Double Bass No Bueno!

[lowfreqgeek]

I was tuning up yesterday before a church service and was having trouble with the E-string. At first it wouldn't go up the 30 cents or so it needed, then it started going down in pitch. The string was fine, but then I saw that the tuning peg had finally broken in half! I can't complain too much since this peg is original to the instrument, which was built sometime in the mid-late 19th century (I've heard anywhere from 1850s-1890s). The rest of the tuner is totally fine, so my hope is to graft the original knob onto a new hard maple or hickory shaft that can be stained to match the other 3 original pegs. In the mean time, I guess I'll be playing fretless, or dig the old EUB out of the back of the closet and see if I can't make it do something.

 

[james condino]

For the right person with a lathe, this is an easy in-and-out afternoon repair. If your local luthiers don't have one, search the area for a local turner's club or guild.

 

[Don Hergert]

Hmmm, looks like the original shaft is cracked all the way up to the button. I'd be looking into having 4 of these made out of a good hardwood by someone with a lathe. Might even entertain the thought of using CF. There's a good chance that the rest of these shafts are getting tired too by now; you can always save the originals if desired.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

For the right person with a lathe, this is an easy in-and-out on an afternoon repair. If your local luthiers don't have one, search the area for a local turner's club or guild.

There are some good luthiers here in Albuquerque (Robertson's is local to me), but I may send this out to my uncle in Pennsylvania, who has a lathe and does a lot of REALLY nice wood turning. He makes fancy pens and bowls and other things. He has also spent a significant amount of time hanging out at the Martin guitar factory and learning about guitar luthiery there. These pegs have nothing to do with guitar, obviously, but I'm betting he'd jump at the opportunity to turn me some new pegs as he's interested in the history of my bass.

Good idea to have all 4 made, @dhergert. As much as I'd like to keep it all original, I'd probably rather have a new set of pegs made and keep these originals in their original condition than lop off the knobs to graft onto new shafts.

 

[Don Hergert]

As a quick fix while you're waiting for the proper replacements, you may find a piece of hardwood dowel that would match the shaft's diameter sufficiently to work to replace the original shaft; would need to drill holes for the string and for the cotter pin. Not as pretty, but to get you by, it seems all you really need is the shaft.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

As a quick fix while you're waiting for the proper replacements, you may find a piece of hardwood dowel that would match the shaft's diameter sufficiently to work to replace the original shaft; would need to drill holes for the string and for the cotter pin. Not as pretty, but to get you by, it seems all you really need is the shaft.

Yep, I've got a suitable dowl that I need to turn down on one end. It won't be a long-term fix, but it'll get the bass functional again. I can use a drill press to turn the dowl and some sandpaper to cut it down. It'll get the job done.

 

[robobass]

Robertsons certainly has a big box of old ones. Go get two from them which fit somewhat. Then you can send the worst two from the bass to your uncle and he can take his time with the job.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

Robertsons certainly has a big box of old ones. Go get two from them which fit somewhat. Then you can send the worst two from the bass to your uncle and he can take his time with the job.

Great idea! I remembered that I have a big block of bubinga that I was going to use for an electric bass (it's sized for half a solid body), but it has a big crack in it. It's been seasoning in my arid New Mexico climate for about 15 years, so I'll see if my uncle can turn the pegs from Bubinga. I've also got some ebony that he could laminate before he turns the knobs, so it could have custom ebony/bubinga pegs...

Thanks, guys! This could turn into something way cooler than just replacing a broken peg!

 

[james condino]

Sending just the tuner out of state will likely result in a mediocre fit. If the shaft has that much wear, it is likely that the peg hole also has some. 'Best to be able to make it a perfect fit with both the tuner and the bass it is going on.

As for carbon fiber, interesting idea.... I work with it every week of the year and the guys who run and own Dragonplate are friends of mine. There is no way I'm even thinking about chucking that up on my lathe and having the shop full of that kind of micro dust particles....better off to just take a couple of shots of acetone and get it over fast....!

 

[lowfreqgeek]

Sending just the tuner out of state will likely result in a mediocre fit. If the shaft has that much wear, it is likely that the peg hole also has some. 'Best to be able to make it a perfect fit with both the tuner and the bass it is going on.

As for carbon fiber, interesting idea.... I work with it every week of the year and the guys who run and own Dragonplate are friends of mine. There is no way I'm even thinking about chucking that up on my lathe and having the shop full of that kind of micro dust particles....better off to just take a couple of shots of acetone and get it over fast....!

That's a good thought about making them out-of-state. I was thinking about that earlier and figured I could have him turn the decorative knobs and shafts to a nominal length/diameter, then I can cut to length and sand down the ends to fit the peg holes. They are pretty loose in the peg-box after a century and a half, but the metalwork is in great shape, so as long as the shafts fit snugly into the collar on the gear side and then have enough clearance on the peg-box side so as to not bind when it absorbs moisture in the summer, they should be ok. A "perfect" fit now will mean binding as soon as the rains come in July.

 

[robobass]

Sending just the tuner out of state will likely result in a mediocre fit.

Good point. Maybe try to get Robertsons to lend you the peg which fits best and send that along to your uncle with the old ones. Also, have him leave an inch of straight rod at the small end of the taper so that final fitting can be done on a lathe. If you try to sand it by hand it will end up out of round, which you really do not want. How are the holes? They likely need re-reaming as well.

 

[Fleo]

I was tuning up yesterday before a church service and was having trouble with the E-string. At first it wouldn't go up the 30 cents or so it needed, then it started going down in pitch. The string was fine, but then I saw that the tuning peg had finally broken in half! I can't complain too much since this peg is original to the instrument, which was built sometime in the mid-late 19th century (I've heard anywhere from 1850s-1890s). The rest of the tuner is totally fine, so my hope is to graft the original knob onto a new hard maple or hickory shaft that can be stained to match the other 3 original pegs. In the mean time, I guess I'll be playing fretless, or dig the old EUB out of the back of the closet and see if I can't make it do something.

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Hi, just broke a peg from an old bass also. Do you know what kind of wood it is made of. It’s broken at the thicker tuner side, so I’m thinking of reinforcing it with a center dowel.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

Hi, just broke a peg from an old bass also. Do you know what kind of wood it is made of. It’s broken at the thicker tuner side, so I’m thinking of reinforcing it with a center dowel.

No idea what the original wood was, but it was softer than I expected it would be. I ended up having a new set turned and fitted by Hannah Mayne here in Albuquerque. I believe that she used a hard maple and dyed them black. They should be good for another 100+ years.

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

The original peg was probably boxwood. They used the cheapest crap they could find.

 

[Fleo]

Thanks for the replies, I’m gonna try to fix it with epoxy glue.

 

[turf3]

Thanks for the replies, I’m gonna try to fix it with epoxy glue.

Don't waste your time.

As much force as is on those pegs, you need a single piece of wood of high integrity. Rock maple would be my uninformed first choice. 6061-T6 Aluminum, black anodized, would be a good choice I think.