#1 resource for Cigar Box Guitars, Free Plans, How-To, Parts & More!

New Diddley Bow - tuning peg

Built my first diddly bow - see:

the problem i'm having is that the tuning peg i made does not adjust the string to a small enough degree - it goes right through 4 notes on one turn!

any ideas?

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mungo Park on July 26, 2010 at 2:00pm

Maybe try a small diameter screw, then it will not lull so much string in one turn, just a quick thought. Or push a wedge under the can and as it goes up a little it will tighten the string. If you want I will mail you a single tuner. I have leftovers from making 3 stringers from 4 string mandolin tuners.
Cheers Ron.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Don Thompson on July 26, 2010 at 3:02pm

tuning???????????? we don't need no stinkin tunin!!!! Unless you are playing with the London Philharmonic, keep your day job, just play in whatever key it is that sounds best. Great job, don't sweat it, the original diddley bow was baling wire on the side of a house or mounted on some found board.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diddley_bow

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by BenBob on July 27, 2010 at 9:15am

I misread the title as "New Diddly Bow Tuning" which raises the question: shouldn't there be a group for that? Different tunings, chord charts, and tabs for Diddly Bows? Keni Lee Burgess could do a music theory series for it, etc.

Don Thompson said:

tuning???????????? we don't need no stinkin tunin!!!! Unless you are playing with the London Philharmonic, keep your day job, just play in whatever key it is that sounds best. Great job, don't sweat it, the original diddley bow was baling wire on the side of a house or mounted on some found board.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diddley_bow

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Don Thompson on July 27, 2010 at 1:56pm

http://www.mcld.co.uk/oddmu/danbau/
diddley bow with a whammy bar. Tuned one octave below middle C. Actually the style of playing is difficult to master. A diddley bow is a monochord same as a dan bau. With one string it is impossible to play chords.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Frank on July 31, 2010 at 8:46am

cheers Ron for your kind offer - i have got a few spare tuners already - dont really want to use them though, really like the utilitarian look, you know just build from the hardware shop!
will try a smaller bolt , hopefully that will do the trick. loving playing this bow

Mungo Park said:

Maybe try a small diameter screw, then it will not lull so much string in one turn, just a quick thought. Or push a wedge under the can and as it goes up a little it will tighten the string. If you want I will mail you a single tuner. I have leftovers from making 3 stringers from 4 string mandolin tuners.
Cheers Ron.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Roger Martin on July 31, 2010 at 9:39am

The age old problem with about any sort of home made tuners is the fact that they turn 1 to 1 .Which makes it very difficult to tune to any real degree.It's POSSIBLE but tough to hit the right spot without getting annoyed.
If I was going to build another screw type tuner I might try adding as 2nd screw INSIDE between the tuner itself and the nut.With the head of the screw riding just on top of the string.That way you could get the tuning close and then fine tune with the 2nd screw UP or down to get that final setting.
Think of a fiddle with the other tuners on the tail end for minute tunings.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by pi_r_squared on August 1, 2010 at 3:41pm

frank,

You could try something like this with the hardware you already have:

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/forum/topics/first-build-and-hi-from-a

sorry, the specific link to the pic got too long.

The part of each tuner that moves up and down the screw is just one of your "flange nuts" ground down so there's only one tab, and the spikes are ground off. One without the spikes is even easier, especially if you can get them pre-drilled.

You probably don't need the slot, i bet you could do the same thing with a hole drilled into the end of your bow, and leave enough screw sticking out to be able to tune it, as long as the string tension will keep the tab in the same orientation.

best of luck.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Tracy Kennedy on August 2, 2010 at 2:02am

Franks Comment......"The problem i'm having is that it goes right through 4 notes on one turn!......any ideas? "

If one turn goes through 4 notes.... maybe try 1/4 turn increments.

Dont mind me, its just redneck logic

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by BenBob on August 2, 2010 at 3:51am

I saw homemade tuners that weren't 1:1. The bolt went through a tailpiece, the string was attached to a wing nut, and a wing nut on the other end was the tuning key. I'm sure there were washers involved too.

Roger Martin said:

The age old problem with about any sort of home made tuners is the fact that they turn 1 to 1 .Which makes it very difficult to tune to any real degree.It's POSSIBLE but tough to hit the right spot without getting annoyed.
If I was going to build another screw type tuner I might try adding as 2nd screw INSIDE between the tuner itself and the nut.With the head of the screw riding just on top of the string.That way you could get the tuning close and then fine tune with the 2nd screw UP or down to get that final setting.
Think of a fiddle with the other tuners on the tail end for minute tunings.