Post by Bandura on Jan 16, 2006 1:09:35 GMT -5
TUNING PIN TROUBLES
Tuning pins are occasionally a problem, although some of the troubles which
may occur can be easily avoided by a little regular attention.
There are two types of tuning pins used on the contemporary bandura. The
standard has a fine metal thread around the lower part of the peg which
allows the pin to be easily screwed into and out of the pegbox. This
particular type of peg also has the tendency to eat out the wood in the
sides of the tuning pin hole. These pins are usually made of steel and are
often nickel plated. Various diameters exist. Some instruments even have
piano diameter tuning pins mounted into the pegbox.
The second type of pin does not have this thread and thus cannot be screwed
out of the tuning pin hole. To remove it one has to use a set of vice-grips
which have had their teeth ground down so as not to damage the sides of the
tuning pin and by a combination of twisting and pulling the peg is worked
loose and pulled out. These pegs are often made of brass and can easily be
damage in the process of removal. Despite their obvious disadvantage in
removal, they are often preferred by bandura makers such as the Honcharenko
brother's in the United States and Ivan Skliar in Ukraine.
TUNING KEYS
It is so easy to get a really poor tuning key. Often the factories that
manufacture banduras never check whether the tuning key you received
actually fit the bandura you have. There are a number of rules however,
which should be recognised.
Never use a tuning key that is too large and fits loosely on the tuning
pins. A drum key or something similar may work for a little while, but will
spoil the milled ends of the pins and make replacement necessary. Make it a
habit to get the tuning key all the way on the pin before you try to tune
it. Otherwise you may not only spoil the milling, but break off the end of
the pin altogether.
The very best tuning keys are T-wrenchs which have an eight-pointed star
centre. These keys are available from piano parts suppliers and are often
listed under Harpsichord keys.
WATCH THE WINDING
Check the windings of your strings, especially the large ones, and if it has
more than three or four windings so that it gets close to the pegbox, loosen
the string and take up the extra length. When the string winding reaches the
pegbox, it acts as a screw or wedge to pull the tuning pin out, making the
pin extremely hard to turn and eventually spoil the finish on the pegbox.
JERKY PINS
For tuning pins that do not turn smoothly, but stick and jerk, remove the
string and the pin altogether. Scrape the pin with a coarse file on the
scratch filing you will see. This may have become worn quite smooth and
should be kept quite deep. Then clean out the hole in the pegbox. A small
fingernail file is often just the right size and taper for this. Scrape it
around the hole to remove any loose wood-dust or corrosion deposits. Don't
overdo it, but maple or birch is a pretty hard wood and the chances that you
couldn't really enlarge the hole with a small file. Usually just a turn or
two around the hole with the file will do it. Never put chalk into the hole!
It is always a good idea to clean the pins this way whenever you put on a
new string, since they are not easily removed and replaced.
SLIPPING PINS
If your bandura is new, it is probably due to the pins being not properly
seated at first and may slip slightly. To correct the problem, always push
in on the pin are you turn it in tuning. It might be a good idea once in a
while to twist the pin back and forth pushing it into the pegbox at the same
time. Do not pound on the pins.
In some of the older Lviv banduras the pins supplied to them were not round
but oval in diameter and thus tended to eat out the wood around the hole.
These pins should be replaced.
The "fast" method of fixing slipping pegs is to take the peg out and fit
wooden shims made of sliced toothpicks or wooden matches. This is not the
very best way of repairing a slipping peg, and you are not advised to do it
in such a manner. The shim will tend to enlarge the hole unevenly and may
lead to the pegbox splitting.
A more traditional method is to remove the pin and to pour in or paint pin
tightener into the hole which will cause the timber to naturally expand and
in so doing grasp the tuning peg without damaging the pegbox. Tuning pin
tightener can be expensive. Up to $70 for a small bottle. It is basically
made up of finely ground up violin resin in a solvent such as acetone or
alcohol. The resin is soaked into the wood around the tuning-pin hole and
the solvent evaporates.
Violin resin is really tree sap which is a totally natural substance to put
into a tuning pin hole. One must be careful that the resin is ground up very
finely as sharp unground pieces may dig into the walls of the hole once the
tuning-pin is place back in.
Another method of dealing with tuning pins that slip is to replace the pin
with once of slightly larger diameter. These pins are available from piano
parts suppliers.
A final and almost drastic method to stop chronic tuning pin slippage in
instruments where the pegbox is made from the wrong type of wood is to drill
out the holes and place nylon dowels into the pegbox. This has proved
effective in instruments which have had the pegbox made from willow or
mahogany. Apart from stopping slippage of the tuning pegs they also are
unaffected by humidity changes.
Tuning pins are occasionally a problem, although some of the troubles which
may occur can be easily avoided by a little regular attention.
There are two types of tuning pins used on the contemporary bandura. The
standard has a fine metal thread around the lower part of the peg which
allows the pin to be easily screwed into and out of the pegbox. This
particular type of peg also has the tendency to eat out the wood in the
sides of the tuning pin hole. These pins are usually made of steel and are
often nickel plated. Various diameters exist. Some instruments even have
piano diameter tuning pins mounted into the pegbox.
The second type of pin does not have this thread and thus cannot be screwed
out of the tuning pin hole. To remove it one has to use a set of vice-grips
which have had their teeth ground down so as not to damage the sides of the
tuning pin and by a combination of twisting and pulling the peg is worked
loose and pulled out. These pegs are often made of brass and can easily be
damage in the process of removal. Despite their obvious disadvantage in
removal, they are often preferred by bandura makers such as the Honcharenko
brother's in the United States and Ivan Skliar in Ukraine.
TUNING KEYS
It is so easy to get a really poor tuning key. Often the factories that
manufacture banduras never check whether the tuning key you received
actually fit the bandura you have. There are a number of rules however,
which should be recognised.
Never use a tuning key that is too large and fits loosely on the tuning
pins. A drum key or something similar may work for a little while, but will
spoil the milled ends of the pins and make replacement necessary. Make it a
habit to get the tuning key all the way on the pin before you try to tune
it. Otherwise you may not only spoil the milling, but break off the end of
the pin altogether.
The very best tuning keys are T-wrenchs which have an eight-pointed star
centre. These keys are available from piano parts suppliers and are often
listed under Harpsichord keys.
WATCH THE WINDING
Check the windings of your strings, especially the large ones, and if it has
more than three or four windings so that it gets close to the pegbox, loosen
the string and take up the extra length. When the string winding reaches the
pegbox, it acts as a screw or wedge to pull the tuning pin out, making the
pin extremely hard to turn and eventually spoil the finish on the pegbox.
JERKY PINS
For tuning pins that do not turn smoothly, but stick and jerk, remove the
string and the pin altogether. Scrape the pin with a coarse file on the
scratch filing you will see. This may have become worn quite smooth and
should be kept quite deep. Then clean out the hole in the pegbox. A small
fingernail file is often just the right size and taper for this. Scrape it
around the hole to remove any loose wood-dust or corrosion deposits. Don't
overdo it, but maple or birch is a pretty hard wood and the chances that you
couldn't really enlarge the hole with a small file. Usually just a turn or
two around the hole with the file will do it. Never put chalk into the hole!
It is always a good idea to clean the pins this way whenever you put on a
new string, since they are not easily removed and replaced.
SLIPPING PINS
If your bandura is new, it is probably due to the pins being not properly
seated at first and may slip slightly. To correct the problem, always push
in on the pin are you turn it in tuning. It might be a good idea once in a
while to twist the pin back and forth pushing it into the pegbox at the same
time. Do not pound on the pins.
In some of the older Lviv banduras the pins supplied to them were not round
but oval in diameter and thus tended to eat out the wood around the hole.
These pins should be replaced.
The "fast" method of fixing slipping pegs is to take the peg out and fit
wooden shims made of sliced toothpicks or wooden matches. This is not the
very best way of repairing a slipping peg, and you are not advised to do it
in such a manner. The shim will tend to enlarge the hole unevenly and may
lead to the pegbox splitting.
A more traditional method is to remove the pin and to pour in or paint pin
tightener into the hole which will cause the timber to naturally expand and
in so doing grasp the tuning peg without damaging the pegbox. Tuning pin
tightener can be expensive. Up to $70 for a small bottle. It is basically
made up of finely ground up violin resin in a solvent such as acetone or
alcohol. The resin is soaked into the wood around the tuning-pin hole and
the solvent evaporates.
Violin resin is really tree sap which is a totally natural substance to put
into a tuning pin hole. One must be careful that the resin is ground up very
finely as sharp unground pieces may dig into the walls of the hole once the
tuning-pin is place back in.
Another method of dealing with tuning pins that slip is to replace the pin
with once of slightly larger diameter. These pins are available from piano
parts suppliers.
A final and almost drastic method to stop chronic tuning pin slippage in
instruments where the pegbox is made from the wrong type of wood is to drill
out the holes and place nylon dowels into the pegbox. This has proved
effective in instruments which have had the pegbox made from willow or
mahogany. Apart from stopping slippage of the tuning pegs they also are
unaffected by humidity changes.