Our latest DIY project - a Kent Baritone we found in a pawn shop in need of some work

luke'nlele

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http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/f...ing-about-Kent-brand-ukes&p=354909#post354909

We just copied our last post from Uke Talk to start a different thread here. We found an old Kent Baritone uke in a pawn shop. The shop owner gave it to us for nothing. It 's pretty worn and it has a small crack on the lower bout but we decided to clean it up and try a set of new strings.

This is a project progress report and questions as well.

We decided to stick with the Worth Browns that we had already researched. After a cleaning with mineral spirits and mineral oil, we put on the new strings today. The G, B and E strings sound pretty good, but the D peg slips about a quarter turn so that the D string can't be tuned at all. We tried to tighten the screw, but the screwhead is stripped. So our question is, can we just replace the screw or do we need to replace the entire peg?

Also, how difficult is it to change the tuners from tension to geared? We have an old broken student guitar that we can use for parts. It has geared tuners. Could we just use four of those geared tuners to replace the peg tuners on the uke?
 
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No reason you can't replace the screw if you can find one that fits at the hardware store or in the dusty corners of your garage! I might suggest you pull one of the screws from another tuner on that same uke and try it to make sure a new screw will do the trick. I would then just replace all four screws so that they match.

It is pretty easy to replace friction tuners, you can get a set pretty cheap. I bet you can get some for about eight or ten dollars. It might be worth it if you are going to play this uke. As far as changing to geared tuners, it isn't a problem, heck, it's your uke but you might want to make sure the shaft would fit up through the hole in the headstock without reaming it, and also, are those guitar tuners good enough to bother putting them on your uke.....if it were me I would try to replace the screw for now, so you can play and enjoy it.

However, I had a uke with such bad tuners that no matter what I couldn't adjust the screws so they always slipped or were too tight to turn. I replaced them with a set of "Ping" brand friction tuners and now that uke stays in tune and is fun to play.
 
RyanMFT, Thanks so much for responding to our post. We've just been able to remove the screw from the D-string peg. It took some doing with the stripped screwhead. We'll need to wait until tomorrow to get some new screws, but so far so good.
 
Glad you got that screw out, sometimes they can be buggers.....

I am reminded of something that my father taught me when I was a kid that has served me really well. He always told me "don't be afraid to take things apart, try to fix, rebuild, replace, and just make things work the best you can". He has always said that he figures with a little experience, and the desire, one can learn to do things as well, or almost as well as a professional.

Now, this doesn't work for me when I look at a Moore Bettah uke, but as far as fixing things, and repairing things, I am never afraid to have a go....and it usually turns out pretty well. Good luck, I'd like to know how it turns out.

Ryan
 
Wait, let me get this straight--a pawn shop owner gave something away for free? That's gotta be a sign of the end times. ;)

Post some pics when you get a chance.

As for changing to geared tuners, sure you can, if they fit. Generally geared tuners require larger holes than friction tuners, so you would need to drill out the old holes. A drill press would work best for that. But before you do, make sure the plates on the backs of the geared tuners will fit on your headstock, taking into consideration the holes can't be moved. If the plates hang over the edge, you could consider grinding them back.
 
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A pawnshop owner giving away anthing?!?!?! I'd check it out for a curse if I was you...like a reaaaally bad case of UAS!? Or maybe not being able to play anything else once you get it fixed ... I'm just saying!
 
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