oudplayer - 8-31-2006 at 07:11 PM
hey all
i wanna change my pegs on 2 of my ouds and i was wondering is olive wood good for pegs i am ona low budget so whast the best way for me
thx sammy
Jameel - 8-31-2006 at 08:08 PM
Rosewood is the one of the best choices. If you want to email me, I can give you a good price. You can also check out an older thread called peg
fitting tutorial
jdowning - 9-2-2006 at 04:37 AM
The best woods for pegs should be hard, close and straight grained, stable and easy to turn on a lathe. One of the best is well seasoned pear wood
but, as it is a white wood, has to be stained black after fitting. I have used boxwood which is not so good as it is very close grained and takes
forever to season so tends to remain a bit unstable for a while. Ebony is OK but I have only used this material for pegs with larger diameter shanks
(ie violin peg size and larger) but not for more slender lute pegs.
As Jameel suggests, rosewood is a good choice especially, in my experience, Brazilian Rosewood (if you can still get it these days). It is an 'oily'
wood that turns beautifully. Be careful when working with rosewoods and other 'exotic' woods as the dusts generated may contain irritant chemicals
that can cause permanent skin or breathing problems.
Do others have experience with using other varieties of wood for pegs?