View Full Version : Friction peg slipping
Byrdmando
Jul-18-2009, 11:12am
I have a 30 dollar Uke for my son to play with. The problem is that one friction peg is always slipping and does not come near staying in tune.
How do you fix that?
Thank you in advance.
Byrd
Mike Romkey
Jul-18-2009, 11:14am
Go to a music shop and buy some peg dope. I forget what it's called, but I have use some with my violin from time to time. (Unless it's some kind of mechanical friction peg, in which case I have no idea.)
Find some used guitar/or other stringed inst tuners and install on uke. This will make accurate tuning possible.
mandroid
Jul-18-2009, 11:40am
some have a screw thru the button l I have some Grover makes, like that,
they increase friction that way ..
Uke tuners are not too costly for the set of 4.
Byrdmando
Jul-18-2009, 11:54am
Thanks guys. As always, loads of help here.
Byrd
SincereCorgi
Jul-18-2009, 1:22pm
You mean like a friction tuner and not like a violin peg, right? Peg dope is usually used for violin or flamenco-guitar style pegs.
I work in a shop where a fair amount of cheap older ukes come in with this problem- I usually disassemble the tuners and give them a gentle chem clean (this can damage some platings, so be careful) then oil the insides of the tuners so they can do their job properly (this may seem counterintuitive). This works %90 of the time.
-Trevor
mandolinplucker
Jul-18-2009, 11:48pm
I changed out the friction tuners on all of my ukes to geared tuners. I know it ain't traditional but at least they stay in tune.
John Flynn
Jul-19-2009, 7:26am
You mean like a friction tuner and not like a violin peg, right? Peg dope is usually used for violin or flamenco-guitar style pegs.
I work in a shop where a fair amount of cheap older ukes come in with this problem- I usually disassemble the tuners and give them a gentle chem clean (this can damage some platings, so be careful) then oil the insides of the tuners so they can do their job properly (this may seem counterintuitive). This works %90 of the time.
-Trevor
Trevor:
What cleaner do you use for the chem clean and what lubricant do you use for the lube?
SincereCorgi
Jul-19-2009, 11:20am
I give grungier tuners a brief dip in the trumpet baths. That's a fairly industrial solvent (they used to use muriatic acid, this new stuff seems like something just as bad but more legal) and can slightly discolor certain kinds of plating. Since you probably don't have that at hand, a soak in Simple Green and a scrub with a toothbrush would probably be good. For lubrication I suggest a little bit of Tri-Flow once they're clean and dry. Shouldn't take you more than fifteen minutes. Good luck!
-Trevor
Paul Hostetter
Jul-19-2009, 8:02pm
Boy! Sorry, but what a bunch of weird answers. Even ultra-cheapo 1:1 tuners can be made to work well. If the screw tension doesn't do it (I can only assume that's been tried!), it usually means the screw is too long and is bottoming out in the shaft. File a bit off the end of the screw and try again. These are extremely primitive and yet useful tuners. Making them work is not rocket science.
Bill Halsey
Jul-19-2009, 8:22pm
For reasonably well-fit violin pegs, nothing else I've found works nearly as well nor for as long as talcum powder (magnesium silicate). Just dunk the peg into talc, tap off the excess, and replace it lightly into its hole while constantly turning it in the same direction (not back & forth). If necessary, any tendency to jerk or bind can be corrected with a very light stroke or two along the peg with hard bar soap. Again, return the peg to its hole while turning in the same direction until it works satisfactorily. Take out the peg to wipe off the excess, then put it back in and tune up. You probably won't have to service the peg again for a very long time.
Paul Hostetter
Jul-19-2009, 9:59pm
But it is (as they say) a lead pipe cinch that no budget uke in the 21st century (or even most of the 20th) has violin-style friction pegs. They would instead have one of these:
http://www.musiccorner.co.uk/images/gr1027.jpg
Perhaps the OP will enlighten us.
EdHanrahan
Jul-23-2009, 12:11pm
If the screw tension doesn't do it ... usually means the screw is too long and is bottoming out in the shaft. File a bit off the end ...
Paul:
No, not the OP here, but: THANKS - I think you hit my problem on the head! Uke works well enough, sortta, but I had been considering the geared tuners from StewMac:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Ukulele_tuners.html
But this s/b an easy fix. Thanks again!
Byrdmando
Jul-23-2009, 12:21pm
Paul,
The tuner you showed is correct. Thank everyone for all the help. Just took a little turn of the screw at the end of the tuner and good as new (or better than new because it slipped from the day I brought her home.)
Sort of funny that it never occured to me to tighten the screws but I just didnt know that is how they work. Live and learn.
Byrd
Paul Hostetter
Jul-23-2009, 1:08pm
Glad it worked. Don't forget Bill's suggestion of talcum powder, in case you ever run into violin-style tuners. It's a pretty good way to go with them.
Stew-Mac sells a planetary peg that's better than any of their other options, certainly guitar-style gears that stick out sideways, but they only market it for dulcimers. They happen to be very well suited for ukes, for the player who needs more bling or can't have enough control with the 1:1's:
http://www.stewmac.com/product_images/1lg/5013/Five-Star_Dulcimer_Tuning_Pegs_Detail.jpg (http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Dulcimer_tuners/Five-Star_Dulcimer_Tuning_Pegs.html)
Click on the image to see the details. They look like the usual 5-Star banjo pegs but they're much shorter.
I have several ukes, all of them have either 1:1 mechanical friction pegs or, on a couple of original Martins, straight violin-style pegs. They all work great. I've never felt the need for geared anything.
Keep in mind that, while those geared are nice n' easy to use, they will make a soprano top heavy, and look funny. I've had the 5-Star Planetary pegs as above on one concert size uke, and it was ok, but on a soprano, it's a bit overkill/heavy.
If you really need the look, and have a nice uke(not the case here, I understand..), you may want to investigate Pegheds. Planetary tuners that look like ebony violin tuners, ultra light.
http://www.pegheds.com/
Having said all that, I prefer regular old friction tuners like these-http://elderly.com/images/accessories/MIPT/GUKGB.jpg
Or these.
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l249/Neal922/Glyph/nealtestfit.jpg