wah mechanicals, tips and tricks

[joegagan]

below is a little photo essay on getting a nice smooth action from your wah. almost all the wahs i sell do not have any lube and work great.

sometimes it becomes necessary to move the pot toe-ward or heel-ward to improve the geometry. seems especially true with at least some of the chinese made wah shells lately, especially when my smaller gear is used( in some cases the action was improved by moving the pot as far heel direction as possible, even flattening the bushing of the pot to move it further rearward). the quality of the chinese shells has been very sporadic both in machining accuracy and the way parts align etc.

please add your input , i hope this thread can become a good resource for all things wah/mechanical.
also, i am on facebook at ' wah wah by joe gagan' --- please come and share your experiences there as well if you have time!

[wgc]

I've seen some improvement by rotating the pin (63) 90 deg or so. Sometimes they develop a flat spot where it hits the flat spring underneath.  Also you get a little more travel if you trim some height off the rubber stops near the switch.

[joegagan]

I've seen some improvement by rotating the pin (63) 90 deg or so. Sometimes they develop a flat spot where it hits the flat spring underneath.  Also you get a little more travel if you trim some height off the rubber stops near the switch.

awesome, those are both great tips. i assume you back the axle out of its hole past the knurl to rotate.

for removing the axle on wah:

1. loosen the tensioner strap as loose as you can, but leave the nuts on the screws, no need to remove them.
2. get the wah resting sideways on cloths and wood shims to avoid scratching. identify where the axle knurl is so you tap the axle OUT the reverse direction it went IN.
3. use a proper ' drift' or punch of slightly smaller than axle diameter. make one out of a quality bolt or hinge pin if necessary. the diameter is important  - too small has a tendency to ' mushroom' the axle in it's hole.
4. don't hammer too long - if it doesn't come out easy stop and try a little PB blaster or other penetrating oil to loosen it up. if you use these be sure and remove any trace of it with alcohol or lacquer thinner before reinserting axle.
5. double or triple layers of duct tape surrounding the axle hole will prevent finish chipping/ marring  if you slip while driving the axle back in. you may also find the same drift that removed the axle is helpful in the last few hammer blows getting the axle seated  back in it's holes.

similar rules apply for removing the little pin that holds the rack gear. first, use a pair of channellocks set to a proper jaw opening to push the pin flush with standoff, then use a specially prepped punch, again just barely smaller than the pin - i use a cut off eyeglass screwdriver with the end ground blunt for proper pushing and a very slight taper to prevent it getting stuck in the hole. once the pin is sticking out a few mm, you should be able to gently grab it and pull straight out. do not twist, as this usually just goes to crap.
i often use the channel locks to also push & reset the pin after swapping the rack gear.

note on the tensioner spring bolts: on certain mid 80s to early 90s dunlops, the shell castings were thin, causing the tension to bow the shell metal toward treadle at the screw heads. use  a couple stacked fender washers to spread the load out and allow proper tension on those screws if needed.

[wgc]

Yeah, you'll have a hell of a time rotating this while it's still pressed in. I use the way you described below.

Also if you trim the pads you might want to lower your switch height a little bit too. 

Might go without saying, but just in case:  Loosen the switch outside nut a bit farther than you want, then raise the inside nut to the height you want. Tighten the outside nut, and check. It may take a few times to get it where you want it but its not that hard.

[joegagan]

Yeah, you'll have a hell of a time rotating this while it's still pressed in. I use the way you described below.

Also if you trim the pads you might want to lower your switch height a little bit too. 

Might go without saying, but just in case:  Loosen the switch outside nut a bit farther than you want, then raise the inside nut to the height you want. Tighten the outside nut, and check. It may take a few times to get it where you want it but its not that hard.

agree 100%
also, great tips on switch height. i also spin the inner nut UP to the height from the inside. you can get really close to the final height while switch is loose, if you set the outer nut to where the switch switches VERY hard by hand, then raise the inner nut up tight, the final tightening of the outer nut gets a really good setting.

*you can even use a tiny screwdriver and little hammer to tap the inside nut into a tight position, place the screwdriver on the outer edge of the nut side)