and it has the "clunk" to it. I checked a "good one" and a "bad one" with calipers, and that pin on the bad one is like .005" wider. Other than that, they look the same to be. These things aren't exactly cheap...how can I make sure I get a snug fit when I order one?!?
                            This is why Schaller ONLY sells the replacement arms as a set with mouting bushing, they´re matched to each other for optimal fit. Some resellers take the kit apart and sell the component´s separately, but that´s not the way it should be done. If you look through their distributor catalogs and such, Schaller does not even have a part number for only the arm or only the collar.

                            Schaller started doing this pretty early on, when it became apparent that there was no way to manufacture the arms with tight enough tolerances to make them fit universally without them costing more than the whole trem does. This was well before Rene died in 98 and Helmut himself died in 99. BTW Greta was still involved actively until her death in 2007, incorporating the company in August 2006. and it wasn´t until January of this year that the current CEO gained majority control.

                            As far as quality having gone down: I interned at the plant in 1996, and was actually invited over only a few months ago by Dr. Bünning because I´m currently out of work. To keep a long story short, the exact same programs are still being run on the same machines by the same people. Unless it´s a metallurgical issue that´s been causing everybody "problems", I´m fairly certain it isn´t there. That would also explain why my newer OFR and Schaller units don´t break down any bit more often than my old ones...
                            Last edited by Zerberus; 10-26-2009, 08:40 AM.

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