Wooden friction tuner issues

[KC8AFW]

I acquired a vintage ukulele recently (you can read about it in this thread). It has friction tuners with wooden buttons (see picture below). The wood-to-wood mating surface creates binding, and the small buttons don't provide for much leverage. Once you get the pegs tight enough to hold tune...it is a real bear to turn them (once it breaks free, it moves too far). This makes tuning extremely difficult.

Modern tuners have a metal surface that contacts the headstock and are not as finicky to adjust. I was wondering if putting a washer of some kind between the button and headstock would help make tuning easier. The issue I see with this is that the button/headstock mating surface is slightly rounded (kind of like a "ball and socket"). I wonder if maybe a thin metal or nylon washer might do the trick.

I could just replace the tuners with modern ones...but I really liked the fact that it is all original. I was hoping that someone might have a good suggestion on how I could get the original tuners to work more smoothly.

:anyone:

 

[Russ Sonny Kemner]

switch to violin tuners

You can try to switch to violin tuners. Check a local classical instrument store and they may be able to taper the holes and set you up with a matching violin tuner scale.

Also you might try Lava soap, I've never tried it but have read somewhere that violinists use that to add new grip and at the same time lubricate the pegs.

 

[KC8AFW]

Thanks for the quick reply, Russ. I think I'll give the Lava soap a try. I'm really trying to not replace the originals (unless I can't get them to work any better).

Just to clarify...these are regular friction tuners, but with wooden buttons (not peg tuners like on a violin). Here's a picture of the other side of the headstock.

 

[itsme]

You might try key oil, don't know how well it'd work. You can pick up a small bottle at just about any music store, or if you have something like a sewing machine or hair clippers, there's usually a little container of it included.

 

[Bradford]

I would go ahead and try some nylon washers. That would reduce the wood to wood stickiness.

Brad

 

[Matt Clara]

You can try to switch to violin tuners. Check a local classical instrument store and they may be able to taper the holes and set you up with a matching violin tuner scale.

I'd go with Pegheds before that.

 

[Matt Clara]

I would go ahead and try some nylon washers. That would reduce the wood to wood stickiness.

Brad

I would try this before trying any soap or oil. Those friction tuners need friction--no friction and you're SOL. You may want to ask some of the luthiers what they recommend.

 

[Bluke]

I can't see how a nylon washer would do anything. Where you gonna put it? If it keeps the button further from the headstock, the pin will be loose. Besides the best idea of using PegHeds, try removing all the tuners, clean and lightly sand them, rub them with wax (from a candle) and re-insert. Then work them in manually by turning them a bunch of times to establish proper seating before putting strings on.

 

[Matt Clara]

I can't see how a nylon washer would do anything. Where you gonna put it? If it keeps the button further from the headstock, the pin will be loose. Besides the best idea of using PegHeds, try removing all the tuners, clean and lightly sand them, rub them with wax (from a candle) and re-insert. Then work them in manually by turning them a bunch of times to establish proper seating before putting strings on.

As I understand it, the wood on the buttons is binding with the wood on the headstock. The tuners themselves are metal. The idea with the nylon washers is to place them between the buttons and the headstock, to see if that stops the binding. Whether that'll claim too much space, I wouldn't pretend to know.

 

[KC8AFW]

mattclara is correct in his assumptions. The tuner is a metal post that sticks out through the back, with a wooden button that slips over it and is held tight against the headstock with a screw through the button into the end of the post. I've attached a picture with the button removed to give you a better idea of what I'm dealing with.

I found some brass washers at Ace Hardware that were the perfect size. I have put one between the button and headstock on the G string. It seems to have made a big improvement. It also seems that I did not have to tighten the screw as tight to hold it tight. I will play it like this for a while, and if it works out I will put one on the other tuners. I will also probably sand the button a little to compensate for the thickness of the washer.

Thanks for all your replies. :shaka:

 

[uke5417]

I've come into some old ukes that had lovely tuners -- that worked like crap. In the end I wound up replacing them with ones that work. Usually the issue was lack of surface area, hence lack of friction, where the peg met the headstock. Yours look pretty skinny, too. Luck with that.

On the up side, Favillas are very nicely built. Perhaps once the strings have set, and if you keep it in a good case, it will rarely need tuning.

 

[KC8AFW]

Thanks, Bruce. The brass washers seem to be doing the trick. We'll see after things settle in. I'm really liking this Favilla.

 

[eleuke]

Aloha KC8AFW,

I'm an amateur luthier and do a lot of restoration and repair work. I've come across this exact situation a couiple of times already and what worked well for me was beeswax. Seems to have the right qualities for smoothing out the turning of the peg under tension without losing the necessary friction needed for keeping tune. Also has the advantage of not soaking into the wood or damaging the finish like some lubricants do. If you wanna go back to 'all original' you can give it a try.

P.S. Nice find!

 

[KC8AFW]

Thanks for the tip on the beeswax. The brass washers seem to be doing the trick, though.