Clicking when tuning.

[David Herring]

I had a clicking when tuning g string. I assumed it was a nut problem and fiddled around but couldnt resolve it. Then I remembered old trick Dad taught me when working on engines. The old 'stick in the ear' trick. A 30cm piece of 13mm dowel put on the nut and held against bone at ear (not in ear) soon tracked clicking to barrel of tuner not nut after all. This simple trick can track almost any unusual noise on your guitar. Thanks Dad.

[Mark McLean]

Great tip! I have a few old stethoscopes in a drawer and have sometimes used them to track down problems around the house (but, so far, not in guitars). The dowel trick sounds really clever. I presume you place it against the mastoid bone, just behind the ear?

[Dave M]

I too had heard of this but never tried it. Sounds like it could be really useful for pinning down odd rattles.

Thanks for posting.

[David Herring]

Great tip! I have a few old stethoscopes in a drawer and have sometimes used them to track down problems around the house (but, so far, not in guitars). The dowel trick sounds really clever. I presume you place it against the mastoid bone, just behind the ear?

Yes works for me.

[Crafty Fox]

I had a burst water pipes under the concrete floor at home recently and cut a smallish hole to find both hot and cold water supplies.
I used that stick method to determine which of the two pipes was the culprit.

[kiwigeo]

An old plumbers trick. Leaky mains pipes can be located by resting a shovel on the ground and sticking the end of the handle against your ear.

I had a burst water pipes under the concrete floor at home recently and cut a smallish hole to find both hot and cold water supplies.
I used that stick method to determine which of the two pipes was the culprit.

[Crafty Fox]

It was the old plumber who cut the hole in my tiled floor then found two pipes together!
I just employed the trusty stick trick in the hope he wouldn't bash more holes through my tiled floor.