Tried to post before but not too bright here.
On second build and find that using Waverly`s in the pre drilled holes in the head stock will not seat properly. Filled holes with 5/16 Birch dowel, drilled 3/16 holes for tuners, used 60 and 100 countersinks. Found the Birch in end grain seemed too hard for the tuners to seat well. Seemed a softer wood that would allow for some smushing (Luthier`s term I`m sure) to seat and get a better feel might be better.
Any suggestions? I thought to use Mahogany plugs in cross grain since many Uke necks are made of Mahogany.
Help and thanks. Really getting a lot from this site.
Replies
I'm scratching my head trying to understand what you mean by "won't seat"???
Is the tuner body not sitting flat to the back of the headstock?
Are the bushings not sitting all the way down into the holes from the front of the headstock?
hopefully this photo will help you describe for us what is not fitting down well??
Wow, you guys are really trying to help and thanks thanks. Problem is more with my descriptions and assumptions than anything else. Im mounting Waverly friction tuners on a Uke. Roughed out neck with Head Stock at 1/2" thick came from Mainland Ukes with peg holes pre drilled at 5/16" for each of the four friction pegs included. Friction pegs were uuh, not great. Ok, all was not very expensive so pegs pretty much as can be expected. Pegs just didn`t work so bought a set of Waverly Uke friction pegs from StewMac. Now, with the Waverly barrel diameters and the champher angles on pegs at 60 and 100 degrees the 5/16 holes were too large for the pegs to seat. I glued 5/16 dowels into the original predrilled holes, then center drilled the dowels at 3/16 for the peg shafts. Then countersunk these 3/16 holes with the 60 and 100 .That`s when I went through the Birch dowel etc etc described in the original post. Birch countersunk holes and bottom chrome peg ends mate perfectly at 60 degrees but chrome against Birch would only hold if adjustment screw was tightened so much that could barely turn them.
Have string directions right etc
and found the friction of the hard Birch and Chrome ends of the pegs, though matched with the countersunk needed over tightening to hold.
I know I have a lot to learn about describing operations and may still not be there yet.
http://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_and_Parts/Tuning_Machines/Ukulele/W...
So to get them to hold with enough friction you have to crank the central axis screw down so much that you can barely turn the tuning peg? Something's not quite right, then. IIRC, Stew-Mac sells a countersink reamer for Uke friction tuners. You actually want to have a slight taper so that the chamfers on the barrel and the top ring have something to bind against.
If those still don't work, you might want to send them back, and try these instead:
http://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_and_Parts/Tuning_Machines/Ukulele/W...
Twice the cost of the first set, but they will definitely work better and be more stable than any friction tuners. I thought you were using these, so didn't understand.
Or go cheaper (why Waverlys on a cheaper uke?), and get a set of sealed gear tuners from Mainland Ukes at $21.95 for a set of 4, if you're not absolutely wedded to friction tuners. FTs are a pisser to deal with and get right.
Yes. Used Waverly frictions because wanted less mechanical look with a cigar box, bit more traditional. Not a cheap Uke, and sounds great with Western Red Cedar top replacing box back, Spruce bracing and floated fret board over top. Am using proper 100 degree counter sink (same as StewMac.) and will make it work. Perhaps will trade look for ease of use and accuracy in tuning for future builds. Bought two sets of Waverlys so will press on. Thanks to all for interest. I really enjoy building these cigar box instruments and following your various posts on different aspects of building. Lots of experience here.
OK, Understand your desire for trad look. I really hope these work for you. I took a look at Mainland Ukes website, and couldn't find any ukes over $400, which is why I said "cheaper." There are ukes out there running in the thousands, which was the basis for my comparison, and why I wondered about putting expensive Waverlys on one. And now I get that you apparently purchased one of their necks, and mated it to a cigar box. And that you countersunk the holes correctly. So am at a loss as to why they don't appear to be working as smoothly as they should, based on your description. I have a couple of 50's ukes lying around with friction tuners, and have played several banjos with same ( not cheap ones, either), and they all seem to need to be cranked tight within an inch of their lives to stay on, and still provide relatively stable tuning. Which is why I'd personally rather not futz with them.
I`m done. Will get mechanical with wood knobs.
Thanks to all.
I`m convinced, too much hassle for poor result.
Add photos with the description whenever possible. :-)
Type or hardness of wood should have no impact on a tuner peg. Pics would help, but make sure you install them so that the strings are pulling the shaft gear into the worm gear... basically, you want the star looking gear towards the nut. Otherwise, I suppose it's possible that the string tension will pull the shaft gear away from the worm gear and strip it... eventually.
Uh oh... How important is this gear shaft wrong way 'round thing?
I'm part way through my first build, and in an effort to get a straight pull on the strings through the nut, my plan ended up with an odd mix of left/right tuners, with the 2nd one gear-away-from nut. The only consistent thing is, I think, they all wind "backwards"..
Do I need to rework it? (The drawing is x-ray view from front.)
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