To me, the trickiest part to a completely DIY stringed instrument is the tuning pegs. Which is why I came up with this incredibly simple (and must have been done before somewhere) 10 pence tuning peg!
All it involves is a bolt, a nut, a washer and a washer with a hole drilled into it.
- Tie the wire to hole in the washer
- .Put that washer onto a secured bolt and add the nut, but don't screw it on too far.
- Tie the other end of the wire as tight as you can to whatever it's going to be anchored to.
- Turn the bolt with screwdriver while holding the nut, this will push the nut and washer up the shaft of the bolt, increasing the tension in the wire.
- Simples!
I knocked up a quick and simple hammered dulcimer to see how well it worked, and so far so good!
