Finally got around to making those new tuning pegs for my Fullerton Gloucester. Those ugly white pegs really jarred with the wood tones of the mandolin and I originally thought of making new ones from Blackwood. But heck, Blackwood is sort of boring and I have all sorts of nifty wood in my shop.
The other consideration was grain direction. If I used a piece of wood that I’d normally use to make a whistle, the tuning pegs would show only end grain on their faces,not the pretty side grain. I just happen to have a gorgeous plank of Cocobolo that I was able to slice a piece from across the grain so the pegs would come out right. Here’s the result:
Once I got started, this project was only a couple of hours of work and I love the result.
Looks pretty slick, Paul! What is involved in putting them on the mando, and how much for a set?
Hi Tim-- I don’t want to make these for sale. I could potentially mess up someone’s mandolin and I simply don’t have the time. I’m backlogged on whistles as it is.
If anyone has access to a metal lathe, it’s not a hard project:
Turn a wooden rod the diameter of the pegs
Drill holes the correct diameter and depth, leaving extra space between them.
Use a cutoff tool to part the knobs off at the appropriate thickness
Sand.
I used a large vice grip pliers to crack the old knobs off and glued the new ones with 5 minute epoxy.
For safety, I unstrung the mandolin and took the entire tuners off before installing the new ones. Good excuse to put on new strings, which I don’t do very often.
I understand, Paul. But it still looks great. The Gloucester is a shining example of the affordable, high-quality mandolin. All the money went into materials and workmanship, with nothing wasted on decoration. While they’re beauties to play, they are about as Plain Jane as you can get. Those knobs really kick it up a notch!