Making tuning pegs @ Lord of the Strings

Hi everyone. I want to share how I make my tuning pegs (which is something I rarely do)

I use a mini Grizzly wood lathe with a Vega duplicator. The duplicator works similar to a key cutter. It runs off a template, and creates a close perfect copy. Making tuning pegs is not what they advertise, however its commonly used for pen blanks, chess pieces and table spindles/legs (for the large lathe duplicator) just to name a few. A small metal lathe also does a good job of making pegs.

Here I will walk you through the steps of making pegs. I used 30 year old Swiss Pear wood to make these pegs.

Part of the design I wanted to copy was from a Nahat oud, however I didn't like the flatness of the head. I copied the general shape of it, but the head or (handle of the peg) is what I altered to make more comfortable while tuning.

The oud these are for is a custom make that I will share once its completed.
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The Nahat pegs that I used to copy the outside shape of the head.



Here is the well seasoned Swiss Pear board


After everything is marked the bandsaw has its way with it..


X marks the spot where the lathe centers will be driven


Using an awl and a mallet, I puncture the hole for the live center


The master template pattern is placed in the template holder


The cutter removes material from the blank, and begins to look like a peg



Once I have finished cutting as much as I can from the master template, I move the blank to another lathe for finer shaping/sanding/filing for more refinement



I cut off the ends on my smaller bandsaw


Here is where I begin to deviate from the original Nahat pattern. I use the radiused part of my sander to shape the handle of the peg




More to go..


Here is the end result. After sanding the radius into the handle, the edges are rounded using small scrapers, sandpaper and then a steel burnisher. The handle and collar are treated with beeswax finish, buffed then the pegs are reamed to the desired taper.


A beautiful shape, more comfortable on the hand while tuning.


The full set