Cool project Bob..... I don't think I could turn so many of the same thing.... that would drive me a little crazy. Excellent instruction and practice for the skew. I need to use mine more, thanks Doug.
Hi, Doug: That was actually my biggest concern: that what started out as an interesting challenge would turn into excruciating tedium before I was done. I was pleasantly surprised that it did not happen, at least with this quantity. Perhaps if I had started out to turn a thousand of them that would have happened, but it seemed that with this quantity I was still refining my technique and making little changes right up to the last one. Take care Bob
Truly wonderful Bob, your tool control is almost hypnotic to watch. Thank you so much for sharing this 'unique' project with us. Your customer should be ecstatic at the results, I'd be honored to own a set for my mountain banjo any day. Regards .......... Geof Harris (UK)
Great Video Bob, your skill with the small skew is inspiring. I play a little Uke and my uncle and father were both luthiers for a time. One with guitar the other mainly fiddle and cello.
Just an excellent video. I really appreciate and value hearing your thought process and the reasons for what you're doing, Nice skew work too! Thanks Steve
Wow! that's the way to exploit expensive woods. I think it's ridiculous to start with a 2x2 of ebony for making one single peg. Also superb execution, the surface finish looks shiny and soft. You are a master.
Bob, great approach to a non typical project. I was wondering if you had considered using hardwood dowel and turning a sphere on the top with the added bead. After the hundred or so, dropping them in a ship jig for cutting them with the router. Assembly line type of production. Would it be any faster and a more positive grip at the chuck? Just asking because I am not a turner yet but am anxious to give it a try when I get my lathe.
+Richard Croft Hi: I had specific dimensions for the thickness of the button and I milled my "boards" to that thickness before cutting the grooves, so that really improved consistency. I did think about the ball on a peg idea but could not imagine a way to hold them for milling the finger grooves after they were turned, other than holding them up against a drum sander. In order to achieve the correct width for the buttons the dowel I started with would have had to have been at least 7/8" diameter and that would have required turning away all of the dowel except the button down to 5/16" or 3/8", which seems like an awful lot of waste to me. Doing it this way minimized waste. What is a ship jig? Take care Bob
Very interesting video, Bob. Great practice with a skew for sure. I wondered about a form tool, made from, a tool steel blank? Much more production oriented. Paul
Hi, Paul: That might make sense if I were trying to turn thousands of them or intended to continue to make them on an ongoing basis because it would certainly improve uniformity of the individual pegs, but a shaped cutter forming tool would need to used as a scraper and I would expect the surface quality of the finished pieces to suffer, especially in the area where it is an interrupted cut at the edges of the button. There would likely be a quite a bit of chip out along the trailing edge where the cutter was exiting the wood on each revolution and I don't really know how that could be cleaned up afterward. I did not use sandpaper at all on any of these. I would expect that the commercially available pegs are made on some sort of CNC lathe using router bit type cutters but I don't have that kind of technology available in my home shop. :D Take care Bob
Juan Fernandez Hi, Juan: I made the concave groove using a 1" diameter (or 1/2" radius) round nose bit at the router table. The specific bit that I used was a Freud 18-126. It takes a bit of trial and error to get the cutting depth right. Take care Bob
Thanks Bob - very timely for me, I found these a few days ago and was pondering trying one and wondering how I'd make some fiddle style pegs www.soundingbowls.com/bowls_melody.htm - now I can stop pondering and have a go instead! Also lovely to see such assured skill with the skew - it's an inspiration. Makes me realise I've some way to go to get that degree of ease and response with the tool. Time to get a few pegs made - a lovely little project to practice on because if (no - when!) I mess up it's only a small amount of work ruined. Many thanks for your videos - they're always a pleasure to watch. All the best Ian
Hi, Ian, and thanks: I did mess up a few when I first started making these and actually switched to a spindle gouge to finish my first "session", but when I returned to making them I decided to stick with the skew and really only messed up two or three more before I was done. Take care Bob
Alex Pettigrew Hi, Alex:I covered that in the video description but I must confess I rarely read those when I am watching videos. :D I figure that milling the boards straight and square, re-sawing to thickness and then finish planing them took about 4 or 5 hours. Cutting to length, milling the finger grooves and cutting the wedge shaped blanks probably took another couple of hours although that was spread out since I didn't do them all at once. When I was in full swing production I was able to turn about 2 dozen pegs in a 3 hour session and 3 hours was about as long as I could work on them continuously before my back would start to hurt from spending too long in one position. I wound up turning 9 dozen "keepers" so that would add up to about 13 or 14 hours of turning, so the total time would be between 20 and 25 hours.Take careBob
Regular sized pegs are easy to make with a peg shaper. However I think long pegs (well made ones) for a Sarangi or the like would absolutely require a lathe.
An artisan made violin peg out of the best wood split and cut properly costs $50 per peg or more. I am going to make that variety for violas. The problem with making money at these is, most people are satisfied with a 50 cent peg made by slave labor in India.
I don't know why the customer asked you to make friction pegs when it's not something you would ordinarily do. You've done a good job re-inventing the wheel, though. Friction pegs are a standard off-the-shelf item at any luthiers supply store, and they're not that expensive. I know, because I build string instruments and a have boxes of them. They're usually made of pearwood. I've never built the pegs myself, but, from what I've heard, they're usually made in a kind of giant pencil-sharpener, and turned by hand, not in a lathe. But great job, nevertheless.
Could you take a bit longer getting to the point? We have all day. Anyone who, like me, expected to learn how to make a finished, properly tapered peg, that info is not given, tho' it took 20 minutes to find out.
Very interesting and versatile turning, well done!
That was a great lesson in thinking outside the box, and you solved the problem admirably Bob. Very impressed my friend.
Take care
Mike
i guess it's kind of off topic but do anybody know of a good site to watch newly released movies online ?
@Crew Jeremias i would suggest FlixZone. You can find it by googling =)
@Crew Jeremias I use FlixZone. You can find it on google :)
His tool control is just a beauty to watch
Excellent... I love watching you turn, an your control of the skew is amazing... Another great video...
Cheers...
Cool project Bob..... I don't think I could turn so many of the same thing.... that would drive me a little crazy. Excellent instruction and practice for the skew. I need to use mine more, thanks Doug.
Hi, Doug:
That was actually my biggest concern: that what started out as an interesting challenge would turn into excruciating tedium before I was done. I was pleasantly surprised that it did not happen, at least with this quantity. Perhaps if I had started out to turn a thousand of them that would have happened, but it seemed that with this quantity I was still refining my technique and making little changes right up to the last one.
Take care
Bob
Truly wonderful Bob, your tool control is almost hypnotic to watch. Thank you so much for sharing this 'unique' project with us. Your customer should be ecstatic at the results, I'd be honored to own a set for my mountain banjo any day.
Regards .......... Geof Harris (UK)
When I first saw that wedge your genius audibly slapped me in the face.
Great Video Bob, your skill with the small skew is inspiring. I play a little Uke and my uncle and father were both luthiers for a time. One with guitar the other mainly fiddle and cello.
Bob your an artist with that skew. Great project and thank you so much for sharing
Just an excellent video. I really appreciate and value hearing your thought process and the reasons for what you're doing, Nice skew work too!
Thanks
Steve
the best video about how to make tuning pegs I have found. Thanks very much for share , it helped me a lot !
Outstanding Bob. I saw his post but, I don't have near the experience or tool control you do. Good on you friend.
Merry Christmas,
Marc
Very nice job Bob. Amazing ingenuity.
Excellent Turning Bob: I enjoyed the video, very well demonstrated and explained, Cheers Harry
You have way more patience than I do. You did a great job.
Very interesting to watch Bob. Nice one.
Best wishes, Malc in the UK
Great video , I'm using the skew more after watching your videos.
Thanks
Steve
I think they are called "friction tuners, or pegs". They use them for violins also. Usually ebony, but any hardwood will do.
Good afternoon my friend! could you tell me how i can get or make those peg rings and pegs

Very interesting, really enjoyed the video.
Thank you for sharing.
Nice one from the client to say ukelele instead of violin to make them less prestigious and cheaper x'd
Wow! that's the way to exploit expensive woods. I think it's ridiculous to start with a 2x2 of ebony for making one single peg. Also superb execution, the surface finish looks shiny and soft. You are a master.
Bob, great approach to a non typical project. I was wondering if you had considered using hardwood dowel and turning a sphere on the top with the added bead. After the hundred or so, dropping them in a ship jig for cutting them with the router. Assembly line type of production. Would it be any faster and a more positive grip at the chuck? Just asking because I am not a turner yet but am anxious to give it a try when I get my lathe.
+Richard Croft
Hi:
I had specific dimensions for the thickness of the button and I milled my "boards" to that thickness before cutting the grooves, so that really improved consistency. I did think about the ball on a peg idea but could not imagine a way to hold them for milling the finger grooves after they were turned, other than holding them up against a drum sander. In order to achieve the correct width for the buttons the dowel I started with would have had to have been at least 7/8" diameter and that would have required turning away all of the dowel except the button down to 5/16" or 3/8", which seems like an awful lot of waste to me. Doing it this way minimized waste.
What is a ship jig?
Take care
Bob
Capn Eddie would call it a technical term, I just call it a typo !
That's great, I always enjoy your videos.
Very interesting video, Bob. Great practice with a skew for sure. I wondered about a form tool, made from, a tool steel blank? Much more production oriented.
Paul
Hi, Paul:
That might make sense if I were trying to turn thousands of them or intended to continue to make them on an ongoing basis because it would certainly improve uniformity of the individual pegs, but a shaped cutter forming tool would need to used as a scraper and I would expect the surface quality of the finished pieces to suffer, especially in the area where it is an interrupted cut at the edges of the button. There would likely be a quite a bit of chip out along the trailing edge where the cutter was exiting the wood on each revolution and I don't really know how that could be cleaned up afterward. I did not use sandpaper at all on any of these. I would expect that the commercially available pegs are made on some sort of CNC lathe using router bit type cutters but I don't have that kind of technology available in my home shop. :D
Take care
Bob
That made you think......... great solution to the problem
Mike
Great talent,always wondered how to do that.
Custom pencil sharpener? After dowel? Glue knobs on after? Beer...
Good morning.
I appreciate upload this video. I wanted to consult you. How you make the concave cut?. Thanks
Juan Fernandez Hi, Juan: I made the concave groove using a 1" diameter (or 1/2" radius) round nose bit at the router table. The specific bit that I used was a Freud 18-126. It takes a bit of trial and error to get the cutting depth right.
Take care
Bob
Nice work! Very Cool!
Hi Bob great job I could not turn two the same LOL
Thanks Bob - very timely for me, I found these a few days ago and was pondering trying one and wondering how I'd make some fiddle style pegs www.soundingbowls.com/bowls_melody.htm - now I can stop pondering and have a go instead!
Also lovely to see such assured skill with the skew - it's an inspiration. Makes me realise I've some way to go to get that degree of ease and response with the tool. Time to get a few pegs made - a lovely little project to practice on because if (no - when!) I mess up it's only a small amount of work ruined.
Many thanks for your videos - they're always a pleasure to watch.
All the best
Ian
Hi, Ian, and thanks:
I did mess up a few when I first started making these and actually switched to a spindle gouge to finish my first "session", but when I returned to making them I decided to stick with the skew and really only messed up two or three more before I was done.
Take care
Bob
Well done
nice job
Excellent Bob....so simple, yet....
Tom
RUclips / AcolyteTurner
What a nice video, i will do it like that. Thank you Leif, Norway
I'm curious what the total time was for producing one hundred.
Alex Pettigrew Hi, Alex:I covered that in the video description but I must confess I rarely read those when I am watching videos. :D I figure that milling the boards straight and square, re-sawing to thickness and then finish planing them took about 4 or 5 hours. Cutting to length, milling the finger grooves and cutting the wedge shaped blanks probably took another couple of hours although that was spread out since I didn't do them all at once. When I was in full swing production I was able to turn about 2 dozen pegs in a 3 hour session and 3 hours was about as long as I could work on them continuously before my back would start to hurt from spending too long in one position. I wound up turning 9 dozen "keepers" so that would add up to about 13 or 14 hours of turning, so the total time would be between 20 and 25 hours.Take careBob
Regular sized pegs are easy to make with a peg shaper.
However I think long pegs (well made ones) for a Sarangi or the like would absolutely require a lathe.
as alway, very nice
good job.
Wow!👍
Bob, how did you do the peg's shape?
An artisan made violin peg out of the best wood split and cut properly costs $50 per peg or more. I am going to make that variety for violas. The problem with making money at these is, most people are satisfied with a 50 cent peg made by slave labor in India.
Nice
I don't know why the customer asked you to make friction pegs when it's not something you would ordinarily do. You've done a good job re-inventing the wheel, though.
Friction pegs are a standard off-the-shelf item at any luthiers supply store, and they're not that expensive. I know, because I build string instruments and a have boxes of them. They're usually made of pearwood.
I've never built the pegs myself, but, from what I've heard, they're usually made in a kind of giant pencil-sharpener, and turned by hand, not in a lathe.
But great job, nevertheless.
Could you take a bit longer getting to the point? We have all day. Anyone who, like me, expected to learn how to make a finished, properly tapered peg, that info is not given, tho' it took 20 minutes to find out.