Hello. I just came into an old tenor banjo from a friend of mine and as I was tuning it, one of the buttons broke. While I was looking for replacements, I realized none of them would fit the tuners that are currently on the banjo. I decided I would just replace all of the tuners, but I don't really want to bore the hole. Are there any decent yet cheap tuners that would fit in a 1/4 hole, or would I have to bore it out? If I do have to make the hole bigger, how do these ones seem? http://www.instrumentalley.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=GG-P-145&CartID=1
or http://www.stewmac.com/shopby/item/0177
Your best bet is to keep an eye on Ebay as sets of vintage friction (non geared) come up fairly regularly and are pretty cheap. They will normaly fit the 1/4" hole. Vinatge sets of geared tuners are also available from various sources but they are larger than 1/4" diameter. (but still smaller than the modern tuners) If you are tuning the banjo to GDAE with heavy gauge strings be aware that friction tunerswill struggle with holding the tension of the strings so I do recommend that you get geared tuners - vintage or modern. If you need to enlarge the hole to fit these try to use a reamer as an inexperienced hand with a drill can cause untold damage. Hope this helps. good luck.
This sort are nice and cheap and would hold the string tension better than friction ones: http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Banjo_tuners/Economy_Banjo_Tuners.html?read=reviews&tab=Details but you'd still need to widen the hole. They'll only fit on a peghead that's a fairly simple shape. I've widened the holes on 3 banjos successfully (for fitting new planetary tuners), and I used an inexpensive reamer but I was very careful. As vegamad said, don't use a drill - it will snatch at the wood and tear the edges. I widened the hole with the reamer back and front (which leaves the hole with a hourglass shape and then used rolled up tubes of emery paper to widen it so the tuners fitted. Come to think of it, I was spending an hour per hole. You might have other things to spend your time on!
I would seek advice before opening the hole! Replacement tuners are easier to come across than you may think, try puting a photo of them up on the "banjo hangout". Someone there will no doubt have an idea about where to get a replacement.
A couple times in the past, I used some narrow shaft tuners that I got from First Quality Music, but they don't seem to carry them anymore. I think the Swiss manufacturer went out of business. These might be them: http://www.elderly.com/accessories/items/BP32.htm
However, I still had to ream the holes when they were replacing friction tuners.
Nowadays, I just get 3/8" tuners and ream the holes. It's not too hard, and I've never run into problems, even when the holes feel a little too close to the edge for comfort. Using a reamer gives you the ability to be careful.
If you're really wanting replacement friction tuners, let me know. I have about 10 sets of them lying around. What kind of banjo is it?
I spoke with Bob Smakula and he said he has them routinely in stock and will adapt vintage buttons to fit them if you wish. The tuners will need larger holes as Reverend mentioned. I happen to have a drill press and Fostner bits and so I used that setup to enlarge the holes as I do not have a reamer. Worked just fine.
I wouldn't do it on a expensive or great banjo but I enlargerd the holes on my Ludwig with one blade of a pair of scissors. Worked perfectly.Tried sanding it open first but it was taking forever. the scissor provided the perfect amount of control. I was stuck on the road with no good tools and needed a quick fix. Go slow. I only replaced the offending tuner but the other planetray tuners are working great.
Tenor Banjo tuners
Tenor Banjo tuners
Hello. I just came into an old tenor banjo from a friend of mine and as I was tuning it, one of the buttons broke. While I was looking for replacements, I realized none of them would fit the tuners that are currently on the banjo. I decided I would just replace all of the tuners, but I don't really want to bore the hole. Are there any decent yet cheap tuners that would fit in a 1/4 hole, or would I have to bore it out? If I do have to make the hole bigger, how do these ones seem?
http://www.instrumentalley.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=GG-P-145&CartID=1
or
http://www.stewmac.com/shopby/item/0177
# Posted on April 13th 2011 by HoboCrow
Re: Tenor Banjo tuners
Your best bet is to keep an eye on Ebay as sets of vintage friction (non geared) come up fairly regularly and are pretty cheap. They will normaly fit the 1/4" hole. Vinatge sets of geared tuners are also available from various sources but they are larger than 1/4" diameter. (but still smaller than the modern tuners) If you are tuning the banjo to GDAE with heavy gauge strings be aware that friction tunerswill struggle with holding the tension of the strings so I do recommend that you get geared tuners - vintage or modern. If you need to enlarge the hole to fit these try to use a reamer as an inexperienced hand with a drill can cause untold damage. Hope this helps. good luck.
# Posted on April 13th 2011 by vegamad
Re: Tenor Banjo tuners
This sort are nice and cheap and would hold the string tension better than friction ones: http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Banjo_tuners/Economy_Banjo_Tuners.html?read=reviews&tab=Details but you'd still need to widen the hole. They'll only fit on a peghead that's a fairly simple shape. I've widened the holes on 3 banjos successfully (for fitting new planetary tuners), and I used an inexpensive reamer but I was very careful. As vegamad said, don't use a drill - it will snatch at the wood and tear the edges. I widened the hole with the reamer back and front (which leaves the hole with a hourglass shape and then used rolled up tubes of emery paper to widen it so the tuners fitted. Come to think of it, I was spending an hour per hole. You might have other things to spend your time on!
# Posted on April 13th 2011 by RichardB
Re: Tenor Banjo tuners
I would seek advice before opening the hole! Replacement tuners are easier to come across than you may think, try puting a photo of them up on the "banjo hangout". Someone there will no doubt have an idea about where to get a replacement.
# Posted on April 13th 2011 by Solidmahog
Re: Tenor Banjo tuners
A couple times in the past, I used some narrow shaft tuners that I got from First Quality Music, but they don't seem to carry them anymore. I think the Swiss manufacturer went out of business. These might be them: http://www.elderly.com/accessories/items/BP32.htm
However, I still had to ream the holes when they were replacing friction tuners.
Nowadays, I just get 3/8" tuners and ream the holes. It's not too hard, and I've never run into problems, even when the holes feel a little too close to the edge for comfort. Using a reamer gives you the ability to be careful.
If you're really wanting replacement friction tuners, let me know. I have about 10 sets of them lying around. What kind of banjo is it?
# Posted on April 13th 2011 by Reverend
Re: Tenor Banjo tuners
Rev,
FQMS has those tuners, they just make it very hard to find them.
http://www.firstqualitymusic.com/p_55.aspx
Mike Keyes
# Posted on April 13th 2011 by mikeyes
Re: Tenor Banjo tuners
I recently purchased two sets of the small shaft planet tuners mentioned by Mike and Reverend from:
http://www.smakula.com/Parts.html (see under "New Banjo Parts" on that page)
I spoke with Bob Smakula and he said he has them routinely in stock and will adapt vintage buttons to fit them if you wish. The tuners will need larger holes as Reverend mentioned. I happen to have a drill press and Fostner bits and so I used that setup to enlarge the holes as I do not have a reamer. Worked just fine.
# Posted on April 13th 2011 by rob zouk
Re: Tenor Banjo tuners
Wow, thanks for all of the replies. I didn't expect that many.
I honestly don't know the manufacturer, it has no brand name. I'll post some pictures and maybe you guys will know.
Neck/head
http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/pp78/DeadLazyBum/IMG_0189.jpg
It has a Roy Smeck head
http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/pp78/DeadLazyBum/IMG_0190.jpg
Back:
http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/pp78/DeadLazyBum/IMG_0191.jpg
Here are the tuners without the knobs:
http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/pp78/DeadLazyBum/IMG_0193.jpg
And the knobs themselves:
http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/pp78/DeadLazyBum/IMG_0195.jpg
The bottom has a square hole that is about 3/16" and the top has a rounded hole.
# Posted on April 13th 2011 by HoboCrow
Re: Tenor Banjo tuners
I wouldn't do it on a expensive or great banjo but I enlargerd the holes on my Ludwig with one blade of a pair of scissors. Worked perfectly.Tried sanding it open first but it was taking forever. the scissor provided the perfect amount of control. I was stuck on the road with no good tools and needed a quick fix. Go slow. I only replaced the offending tuner but the other planetray tuners are working great.
# Posted on April 14th 2011 by dunnp