WTT vintage barrel tuners for Martin wood pegs

I acquired this set of barrel tuners for the purpose of upgrading a vintage Martin, but have decided to look for a set of original Martin wood pegs instead. Most will agree that the barrel tuners (I don't know the manufacturer) are superior tuners. I just want to be authentic, and so my obsessiveness can be your gain. If you have a set of wooden pegs like the ones pictured here (not the type with the slotted ends), and would like to trade, please drop me a note. I need 8 pegs in total, so there will be more horse-trading, if this works out. Thanks for looking!

One more pic of the type of peg I'm looking for

Hi Ernie, I've used violin tuners in the past, the work nicely and look great. They could be worth a look if you have no luck finding originals.

I have installed peg heads in the WWII vintage Martins I have. They went right in without modifications. They look like wood pegs and are much easier to use. Although a properly fitted wood peg is not that difficult to use.

Camsuke & Spongeuke- Thanks, I have a David Newton cigar box uke with violin tuners and I love Pegheds, but the piece I'm having restored is such a rare bird that I really want to do it as authentically as possible. There's no hurry, so I'll keep my fingers crossed. I know a lot of players don't like the old wooden pegs, and prefer to upgrade the tuners on their old Martins, so I'm optimistic. Thanks again for the recommendations!

Ernie,

I have a set of Martin pegs.

Phil

Hi Phil- those are the ones! Woo-Hoo! Are you interested in swapping?

Still looking for a set of wooden tuners, and still have the barrel tuners to trade!
Thanks!

Martin pegs

Are the wooden pegs you want brown or black? When doing an authentic restoration, it does not matter what looks similar, and works better (PEGHEDS), you do want the original equipment. The ones I have are of an unknown ancestry.

What is the length of the original Martin peg ? How different are they from violin pegs ?

The CraftedCow- All of the one's I've seen have been brown. If you want to send a pic of the pegs you have, I can probably tell if they're from a Martin or not.
Pukulele Pete- I don't know the exact length I'm afraid, but I can find out. The only difference of consequence from violin pegs is that vintage Martin pegs are original Martin ukulele equipment, and violin pegs aren't. 8^) In many cases, I wouldn't care, but in this instance, I'm trying to be as authentic as possible.
Thanks guys!

I'm wondering how you can identify old violin pegs from old Martin pegs. Take the word of the seller ? 8^)

Well, all the old Martin pegs I've seen (of the later design with holes, rather than slots, in the end) have looked the same. Most sellers would label a peg as a violin tuner before they would ever think of a ukulele, unless they had the uke, or knew of the pegs' origin. Anyway- I think if it looks like an old Martin uke peg, it probably is. I see what you mean, though!

There are several different styles, and even different sizes, that were used from 1915 to about 1922. By that point it seems to settle down to the commonly known dark stained maple peg. Some of the earlier peg styles can be smaller, have a flat section on the ridge of the button, or be made from a different wood than maple. Even if you can find original pegs it is very difficult to match their size to the instrument holes. In the worst case the tuner holes are too large and need to be plugged and reamed to fit the pegs.

The earlier the instrument, the bigger challenge it will be to find the pegs. What year is your ukulele?

Pukulele Pete said:

I'm wondering how you can identify old violin pegs from old Martin pegs. Take the word of the seller ? 8^)

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Size and shape. Violin pegs rarely fit, and are usually made from ebony or rosewood or boxwood. Martin pegs are typically stained maple or another type of wood called Almiqui. They have a very distinctive look and shape.

It has a kite and bow-tie inlays, so I think around 1919-1920? I don't have the Martin book at hand, unfortunately.

Pukulele Pete- The Martin peg I just measured (to answer your earlier question) is 2 5/16" long.

Ernie, sounds like you have a teens Martin of great value and I agree with you about wNting just the right wooden pegs. A must, actually. Do you have the Walsh and King Martin a Uke Book--were the teens wooden pegs the standard Martin pegs, or were they more "primitive" and uncommon? The book you must have checked out.

I have seen peg request threads in the past and followed them; I have not seen anyone score a complete set of original wooden pegs that they want. I think most complete sets are in the headstock of complete ukes. Lol. I had a UUer offer me $50 for a single Martin wood peg in early 2014. A sincere offer (I did not take him up on it; I still have that single, free Martin wooden peg, unused).

Many will buy a lesser Martin just for the pegs, add other tuners (or new Ping tuners) to make the lesser Martin playable again, and resell it (if the lesser Martin is still a good one, they might even resell for same price paid and thus, in essence, get the wooden pegs for free).

I hAve a Ditson (the rare standard-shaped Ditson, not the more common dreadnought Ditson) that has four wooden pegs that I'd sell to you (I have two identical Ditsons: one with wooden pegs, one with mechanical tuners like you have, Ernie; it was a tuner transition year for Martin in the early 20s--see 1M Ditsons in my signature below). You might swap the wooden pegs out for the tuners that you already own, and resell or keep the Ditson, too. Just a thought.

Did Martin make their own tuners? Wouldn't it be simpler, cheaper, and just as authentic to buy violin tuners (like I'd bet Martin did back then) and modify them as needed?

well i believe the original wooden pegs for the kite inlay style 3 were the sloted ones.