snugging nuts - ES type harness

[RobSm]

Hi.

I'm playing with a 'dry run' of an ES type semi hollow body guitar. (in pine)

I've watched videos done a harness and am going to glue on a pine back to practise  mounting the pots jack and switch.

While playing with them with no back on it's become clear to me that I'm not getting the nuts snugged anywhere near enough just using star washers. (Jack no problem - I have a 'Jack the gripper') . I f I go ahead and glue on the back & fish the harness into position  I'm going to end up with sloppy nuts and/or broken solder joints.

  So - how are the nuts for the switch and pots effectively tightened in a semi hollowbody build  ie with no rear access cavity?

Thanks,

Rob

 

 

[curtisa]

Information I've seen (and I've never tried it myself, so take it with a grain of salt) is that it should be possible to get the nut finger tight by holding on to the shaft of the pot with a pair of pliers while turning. Be careful not to crush the pot shaft with the pliers if it's one of those split-shaft splined varieties. Once it's finger tight it should have just enough friction against the body to allow tightening with a regular wrench. Nail polish seems to be suggested to lock the nut in place, as it is disolvable in acetone if you ever need to undo it again. Some/most/all of the pots may even be accessible though the f-hole, so you can at least get one or two fingers near enough to the pot to prevent it from spinning while you tighten the nut.

Star washers may actually not be recommended, as they may chew up the timber and eventually work loose again over time. Flat washers may be better suited to the task. A star washer is useful when the material being star-washer'ed against is only slightly softer than the washer itself, and will allow only enough deformation for sufficient grip. Thin, soft timbers probably don't really fit this bill.