Pointer washers for your LP knobs. Useless?

silverfrost1 · 09-30-2009, 08:37 AM

Are these pointer washers on eBay something useful? Are they for long shaft or short shaft pots? I have short shaft pots on my Les Paul. I wonder about clearance. But it would be nice to have a fixed point for my vol/tone adjustments, and not just guess.

FF_Pedals · 09-30-2009, 11:45 AM

It's just a washer so there isn't much clearance to worry about. The question to ask is if they're metric or imperial. There are some on ebay advertised for Gibson guitars but they only fit Epiphones. Of course I tried drilling the hole a bit bigger but I just wrecked it.

landsharkey · 09-30-2009, 11:49 AM

Stew-Mac looks cheaper.

C Squared · 09-30-2009, 01:35 PM

there's a few folks selling these on ebay

I use them on everything since it is very useful have a reference as you said

Some folks call 'em thumb-cutters, and some of them are sharp :O

Loserface300 · 09-30-2009, 09:22 PM

they add coolness and some helpfulness to your guitar.... cuase i want one

dennistruckdriver · 09-30-2009, 09:23 PM

They improve the tone %100!

captain tightpants · 09-30-2009, 09:26 PM

You shouldn't have any problem fitting them to whatever.

As for the sharp ones, just round the sharp edge over with some 320 grit sandpaper, it'll smooth them over, no worries!

vortexx · 10-02-2009, 07:26 AM

Or you can naturally smooth/age them with your fingers

Sandpaper is cheating!

elcajon64 · 10-02-2009, 10:31 AM

I put a set on my '78 Deluxe. They're subtle, but I like them a lot. I have yet to skin myself on them. BTW, they came from one of the big online guitar resource places and fit just fine on my original pots. I think they were about five bucks.

captain tightpants · 10-02-2009, 10:50 AM

I got mine from Wymore, something like a buck a piece, I bought a dozen.

PorkChop · 10-02-2009, 03:01 PM

I dig 'em.

Knarbens · 10-07-2009, 06:19 AM

I got the ones from allparts and they came quite "straight".
I left them that way! Not that useful in the reference thing,
but no thumb problems!

jake.unruh · 10-07-2009, 09:53 AM

To reply to your original post, silverfrost:
To agree with FF_Pedals they are next to nothing as far as clearance. And in full agreement, they are very subtle, but I think those are the kind of details that ultimate build up to make something really nice, IMHO.

A small sidebar/question for those who might know.
I bought a set for a '73 custom that i'm restoring. The trouble is, the original top hats weren't on it. I got a set of repro top hats, and the pointers don't clear the skirt of the knob. Anyone know if it sounds like my replacements are just a little too big, or if the pointers for the top hats were a little longer to clear the skirt?

(I really don't mean to swipe this post, it's just something I was curious about...and since we were already talking pointer washers...

)

09-30-2009, 08:37 AM	#1 (permalink)
silverfrost1 Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 51 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 1 Post	Pointer washers for your LP knobs. Useless? Are these pointer washers on eBay something useful? Are they for long shaft or short shaft pots? I have short shaft pots on my Les Paul. I wonder about clearance. But it would be nice to have a fixed point for my vol/tone adjustments, and not just guess.

09-30-2009, 11:45 AM	#2 (permalink)
FF_Pedals Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: London, Ontario Posts: 965 Thanks: 9 Thanked 9 Times in 5 Posts	Re: Pointer washers for your LP knobs. Useless? It's just a washer so there isn't much clearance to worry about. The question to ask is if they're metric or imperial. There are some on ebay advertised for Gibson guitars but they only fit Epiphones. Of course I tried drilling the hole a bit bigger but I just wrecked it.

09-30-2009, 11:49 AM	#3 (permalink)
landsharkey Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: IL Posts: 392 Thanks: 18 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Pointer washers for your LP knobs. Useless? Stew-Mac looks cheaper.

09-30-2009, 01:35 PM	#4 (permalink)
C Squared Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Waterbury, CT Posts: 2,321 Thanks: 135 Thanked 112 Times in 29 Posts	Re: Pointer washers for your LP knobs. Useless? there's a few folks selling these on ebay I use them on everything since it is very useful have a reference as you said Some folks call 'em thumb-cutters, and some of them are sharp :O

09-30-2009, 09:22 PM	#5 (permalink)
Loserface300 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Tampa, Florida Posts: 2,099 Thanks: 34 Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts	Re: Pointer washers for your LP knobs. Useless? they add coolness and some helpfulness to your guitar.... cuase i want one __________________ "When a Man Lies He Murders Some Part of the World These Are the Pale Deaths Which Men Miscall Their Lives All this I Cannot Bear to Witness Any Longer Cannot the Kingdom of Salvation Take Me Home?"

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09-30-2009, 09:23 PM	#6 (permalink)
dennistruckdriver No longer cares.... Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 21,423 Thanks: 327 Thanked 546 Times in 122 Posts	Re: Pointer washers for your LP knobs. Useless? They improve the tone %100!

09-30-2009, 09:26 PM	#7 (permalink)
captain tightpants V.I.P. Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Orland CA Posts: 5,773 Thanks: 81 Thanked 17 Times in 6 Posts	Re: Pointer washers for your LP knobs. Useless? You shouldn't have any problem fitting them to whatever. As for the sharp ones, just round the sharp edge over with some 320 grit sandpaper, it'll smooth them over, no worries! __________________

10-02-2009, 07:26 AM	#8 (permalink)
vortexx Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 267 Thanks: 6 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Pointer washers for your LP knobs. Useless? Or you can naturally smooth/age them with your fingers Sandpaper is cheating!

10-02-2009, 10:31 AM	#9 (permalink)
elcajon64 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Northern California Posts: 238 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Pointer washers for your LP knobs. Useless? I put a set on my '78 Deluxe. They're subtle, but I like them a lot. I have yet to skin myself on them. BTW, they came from one of the big online guitar resource places and fit just fine on my original pots. I think they were about five bucks.

10-02-2009, 10:50 AM	#10 (permalink)
captain tightpants V.I.P. Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Orland CA Posts: 5,773 Thanks: 81 Thanked 17 Times in 6 Posts	Re: Pointer washers for your LP knobs. Useless? I got mine from Wymore, something like a buck a piece, I bought a dozen. __________________

10-02-2009, 03:01 PM	#11 (permalink)
PorkChop Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 115 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Pointer washers for your LP knobs. Useless? I dig 'em.

10-07-2009, 06:19 AM	#12 (permalink)
Knarbens Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Germany Posts: 1,137 Thanks: 7 Thanked 43 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Pointer washers for your LP knobs. Useless? I got the ones from allparts and they came quite "straight". I left them that way! Not that useful in the reference thing, but no thumb problems! __________________ 1992 Orville Les Paul Standard Plaintop HCS work in progress 1959 Les Paul 3D model

10-07-2009, 09:53 AM	#13 (permalink)
jake.unruh Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 23 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Pointer washers for your LP knobs. Useless? To reply to your original post, silverfrost: To agree with FF_Pedals they are next to nothing as far as clearance. And in full agreement, they are very subtle, but I think those are the kind of details that ultimate build up to make something really nice, IMHO. A small sidebar/question for those who might know. I bought a set for a '73 custom that i'm restoring. The trouble is, the original top hats weren't on it. I got a set of repro top hats, and the pointers don't clear the skirt of the knob. Anyone know if it sounds like my replacements are just a little too big, or if the pointers for the top hats were a little longer to clear the skirt? (I really don't mean to swipe this post, it's just something I was curious about...and since we were already talking pointer washers... )

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