Peghed tuners for a Bowlin?

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BOWLIN 1865 BANJO CLUB

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A group of owners or want to be owners of a Bowlin 1865 Fretless Banjo. To help each other bring out the best in this banjo.

93 Members, Created 1/27/2011 -

Administrators: John Bowlin (owner)

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From J-Walk on 10/22/2011 2:40:51 PM

I was wondering if anyone has installed those Peghed geared tuners on their Bowlin. I have them on a fretless banjo from Brooks Maste, and they work amazingly well -- and look good, too.

My Bowlin seems to be getting more and more difficult to tune. Is there some type of maintenance required for the tuners?

4 Comments
	banjers51 says: 10/23/2011 7:01:16 AM I've not run into this problem with my Bowlin, but I've serviced those same tuners (Grover Champions) many times by disassembling them and adding just a touch of good, heavy grease between the post and the collar, before putting them back together. I like Phil Wood grease (the green stuff) which you can buy in any good bike shop--it's cheap and easy to clean up since it's so thick. Re: the Peghed tuners, I have them on two banjos and they work great, but I'd try rebuilding the Grovers first.
	J-Walk says: 10/23/2011 7:20:02 AM Good suggestion. Thanks.
	R.D. Lunceford says: 1/27/2012 5:17:44 PM I've not had any difficulties with mine either. I assume you've got the set-screws tightened properly. Have you been habitually tuning out of spec for the string-gauge the banjo was shipped with? If so, that might stress part of the overall system and manifest itself with the problem you are having. The "pegheads" are cool looking tuners, but 1865's have become such in-demand banjos, I wouldn't start making modifications that may devalue the instrument. I've also noted that sometimes the pegheads look too long... be a shame to ruin the perfect proportions of a Bowlin Fretless.
	R.D. Lunceford says: 1/27/2012 5:24:46 PM Clarification: When I said "I've also noted that sometimes the pegheads look too long..." I was referring to the tuners, not the actual 1865 peghead. And by the way, the "peghead" tuners are a fine product, but they must be fitted properly to the banjo to look right......I've especially noted the 5th string peg looking way too long, but that is a luthier issue, not a manufacturer's issue. I think those tuners may be available in a shorter length to suit the banjo vs. the fiddle, but don't quote me on that.
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