Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by turtlehead on May 16, 2015 at 9:42am

I did them on a banjo build and it was surprisingly easy with a decent reamer from Elderly and made the peg tapering jig using this guy's method.  Worked out great.

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on May 16, 2015 at 10:14pm

Do the end user a favour and just use geared ones mate. Friction pegs are a shit, even if you get em perfect, especially for children and beginners. You can make a nice looking violin head with geared tuners, look at dulcimers.
The best :)

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Permalink Reply by Michael Fred Johnson on May 17, 2015 at 12:30am

The Kid's right, I made a lute with a traditional peg box but soon converted it to geared tuners.The purists are probably horrified  

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Permalink Reply by Dane Donato on May 17, 2015 at 1:24am

I disagree with the Kid. Friction tuning pegs have been around for a very long time, and do a fine job. I've built about 4 gourd banjos with them, and they are not hard to use once you get used to them. 

Ebony violin pegs cost about $2.50 each from Stew Mac, and you will need a reamer as well. Or, if you want to spend a lot of money, I hear these are a great option. http://www.pegheds.com/index.htm.

They will run you about $150 for a set of four violin pegs, so costly. I expect to use a set for a 19th century guitar I have in the planning stages. 

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Permalink Reply by Bad Finger (Eric) on May 17, 2015 at 1:33am

Thanks guys.  I imagine friction tuners being similar to eye-bolts excepting for the tapered hole on the former.  

I may devise a way to do both with smaller geared tuners (or at least accommodations for them) slightly offset and deeper than the friction tuners.  Or maybe I could glue in the friction tuners for look and gear tuners for utility.  Hmmmm.

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Permalink Reply by Dane Donato on May 17, 2015 at 1:45am

Friction tuners, even with commercial ebony pegs, will be the least costly way to go, once you buy a good quality reamer. Factor in eventual wear on the holes themselves, of course, assuming the fiddle is used a lot and not just a wall hanger. If you use a relatively soft wood for the peghead like poplar, then I think you would run into perpetual tuning issues, but with a decent hardwood, they will work fine.

And try and be as accurate as you can in drilling the string hole in the peg. Using nylgut strings, I can tune very finely for my banjos. The violin world would have abandoned friction peg tuners long ago if they were so inferior to geared tuners, I think. Same with flamingo guitars and the rest of the viol family. And I think nothing is classier looking than the simple look of ebony peg tuners. The aesthetics of a musical instrument is important to me, speaking for myself of course. 

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on May 17, 2015 at 2:43am

Please note i never said that friction tuners don't work.  But they require maintenance and exacting fabrication and installation as you say, one will need a couple of new tools.  All that said it ought be obvious that a ratio is most definitely beneficial, it substantially reduces the effort required to turn the sucker, gives you a break (ie you don't have to hold it against resistive force as you turn it),  and it improves control at the same time.  Yes, there are families of instruments which have not adopted them en-masse and these are the very same ones where the most collectible, valuable and desirable specimens are several centuries old and which people are of course reluctant to modify in any way. Which leads to the big-dollar no-modification necessary planetary jobbies you've linked there (I've heard good things about them too)..  Also note how prevalent aftermarket fine-tuner mechanisms between the tailpiece and saddle are on violins these days, if you had geared tuners you wouldn't be adding parts at all..

I agree they look great.  But if it were for me i'd have the geared ones thanks, this is a cigar box fiddle eh :)  I've seen many nice folksy home made fiddles with guitar tuners.

ps.. avoid cheap planetary tuners (banjo ones basically) like the plague.  If you're not paying big bucks for em then use the plain old right angle worm gear ones, cheap planetary ones will fail on you very frequently. (well this is my experience anyhow)

the best.

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Permalink Reply by Bad Finger (Eric) on May 17, 2015 at 4:43am

Thanks for the tip on the banjo type tuners.  I was actually considering them as an option.

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Permalink Reply by Bad Finger (Eric) on May 17, 2015 at 4:44am

I plan to use maple for the peghead and neck.  I have some nice stuff on the shelf.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Morris on May 17, 2015 at 2:38am

After 16 fiddles, some CB and some self made boxes, I've gone back to traditional friction pegs since the geared tuners I've used in the past add unwanted weight to the end of the neck. I alway put fine tuners on the tailpiece like on the one that's on my recent vids. They're inexpensive and really help since even a properly reamed hole and tapered peg is difficult to make tiny incremental adjustments. I don't often disagree with Kid but all you have to do is look at the violin section in Symphony Orchestras all around the world to see that traditional pegs are hardly excrement. They work well but require some skill to fit them properly. Also some skill in the twist/push motion required to tune and tighten at the same time.

 

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Permalink Reply by Cause the Blue rat on May 17, 2015 at 4:35am

Awesome video Turtlehead! Got that one bookmarked. Your home made reamer has a REAL advantage. The thickness of the sandpaper wont allow you to make a loose peg. Great Job!

I have a violin with peg tuners. Took about a week to get used to using them. Also have fine tuners on tail piece. The combo works very well. 

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Permalink Reply by Bad Finger (Eric) on May 18, 2015 at 3:47am

I have a luthier friend locally who is going to help me with the friction pegs and reaming.  The fiddle will be 3/4 size so I have a couple Cohiba boxes that will work well, I think.

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