MIMF

Hi, if anyone can help i'd be very grateful.

I've never made an instrument before. But I have a plan for a 10 string harp/lyre, but have a couple of issues.

First off I've decided to use wooden tuning pegs at the base of the instrument. I've seen that I could use metal pegs but they arnt very easy to retune, and I plan on doing a lot of retuning on this so want it to be easy.

Now the pegs i've thought I could use are violin or viola pegs, possibly something longer as the instrument will be 2" deep at least. The issue is the holes need to be fairly large to accomadate these pegs and because I want to strings between 1.4cm and 2cm apart this could be an issue as there wouldnt be much wood between the holes and im worried about cracking.

I've thought of 2 solutions. Either have two rows of pegs (thereby increasing the space between holes), this would mean half are slightly longer strings, however I'll be using a bridge so it would only mean additional tension on the slightly longer row strings, not longer vibrating length. I'm unsure if 2 rows would cause extra weakness, they would be staggered rows, not directly above one another.

The other option is the have the instrument wider, and gather the strings in the bridge. Not so keen on this if it can be avoided. I plan to use harp strings.

I'm not taking this project too seriously knowing its my first instrument, so there are plenty of mistakes to learn from. Materials im thinking of using are hardwood for main body, probably Oak with maple soundboard top.

The other issue with wooden pegs is I believe its best to use a taper drill, these are pretty expensive. I could just use a plain drill but know this isnt as optimal, in terms of stresses on the pegs and instrument.

Thanks in advance.

Tetsuaiga, we require the use of full names here. Please PM me or any of the moderators with your first and last names so we can change your registration. Thanks!

What makes you think that wooden pegs are easier to retune than metal pegs? I think that something like the small metal pegs such as are used on Hammered Dulcimers would give you what you need. You didn't say if you are planning on nylon or steel strings. I would never use wooden pegs on steel strings (yes I know violins etc. have steel strings but they are lower tension than guitar strings). You would just have to keep a key around for tining the metal pegs.

My .02

Hi Jon

I most likely plan on using harp strings, possibly some other kind of nylon.

I don't have any experience with metal pegs, I play violin and guitar. I did read somewhere that metal are more difficult to tune, stiffer or something but perhaps that's not true?

Would metal pegs reguire a taper drill or just a standard straight one?

At this point I have have very little knowledge about wood/string tolerences in regard to tension and spacing so would be inclined to be cautious.

I've used metal pegs on hammered dulcimers, zithers, harpsichords and harps. I don't think they're difficult to tune, but I've never had an instrument with wooden tuning pegs, so I can't give you a direct comparison. I'd guess the diameter of the wooden tuning pins is greater than that of the metal pins, so it would take more turns to change the string pitch with metal pins (but you'd have finer control).

Typically an undersized straight drill bit is used for metal pins and the pin is hammered in. As Jon mentioned, you do need a tuning wrench. I would think you could pack more strings in a smaller space with the metal pins (staggered rows of tuning pins are common).

Tetsuaiga, you are now David Harrison. Password should be the same.

For that many strings you probably don't want the expense, but you can get Wittner and similar tuning pegs that look just like violin pegs, but are internally geared at like 16:1. They can be had for as low as about $15 per peg.

I think I will definitely reconsider metal pegs.

Would a 16:1 reamer be less expensive than the violin 1:30 one?
Or were you suggesting that because it would be thicker so stronger?

1:16 refers to the mechanical tuning ratio (16 turns of the knob for one turn of the shaft), not the taper of the hole. A standard violin peg is 1:1, and it is often hard to tune accurately at that ratio. Most guitar, mandolin, and other mechanical tuners are in the 1:10-20 range, which gives you much finer control over tuning.

Neither wooden pegs nor zither pins will be easy to retune frequently as in changing tunings like DADGAD, dropped D, modal or open tunings. Harps often have sharping levers to change the pitch of individual strings to a preset note.

Do you have wood working experience? You will need some if you aim to tackle such a project and expect to take it to success. Also, you mention hard woods, is this instrument to be an acoustic, or electrically amplified?

Harps and Lyres are very different instruments - so first of all it would be helpful if you could be more specific about your design. A lyre has a bridge, which presses down on the soundboard. A harp has the strings tied though holes in the soundboard so they pull up away from it, with no bridge.

Both harps and lyres are usually tuned at the far end of the string away from the soundboard attachment.

On lyres, the strings are usually fanned out, close together at the bridge and wider at the "yoke" or "neck". You can use violin type pegs on the neck no problem. They are usually made of wood and inserted into tapered holes. However as mentioned above these will be suitable for gut / nylon / etc strings, and not good for metal strings. Metal strings will be best with metal pins (see below...)

On harps, the strings are usually parallel or very approximately so. It is very uncommon to use violin type pegs on a harp. Most harps use metal pins with square drives that require a tuning key. You have 3 options basically:
1. use guitar geared machine tuners (Paraguayan harps tend to use these)
2. use tapered plain metal pins (these are normal for all Western harps)
3. use "zither pins" - these are parallel threaded pins. They are cheaper to purchase and easier to install (they need a straight drilled hole, not tapering) but they are less convenient to tune and adjust.

Michael, I know it differs from guitar practice, but Northern European lyres traditionally use a hardwood one-piece-back-and-sides with a thin maple soundboard, for use with gut strings.