Broken potentiometer shafts

Here's a Les Paul who's owner prefers the look of Tele Custom style volume & tone control knobs.  Not a bad option until a while later they go wobbly and off-centre because they're a set-screw, solid shaft type that don't fit properly over the typical splined shaft of a Les Paul or Strat.  Once removed, the two tone control shafts were broken as a result of the set screw and the volume controls were obviously destined for the same result.

In order to keep the original controls intact ~ and to have the guitar ready for a fast approaching gig ~ a workable solution had to be found.  The intact volume shafts were an easy fix/mod.  Inserting a 1/16" piece of metal cut to fit the gap in the splined shaft is an effective repair that is easily reversible.  You can see how the lop-sided knob has dug in to the maple cap, which won't be a factor after this.  For the tone controls pictured above, however, I had to think outside the box...

It needed a small piece of sculpted 3/16" diameter steel rod to complete the missing 2/3 of the shaft, effectively making it a solid shaft.  Where to find such a thing without driving across town to the industrial metal supply store to ask for scrap?  Peg Board hangers!  They are the exact diameter required and also have a protective coating that prevents corrosion.  The added bonus is the little blue rubber ends ~ they fit perfectly snug over the 9v adapter cable train to stop shorting out of the unused terminals of my pedalboard.  For a package that was less than $2CDN at the local hardware store, this is a great find!

After some persuasion with a hacksaw, vice grips,  sander, file and some super glue, the solid shaft was established.  Granted, this can't be used with the original knobs but for this particular instrument it's all about function and less about fuss!