Dealing with Oversized Peg Holes

AZMLII

Member
Joined
Dec 12, 2018
Messages
24
Reaction score
3
Location
Woburn, Massachusetts, USA
My uku is head stock heavy. If I'm holding it it's fine, but when I take hands off it dives on the strap. Which is an annoying.

It has heavy closed gear die cast tuners, that I'm thinking of swapping out.

Last time I changed strings I pulled off the tuners and measured the holes.I expected them to be approximately 10mm. However, they run anywhere from 10.4mm to 10.6 mm.

Is there a something that would work well to line the holes to get them back down to 10mm, or at least 10.5mm so I can fit an adapter bushing?

Thanks,
Patrick
 
I can’t believe someone smarter than me hasn’t jumped on this. But since they haven’t, I suggest wrapping the pegs, or at least one, as an experiment, with some kind of tape. Personally I’d try electrical, as, being black, it should be nearly invisible in a hole, and being thickish and sort of squishy, will probably be stable. The bushings will cover it regardless.
 
You could consider painting it with layers of nail polish and build it up to the size you need.

I have not done this, so I am not sure if there is any downside or a better substance to use. I have seen that done to remedy some issues with woodwind instruments.
 
Well the "correct" thing to do is probably ream the holes out to allow you to glue in dowel rods. Then you could re-cut whatever size hole you need. Tape would work, but it's sure to fail long term.
 
I thought about tape, but I was worried it would compress too much.

I'm going to try lining the holes with strips of aluminum cut for beverage cans. I saw a few blog posts about doing that.

If that doesn't work well I will plug and re-drill the holes.

I have some Kluson 10mm adapter bushings and a set of GraphTech Tune-e-lele tuners ordered.

I will let you know how things turn out.

Thank you all for your help.

- Patrick
 
Plugging and re-drilling is my preferred solution, but that leaves you with the tricky job of drilling a hole right in the center of the plug - not easy, and very easy to make a mess of it. I don't have access to a pillar drill. I got around the problem by using 1/4 round molding strips from a hardware store. Sand a very small flat on the right angle corner, then glue four pieces together to form a piece of round dowel with a small hole in the center. Reduce the outer diameter of the 'plug' so it is a perfect fit, and you have a plugged hole with a small guide hole. Easy-peasy!

John Colter
 
Wow that's a cool idea. One of my worries about plugging and re-drilling is getting the hole correct place and strait. Thanks ukantor.
 
So I tried lining the holes with strips of aluminum and it didn't go well. I couldn't get it tight enough to hold the bushing, and still be able to push the bushing in. Tape was the same problem.

If I get bored and want a bigger project, I will plug and re-drill the holes. In the meantime I will just play it as it is.

- Patrick
 
Wrap the bushing with a strip of paper until you get a good press fit.
 
Have you tried doing that on a uke with plugged holes, Jerry, using a hand-held drill? I tried it and found it very, very dodgy. The method I suggested gets around the problems.

John Colter
 
Have you tried doing that on a uke with plugged holes, Jerry, using a hand-held drill? I tried it and found it very, very dodgy. The method I suggested gets around the problems.

John Colter

Yes, I did, but it wasn't with a $3,000 uke. : ) I found the center of the hole, and I used a drill bit with the little point on the end. I also put an indentation where I wanted to drill. I forget what ukes I've done this with, but I've done it more than once. Of course, with a uke, you have to drill four holes for each time, so it's four times the stress.
 
Jerry, if you can satisfactorily drill tuning peg holes with a hand held drill, you're a better man than I am! I have done it, but the result was - er - disappointing.

John Colter
 
Hope I'm not to late for consideration of another idea. When my new Kanilea' arrived, one of the peg/pins had fallen out. When I replaced it, it was 'slightly' snug, but a thunk with my finger would loosen it. So I 'painted' a thin layer of CA glue on the offending peg. After it was thoroughly dry, it fit better, but I still added another layer. These were black ebony pegs and it still holds fine after 3-4 string changes. Just make sure it's dry before re-inserting !!!
 
Since you don't have to build up very much, you could try swabbing around the inside of the hole with medium CA glue on a Q tip. It may take a few coats to get it a touch smaller than you need, and then use a reamer to evenly ream the hole to the proper size. This less traumatic than drilling and more controllable.
 
Top Bottom