Help me, luthiers! You're my only hope. (Re: crudbox)

pootsie · Apr 10, 2012

I recently acquired a "vintage" Conrad CRD-BX (details & pix here) and I need to put some new tuners in it. The old ones were slipping. I don't have much info on this but it is probably older than me.

I know that my Crudbox will never be a lovely instrument but I will have something to practice on at the office and maybe carry around as a beater. Better I learn working on this than messing up something nice.

Can I get some advice on how to go about this? Someone suggested I can get super-cheap violin pegs but I am not sure what the size numbers mean as I search online. Or where to buy them.

Or I could go geared but then I fear the holes may be too big and I might need to do something about that.

Or if you have any other thoughts, please share. Thanks for taking the time.

gyosh · Apr 10, 2012

Not a luthier, but if the adjustment screws have bottomed out so there's no more adjustment, you can still remove the screws and drill the countersink a little deeper in the tuner and eek out a little more life out of them. I've done that when the pegs didn't fit just right. Hope this helps.

-Gary

pootsie · Apr 10, 2012

Thanks, Gary but I'm going to let the old ones go. They were crud when they were new and that was ... well ... probably a long time ago.

RyanMFT · Apr 10, 2012

Hello Pootsie, maybe I can help a bit.

I saw your original post about the ukulele and getting the tuners straightened out should not be a big deal. First, the suggestion of using violin tuners is very curious to me. I have several ukuleles with wood peg tuners and the hole in the headstock must be tapered to fit the taper of a peg.....the holes in your ukulele are not tapered so violin tuners will not work.

Get yourself a set of Ping brand ukulele friction tuners. They are not expensive and they work well. They come with a countersink washer for the top of the headstock, which I don't use but rather I just pick up a set of flat washers from the hardware store which fit over the shaft of the tuner and up against the lip of the tuner. That way you don't have to countersink the holes on the top. You can use galvanized washers but if you get stainless steel ones they will match perfectly to the shaft.

These tuners will likely just drop in and work. The only thing you might have to do is drill the hole out a bit if the holes are not big enough. Do a sheared for Ping ukulele tuners and you should find a set on the web for around $10 dollars or so.

pootsie · Apr 10, 2012

Thanks, Ryan!

I have just discovered that there is an eternal debate on friction v. geared and it is currently alive in a revived thread from months ago.

As a uke noobie I had no idea I was required to develop strong opinions about this!

But I will go ahead and try some friction tuners (ones with actual friction) so that I can compare them to geared and then share my opinion with great gusto the next time the debate arises

I'm not afraid of a little countersink. As I said I am using my Conrad Crudbox as a learning tool so no biggie if it goes badly.

RyanMFT · Apr 10, 2012

The friction/geared debate goes on and on.....what I have seen is that people who come from the guitar world are accustom to using geared and that is what they expect. I don't understand the reaction some people have to friction tuners, but to each her own!

I have wood peg tuners on a couple of my ukuleles and I like those more than geared or mechanical friction.

pootsie · Apr 11, 2012

I want to bump this up and ask any experienced members for advice and cautions on drilling a countersink for new friction tuners (so I can develop strong opinions on them).

I may have access to a drill press so I assume that is best. Or do you think I can do this with a hand tool? The wood is old but solid.

Oh, and I took a closer look at the adjustment screws on the old pegs. Two of them have been cranked up so hard the plastic split open!

Thanks, y'alls!

benjoeuke · Apr 12, 2012

This probably won't help much with what you are doing but I thought I'd let you know an alternative route. This is a picture of a 90 year old mandolin slotted headstock that was cracked in half. Sorry I don't have before and after pics, always regretted not taking them 10 years ago when I fixed it. Anyway, it is easier than you might think it sounds, I cut some rectangular pieces of maple and hand sanded to fit the slots, glued them in, sanded flat with a sanding block, glued a piece of mahogany veneer over it, cut the edges with a razor blade, more sanding then spray can of lacquer. Some $13 geared tuners and this ancient instrument was brought back from the grave.
In your case, some dowling stock from the local hardware store and glue would fill those holes, veneer of your choice, then screw on some geared tuners. Just an idea, actually much easier than it sounds and very rewarding when complete.

pootsie · Apr 12, 2012

Thanks for the idea, benjouke.

The holes in my crudbox headstock are about 8mm. Is that the right size for standard friction pegs?

ejnovinsky · Apr 12, 2012

RyanMFT said:
Hello Pootsie, maybe I can help a bit.

I saw your original post about the ukulele and getting the tuners straightened out should not be a big deal. First, the suggestion of using violin tuners is very curious to me. I have several ukuleles with wood peg tuners and the hole in the headstock must be tapered to fit the taper of a peg.....the holes in your ukulele are not tapered so violin tuners will not work.

Get yourself a set of Ping brand ukulele friction tuners. They are not expensive and they work well. They come with a countersink washer for the top of the headstock, which I don't use but rather I just pick up a set of flat washers from the hardware store which fit over the shaft of the tuner and up against the lip of the tuner. That way you don't have to countersink the holes on the top. You can use galvanized washers but if you get stainless steel ones they will match perfectly to the shaft.

These tuners will likely just drop in and work. The only thing you might have to do is drill the hole out a bit if the holes are not big enough. Do a sheared for Ping ukulele tuners and you should find a set on the web for around $10 dollars or so.

I suggested the violin pegs, I didnt explain the process...the holes in the uke will have to be reamed, you can make a reamer from a busted pair of scissors, and if youre real sneaky can even whittle your own pegs from hardwood, I used this system on a banjo uke I built a couple months ago, and it worked just fine with lower tension flourocarbon strings (I didnt try it with aquilas). I made my own neck and pegs, so I could control the size of the holes and the size of the pegs. Without knowing the size of the holes in the uke it probably wasnt the best suggestion, but in a pinch (a penny pinch that is) it will work. theres a thread about it I posted somewheres.........

benjoeuke · Apr 12, 2012

I don't know, I've never worked on an uke but if you can find some geared tuners with 8mm top bushings you would be set, just slap em on.

Help me, luthiers! You're my only hope. (Re: crudbox)

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