Replacing the Pot in a Pedal

Rick Jolley · Post by **Rick Jolley** » 11 Mar 2006 6:10 pm

The cleaner only works for a while...sooner or later you have to replace the pot, which I just did, and I thought I'd pass on some learnings.

The pedal is an OLD Dekley Low Boy, and I think the pot was the original. The set-screw on the pulley was almost impossible to get off -- I actually broke one allen wrench trying. I soaked the screw in WD-40 and that didn't help. Finally, I soaked two times with contact cleaner and really leaned on the wrench and it came loose. They had put loc-tight on the screw!! I think they did that because the shaft was perfectly round, and they probably had problems with it slipping.

The pot I got from Tom Bradshaw -- a Jim Dunlop "Hot Potz -- One million cycles -- has a flat spot on the shaft, so you don't have to crank the set screw down so tight. It works perfectly -- the volume control is totally silent, but then, I am using it with my Session 400 LTD which isolates the pedal from the PSG signal.

Another tip for do-it-yourselfers. The cord on these pulley jobs will slip, especially after you take it off and re-wrap it. First of all, take note of the direction that the cord wraps around the pulley. Otherwise, you'll spend 20 minutes figuring that out again.

Secondly, you should get some powdered rosin -- I got a pitcher's bag at a sporting goods place -- and sprinkle some of that on the cord and on the pulley. If you have a sealed pot (which this one is) you won't have to worry about getting that rosin inside the pot. The pulley will reset itself to "up in front is off" when you work the pedal.

Good luck,

------------------
Rick Jolley

(Rick Zahniser/Rickey Zahn)
Dekley S10 3/3, Session400LTD
http://belizenorth.com

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 14 Mar 2006 10:39 am

Good job, Rick! An easier way to treat the cord (to keep it from slipping) is to coat it with wax. I do that by just "sawing" the cord through a candle a few times. That also makes it waterproof, and prevents any fraying.

Michael Garnett · Post by **Michael Garnett** » 14 Mar 2006 11:44 am

I tried fixing pots for years and found this method to be better when changing pots.

1.) Throw your pot pedal in the trash.
2.) Call Keith Hilton.
3.) Cuss yourself for about a month on why you ever tried changing a pot or repairing one in the first place.
4.) Never change a pot again.

/I keed, I keed.

-MG

Rick Jolley · Post by **Rick Jolley** » 17 Mar 2006 9:26 am

Donny, that's a good suggestion. The cord was indeed frayed (no surprise if it's 20 years old, and the wax would help that, and would also hold the rosin so you had a really "gripper" surface on that cord.
Mike, if I had $100 extra I'd buy another Squier Mini -- the bridge on my Jagstang is worn out. Of course the Hilton is the real solution, but it's just an "impossible dream" right now.

RZ