Volume and Tone Knobs

[Musicman]

I recently purchased a new 2004 R7 and have a question regarding the volume and tone knobs. I don't know if I should post here but here goes. I was wiping down my guitar yesterday and noticed one of the tone knobs had some movement when pushed back and forth. Then I checked the others and noticed they moved slightly but not as much at the bridge tone knob. It doesn't appear to be the nut being loose, it's more the post/shaft from the pot. I know there has been issues with the knobs themselves cracking but I don't think that is the problem.

My questions are:

1) Are these pot shafts supposed to have some play side to side?
2) What do the cracked knobs look like and could this be the problem?
3) Are the knobs supposed to pull up and down too?
4) Are the tone knobs supposed to sit higher up off the top then the volume?

Sorry if theses questions seem silly but I've never owned a Historic Les Paul and want to know if this is ok or common.

Thanks... :sc

 

[JTR]

Alright, you havent had much response so here's my 2 cents, the knobs are pushed on to the pot shafts and it could be cracked underneath or not properly pushed on. Go ahead and pull them off carefully and check for damage, check that the nuts on the pot shafts are snug. The tone knobs should not sit higher but they are just pushed on and may not be on all the way.

 

[gmann]

When you get the knobs off, you will notice that your pots have a split shaft. Gently pry these apart. It sounds to me like your knobs are not snug. Prying the split shaft apart will cause your knobs to fit tighter.

 

[GlassSnuff]

There may be some up and down movement of the shaft, it might even feel 'spring loaded'. Side to side, you shouldn't feel enough play to be worth mentioning.

 

[smoking guns]

and while you're at it, check the jack mounting nut - they have been known to be loose on new guitars