• From: Syosset, New York
  • Registered: 2006-04-20
  • Posts: 169

Topic: Replacement Pegs?

Here's one for all the "luthier" types out there.

I have a cheap ($50) Johnson Spanish Soprano ukulele that I still love to play.  However, it's got friction pegs that seem to slip more and more all the time.  Now that the instrument is a couple of years old, even the set screws in the pegs won't hold them tight.

My question (and forgive me if it's a dumb, obvious one):  Can I buy any set of geared ukulele pegs and slip them on this instrument?  I suppose the main consideration would be the size of the peg holes, but should I assume they are all the same?

Thanks for your advice!

Me with my first ukulele, a Junior Beatles model, in 1966.  After Mom threw it down the stairs in a fit of rage, I became a drummer for life.  At age 43, I bought my second uke...
  • Zurf
  • Zurf
  • Blunt but well meaning moderator
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  • From: Virginia, USA
  • Registered: 2007-06-27
  • Posts: 7,522

Re: Replacement Pegs?

Try some resin on the pegs.  The kind that baseball pitchers use.  It worked on the friction pegs on my fiddle.  It was recommended to me by a luthier who sat next to me on a plane.  He was hand-delivering a violin he had recently restored.  The violin was too valuable to trust to freight, and so he hand-delivered it 2,000 miles away.  I expect he knew what he was talking about.  Give it a try and see if the $4 fix works before trying something more intense and expensive (unless you want intense and expensive, in which case I'm sure resin will never work). 

- Zurf

Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude
  • From: Alabama Gulf Coast
  • Registered: 2008-06-24
  • Posts: 1,819

Re: Replacement Pegs?

Maybe shave a toothpick thin and wedge it in next to the peg.

We pronounce it "Guf Coast".
Ya'll wanna go down to the Guf?

tubatooter1940's Website

  • From: Syosset, New York
  • Registered: 2006-04-20
  • Posts: 169

Re: Replacement Pegs?

Hmmm, interesting tips.  I think, because this is the instrument I usually leave on the couch to entertain my grandchildren, the resin might be a little messy and the toothpicks might not be resilient enough.

Any advise about replacement pegs?

Me with my first ukulele, a Junior Beatles model, in 1966.  After Mom threw it down the stairs in a fit of rage, I became a drummer for life.  At age 43, I bought my second uke...
  • Zurf
  • Zurf
  • Blunt but well meaning moderator
  • Offline
  • From: Virginia, USA
  • Registered: 2007-06-27
  • Posts: 7,522

Re: Replacement Pegs?

Nope. 

The resin isn't messy.  It's powdered and you just take the pegs out, tap them on the bag of powdered resin, and put them back in and they suddenly have a lot more friction. 

But one thing that I don't know a darned thing about is mechanized tuners on a ukelele.  Wish I could help.

- Zurf

Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude
  • From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2007-02-08
  • Posts: 1,914

Re: Replacement Pegs?

Stew Mac offers replacement geared tuners to fit most ukuleles... You may have to do some slight working to the exsisting pegholes for good fit but nothing major... It's a fairly simple swap.  You could just change to a different kind of friction tuner also. The good ones have a tension screw in the end that allows you to adjust their tension or even lock them in place. I've got geared tuners on my Lanikai and Kala ukes and Peg tuners on my 2 Martin ukes.

[b][color=#FF0000]If your brain is part of the process, you're missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something.
[/color][/b]         [b]Peace of mind. That's my piece of mind...[/b]

Guitarpix's Website

  • From: Syosset, New York
  • Registered: 2006-04-20
  • Posts: 169

Re: Replacement Pegs?

>>>The good ones have a tension screw in the end that allows you to adjust their tension or even lock them in place.<<<

The uke I'm talking about has tension screws, but they are no longer holding.  Stewart MacDonald used to be a customer of mine.  I ought to call them and see what they've got.  Good idea, Guitarpix.

Me with my first ukulele, a Junior Beatles model, in 1966.  After Mom threw it down the stairs in a fit of rage, I became a drummer for life.  At age 43, I bought my second uke...