I had put up on the old Tascam forum how to replace the hubs using NEW 1/2" hubs. Unfortunately that forum is gone, I can't recall everything involved but basically if you are good with your hands and tools, order a new set of 1/2" hubs off of ebay to start with. I have dealt with the fellow in Texas that sells them and have had very good luck. When you get the new set, remove the existing hubs from the MS-16. If you look at them (the old set) very closely, you will see that there is a 1/2" hub attached to a approx 3/8" spacer on the bottom.
The very first thing to do is put one of the hold down screws into the old adapter and measure approximately how much screw in sticking through the adapter. Or you can count the number of threads. Remember this dimension.
Take something with a thin edge, like a semi sharp knife, and begin working the old hub loose from the spacer. Be careful that you don't hurt yourself. It will a take a while but if you are careful and slowly work your way around the entire hub, you will be able to separate it from the spacer. You will see that it wasn't glued but was held together by three steel dowel pins.
If you look at your new hubs, you should see 3 holes on the bottom side for the dowels, even though it was intended for 1/2" machines. I believe that you will need to enlarge the 3 holes in the new adapters just a bit. I am sorry but I can't remember exactly what size I enlarged the holes to but it wasn't much larger than factory. I remember putting a micrometer on one of the pins to determine what size they were. If you have a set of drill bits, you should be able to drop a dowel into the drill bit index holes until you find a bit that is slightly oversized. Use that size bit to enlarge the 3 holes in each new hub adapter. Drive the dowel pins into the holes and attach the spacers. Drive everything together with a couple of wacks with a hammer with a piece of wood on top of the adapter. Now, stick one of the hold down screws into the center hole. It will be a bit short I think because it appears the a new mold was used to inject the current adapters and the flange is at a higher elevation. You will need to head down to your local hardware and buy a couple of new screws that will project through the rebuilt adapters about the same distance as they did in the originals. The machine screws are metric btw. Also put a flat washer under the screws.
That's it. You now have yourself a brand new pair of HUB adapters for your MS-16.
But don't do as the dummy did with your machine and over torque the hubs on a reel of tape. IOW, don't tighten them as far a they will go. It doesn't take very much presure to holddown a reel of tape. Also never leave a reel torgued down when not using the machine.
Good Luck,
Danny
