I would have thought a search would have yielded several results but it didn't. I got a set of Sperzel locking tuners to put on my JV. I have read up on on the install and still contemplating having a tech do the work. I took off two of the vintage tuners just to investigate how much of a job this is going to be. The tuners just fell out once the screws were removed which left the top sleeve insert (not sure of the proper name). I tried to push the sleeve out gently and it didn't seem to want to move. If it was threaded, I would expect to see flats or slots but it just has round edges. Can someone help out? Should the insert just pop out of the headstock?

Hi Rdmb: yes, it is just pushed in firmly and should come out the same way. You may have to press from the other side with a pencil end or something similar. Go carefully: don't risk splitting the wood.

Cheers - C

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Thanks, I figured but was afraid of splitting the wood.

There's a couple of ways I use: I gently tap around in a clockwise motion, the bottom of the sleeve insert, hammering a piece of plastic or wood to free it while not marring the bottom of the sleeve at the same time. If I find that this won't work without a bit of brute force to the point of where I'm concerned about spitting the wood on the headstock face, I use a large, round shafted, phillips head screwdriver where the head is bigger than the ID of the sleeve. I place the head of the driver to the bottom of the sleeve, heat the shaft of the driver with my soldering gun which of course, transfers heat to the sleeve, causing the wood to expand. I then push the sleeve forward and out. Needless to say, I use just enough heat and then back off with the soldering iron, exerting just enough pressure on the top of the handle of the screwdriver until the sleeve slides out.

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You dig?

More good info. Thank you.

Yeah, tapping around in several places did it. Now that I know what they look like, I realize there was little risk of chipping the wood so long as they came out evenly. Now I just have to decide if I want to complete the job or have someone do it. I'm definitely going to have to fill those screw holes without making it look like a bunch of garbage.

Thanks again for the ideas.

I use soft handled nut drivers, using the size that barely fits in the hole, and gently tap the ferrules out. The nut driver puts even force all the way around the ferrule so that it pushes out evenly and doesn't chip the wood.

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---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.