Vintage tuning pegs

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Hello, I just purchased a vintage harmony ukulele, and it came with wooden tuning pegs. I purchased it off ebay, so I was anxious about the true condition of the uke. It's in nice condition, but I noticed that when I turn the tuning pegs, two of them wont stay in place. I'll turn it to try to tune it, and it'll twist back really fast to where it was. Like a rubber band, almost. So I was wondering, if I bought newer tuners, would this solve the problem? Can you put metal tuners, such as these http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230555830137&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT on a vintage ukulele? Any help would be much appreciated!
 
Yeah sounds like they are a bit worn out. As long as the shaft size (length and width) is correct you can probably put about any tuning key on it. I personally am not a fan of friction pegs. But if original equipment is friction pegs probably should stick with them. Just measure how thick your peg head is and the diameter of the peg hole. If the dimensions are correct for that friction peg then ya they will fit fine. My concern would be the quality of the friction pegs from ebay. Hope this helps

- Dave
 
Thanks! Well, the pegs I have in there now are just plain ol wooden ones. But i've seen many harmony ukulele's of the same style with metal ones like this: http://i52.tinypic.com/2vryik0.jpg Sorry, I really don't know much about ukuleles and their functions. This is a gift for my boyfriend, ha.
But in this picture you can see the ukulele I purchased. You can sort of see the wooden pegs i'm speaking of. http://i52.tinypic.com/2u5f4w8.jpg
 
Hold on, I wouldn't replace those wood pegs just yet. I have wood pegs on a couple of my ukulele's and I really like them. They are lighter than metal friction tuners and those vintage metal and plastic tuners on Harmony ukes are of marginal quality. It is also likely that you would have to do some drilling of the current holes to fit new friction pegs.

First, have you tried pushing them into the head of the uke a bit? Wood pegs are tapered so if they are a bit loose usually all one has to do is hold the headstock with your fingers and push the peg up a little tighter with your thumb. Just a bit usually does it and then you are good to play your heart out....or it is ready for your boyfriend to play.

The other thing is that a wood peg can get a little slick where it makes contact with the head of the uke, thus not creating enough friction to hold in place. If that is the case one can remove the peg, lightly sand the peg and even the hole where they make contact, and reinstall. Here is instructions on doing that. http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Musician/Ukulele/WoodUkePeg/index.html

However, I bet if you push those pegs in a bit your problem will be solved (since you have two pegs that hold fine!) Let me know how it goes.
 
By the way, what a great girlfriend! My wife bought me my first uke and now I am totally hooked!
 
Hold on, I wouldn't replace those wood pegs just yet. First, have you tried pushing them into the head of the uke a bit? Wood pegs are tapered so if they are a bit loose usually all one has to do is hold the headstock with your fingers and push the peg up a little tighter with your thumb. Just a bit usually does it ....

I second this suggestion. Unless the peghead is really hogged out (the holes no longer round or made considerably larger and no longer tapered) his method should work. I wouldn't go drilling for new tuners just yet. The uke looks to be in great shape judging from the picture. What a cool gift.
 
Aw, thank you. He plays a ton of instruments and the ukulele is pretty much the only one he doesn't have, so I knew he'd love it! I will give the sanding a try, for sure. Sometimes if I push the pegs in while trying to tune it, they will stay, but other times they will slip. It's more of an annoyance than anything, I think. I just don't want him to try to tune it and think to himself "why would she have given me such an annoying instrument!" But then again, it is a vintage, so I guess upkeep comes with having something so old. I may go pick up some aquila strings today and give it a go! Thank you for your feedback!
 
I agree w/the other suggestions: keep the orig. pegs if possible.

If not, those eBay pegs work OK. I put a set of them on my soprano Eleuke pineapple and am satisfied with them. I wouldn't try them on a concert nor tenor (higher string tension).
 
Also, as you see in that article, a little plain chalkboard chalk can help to create more friction. I tried it on one of my ukulele's and it worked great!
 
In the process of taking the strings off now, and two of the strings at the bottom are stuck in there. If i were to just cut the string and leave the tiny knot inside, do you think it would be an issue in the future? I've been pulling and pulling, even tried pliers, and they are stuck pretty good in there!
 
Aloha Ellerevillelejour,
Welcome to the UU and our forums and the ukulele...You have a nice antique Harmony in very good condition, I would advise not to change or butcher the uke.. it probally is a relativally easy fix as others
have siad..the friction tuners are just slipping...I'd just try and push the pegs further in the slots to tighten the friction since it's tapered..and that should do it...you could rough up the pegs with some
sandpaper but I wouldn't do so...but a good cleaning might help..and I would not shim the hole witn any string or paper as it may be hard for turning and adjusting...If you cannot do it yourself, take it
to a music store and let them show you how easly it can be done...Again my first bet is to push the pegs into the slots for more tighter friction and that should do it....if your holes or pegs have uneven
wear, that could be the problem too, both must be round to have even contact for the best friction....Good Luck! I hope it helps, if not let us know!!! MM Stan..
 
..deleted. Sorry about that.
 
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Old knots definitely have to be gone. Patience is key, it's a little elderly person of an instrument, so take your time.
 
In the process of taking the strings off now, and two of the strings at the bottom are stuck in there. If i were to just cut the string and leave the tiny knot inside, do you think it would be an issue in the future? I've been pulling and pulling, even tried pliers, and they are stuck pretty good in there!

I have had that happen when removing strings which have been on a uke for a very long time. Sounds like you are doing it right, keep working them by holding the uke on a padded but firm surface and pulling the string in the opposite direction from which it has been oriented, i.e. toward the bottom of the uke, opposite the fretboard. Keep working it back and forth, wiggle it, and eventually it will come loose. I wouldn't leave the old knot in there as it would make it hard to get the new string in properly, and set a new knot.

It is a good idea when doing this to have some protection on the uke, such as a dish towel or two. Keep going, you are almost done!
 
Whew, thanks for the words of encouragement. I Finally got the stuck strings off. I noticed that after taking off the tuning pegs, one of them looks damaged. There's some type of dent/small gash in it. I wonder if i'll be able to fix it after sanding it down a tiny bit. But so far, so good. I've made a lot of progress after reading everyones suggestions. Much much much appreciated!
 
Can you take a picture and post it here and than we can advise.....stay with it, you will have it finished before you know it!
 
Hmmm....just trying to think how that could have happened to the peg......Is that one that slipped? I bet the reason it closed on top is that over time, as the wood shrank those two sides moved in toward one another....not a big deal. I would advise against trying to sand out that ding as that will change the size of the peg, causing it not to fit as well. I would go ahead and just try a light sanding just in the area where the peg makes contact with the headstock, and perhaps a little chalk if you can get some, to increase friction.

I look forward to an update!
 
I'm old fashioned so the idea of changing away from those wooden pegs would be a crime. I good luthier can make new ones if necessary. If you can't find someone who works with Ukes locally, look for a violin/cello guy, they all use tapered wooden pegs. I made my own years ago for a violin so the I'm guessing it wouldn't be that hard for a pro.
 
I'm old fashioned so the idea of changing away from those wooden pegs would be a crime. I good luthier can make new ones if necessary. If you can't find someone who works with Ukes locally, look for a violin/cello guy, they all use tapered wooden pegs. I made my own years ago for a violin so the I'm guessing it wouldn't be that hard for a pro.

I agree Rick! I just had beautiful rosewood violin pegs installed in a very old uke I have. It had wood pegs originally. At some point someone drilled out the holes and put in mechanical friction pegs. Not only did it look wrong for the uke, but it added a bunch of weight to the head, which on a very light soprano made a big difference. Problem was the holes had to be plugged, re-drilled, and than tapered to fit the new pegs. That cost a fair amount from a high end violin/cello luthier. That is why I suggest keeping it original if at all possible.

I like to keep vintage uke's as original as possible as I feel like we are just custodians of these instruments. They have outlasted many owners and hopefully will outlast us!
 
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