Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Timothy Hunter on February 11, 2023 at 5:46am

Taff will know better than me , but as far as i know the wood tuners aer tapered so are the holes they go into. Friction is what holds the string in tune.

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on February 11, 2023 at 8:52am

Hi, thanks Tim, if one follows the steps for fitting violin pegs and has the correct timber and correct reamer, no problems.

Its always possible without the above, Im sure others have done it, but if you have the time…… oh! and a set of fine tuners go for it. Tim’s answer was spot on.

Taff

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Permalink Reply by Engblom on February 11, 2023 at 11:14am

I agree with Taffy about the fine tuners. When I tune my violin it feels like I do not have enough precision to tune by just turning the wooden pegs. I have put a tiny amount of bow rosin on the pegs to add a bit more of friction. Because of the higher tension of guitar strings I think this could be a good trick if you go the wooden peg route.

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Permalink Reply by BrianQ. on February 11, 2023 at 12:00pm

The thing that makes friction tuners fail is too soft of wood in the headstock or too soft of tuner material? That’s why they use Ebony & Rosewood for tuners on violins, they’re really dense & have great tone quality? Good luck, keep us posted on your progress! 

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on February 11, 2023 at 3:19pm

Oh, I forgot to mention, a peg-shaping tool aids precision, however, you can get geared violin pegs which would overcome the friction problem.
Taff

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Permalink Reply by John B Treutlein on February 12, 2023 at 8:35pm

I encountered the glitch I heard of! It won’t post my reply unless I go to html editor,lost my post but any way in short I said I like the wood tuners because I like wood

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on February 13, 2023 at 7:44pm

Hi, if you are up for a compromise what about tuner with wooden buttons. I have an idea for wood tuners that do not use the violin style of peg fitting. I give it a try and get back.
Taff.

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Permalink Reply by BrianQ. on February 14, 2023 at 5:42am

Whatever you do, don’t use softwoods, they’ll spin right off? Oak is a good place to start for tuning pegs & tuner buttons, making tuning pegs requires patience & skill, but not the best for spot on tuning when you’ve got more than one string? That’s the down side of wood tuners! 

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on February 14, 2023 at 10:36am

Hi, as Brian points out these pegs would be hard to fine-tune, the taper on the shaft needs to match the taper in the peghead for a good grip, and that's where violin fine tuners would help. Also, the peghead material should be hardwood too.

These types of instruments I get for repair suffer tuning problems over time. I'm glad the customer had to live with this one, haha.
Taff

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on February 14, 2023 at 8:31pm

Hi John, as promised I did have a stab at using a wood tuner without using the traditional method of fitting, but getting a good grip against the string tension.

This is my first Mk1 model, I have a weight hanging on the string and it's holding fine, but I'm going to add a dial gauge and see what string pull/poundage it will grip.

Cheers Taff

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on February 15, 2023 at 6:41pm

Hi again, ok so the peg held that string at twenty pounds today.

Next, I'll make my own peg and try this method of fitting to make sure it's easily doable, or at least challenging.
Taff

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Permalink Reply by John B Treutlein on February 17, 2023 at 6:19pm

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