Argh – wrong size bushings

[richardjmorgan]

Right, so here's what stupid old me did: ordered some Gotoh Res-O-Lite tuners to replace the ones on my Fender Highway One P, went to check the fit, and discovered the bushings that came with the tuners are too small for the holes in my headstock. I assume this is some sort of Imperial/Metric issue that I failed to consider before ordering my tuners.

Now, the tuners seem to fit into the existing bushings, but ideally I want nickel ones, not chrome, so they match the tuners. Anyone know if I can get some nickel bushings somewhere that will A) fit my headstock and B) fit my tuners? 

Or am I better off returning the tuners and starting all over again?

[Delberthot]

Most of the time when I've fitted ultralites I've had this issue. My solution was to cut a piece of paper to the same width as the bushing , tape one end to it and then wrap it around until it became sufficiently thick to fill the gap.

The ultralites use a screw on fitting for the bushing but if you can get enough wraps around it, it should hold or maybe just touch of superglue to hold it in place if it doesn't. Just enough to hold it but that you could also take it back off easily enough if you needed to

[Cuzzie]

Yep as above, or I use strips of electrical tape and keep applying till it works and is the right width for a snug fit

The colour matters not, it’s hidden in the canal of the wood

Edited October 19, 2019 by Cuzzie

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I used masking tape when I upgraded my thunderbird vintage pro twins with a couple of sets of res-o-lite GB640s. Be sure to put enough on so its a good tight fit as this should prevent the bushing from lifting slightly at one side.

I've heard that building up a small even layer of plastic wood or similar filler around the inside of each hole also works, but I've not tried that.

[b7l4s]

I've had the same problem with with the licensed (not USA) Ultralites... perhaps unsurprisingly Hipshot actually sell bushes which allow you to fit their tuners to headstocks with too-large holes already drilled. I was going to buy some since they are only $4 each... but the cheapest postage option was over $50... no sale!

I've used the masking tape 'fix' seemingly successfully, but it doesn't seem like an ideal way to make such critical components fit properly.

[richardjmorgan]

Thanks everyone. I decided to send them back in the end and live with the existing tuners for the time being.