WTB: One Vintage Martin Ukulele Wooden Tuning Peg
- Thread starter MojoUke
- Start date
wendellfiddler
Well-known member
I'm no expert about friction pegs on an old martin uke, but I would venture to guess that if you take that peg to a large violin shop they will have baskets of old pegs and there's a very good chance you could match it. 1920 violins, unlike ukes, are not at all rare.
Duk
Duk
Hey DUK... Thanks for your response. I actually have a box of old misc. fiddle pegs and almost all of them are made of black ebony and have the string hole in the middle. Martin pegs are (I'm told) maple and are stained a slightly uneven brown color due to the grain, and have the string hole near the end. Martin uke peg buttons are smaller than those on violin pegs as well. Old Martin uke pegs that are not already on a uke are apparently reeeeeally hard to come by. Mojo
wendellfiddler
Well-known member
Yes, I would imagine that the majority of old violin pegs you will find are going to be ebony. But that's why I suggest you go to a high volume violin store. I don't know how large your box of violin pegs is, but in some stores you may find actual barrels of them. Many old pegs were made of other woods - and violin pegs come n many different sizes, as do violins. And since your uke peg is smaller, you might be able to re cut a violin peg pretty close. Many fine luthiers either have small lathes or they know other people who have them. Another source could be someone who turns custom furniture handles and knobs. Since your uke pegs are stained, you could even fill the old violin string holes if you wanted to. Antique type restoration of an object as easy to turn as a violin peg shouldn't be that difficult to find. Good luck in your search.
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Radio Flyer
Well-known member
a friend of mine makes fountain pens out of any wood he can find, the harder the better. it's a popular hobby and someone in your area probably does this. i'll bet thy would love to try their hand at making you a set.
coolkayaker1
Well-known member
How much would one be worth, I wonder?
coolkayaker1
Well-known member
For fifty bucks I have one off an old Martin I was going to rehab. Can we swap photos, you of the one you want to match, and me of the one I have.
MojoUke,
Have you found your missing peg yet?
I'm a professional woodworker and I have been turning some maple pegs for a 1926 Martin 1K, using photos of original pegs. It's been going pretty well. I've made several jigs to get the consistency required from one peg to the next. I've made around 10+ so far.
And luckily, I just bought a pre-32 Martin soprano with original pegs... it'll arrive next week. It's pretty scrubby otherwise. Now I'll have an original peg to copy.
If you haven't been successful with your peg quest, maybe I could make one for you. But we'll have to compare precise measurements.
Ukegeezer
Have you found your missing peg yet?
I'm a professional woodworker and I have been turning some maple pegs for a 1926 Martin 1K, using photos of original pegs. It's been going pretty well. I've made several jigs to get the consistency required from one peg to the next. I've made around 10+ so far.
And luckily, I just bought a pre-32 Martin soprano with original pegs... it'll arrive next week. It's pretty scrubby otherwise. Now I'll have an original peg to copy.
If you haven't been successful with your peg quest, maybe I could make one for you. But we'll have to compare precise measurements.
Ukegeezer
Good news that you found one!
Yes, once I have a for-real peg in my little hands, I'll make a couple dozen or so. Maybe try to sell a few. Since I restore antique/vintage ukes, they'll always be handy to have around.
BTW, Other thoughts/questions: Since Martin bought pegs from various sellers, and most likely with different shapes, does anyone know for sure what those various shapes look like?
And were some stained and others not? Walsh & King's great Martin Ukulele book shows a simple peg with string slots (p.126). They also mention Martins' experimenting with ebony pegs, but there is no evidence of ukes actually being sold with ebony pegs (nor evidently rosewood)... and another question... what did the wood pegs look like when they used them during WW2?
Yes, once I have a for-real peg in my little hands, I'll make a couple dozen or so. Maybe try to sell a few. Since I restore antique/vintage ukes, they'll always be handy to have around.
BTW, Other thoughts/questions: Since Martin bought pegs from various sellers, and most likely with different shapes, does anyone know for sure what those various shapes look like?
And were some stained and others not? Walsh & King's great Martin Ukulele book shows a simple peg with string slots (p.126). They also mention Martins' experimenting with ebony pegs, but there is no evidence of ukes actually being sold with ebony pegs (nor evidently rosewood)... and another question... what did the wood pegs look like when they used them during WW2?
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