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(1 votes) 
Regulars
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Aloha everyone,
I'm not sure what happened, but I was applying Hill's peg compound and got the G-string working pretty well and moved on to the D-string. I applied the peg compound, inserted the peg, worked it around a bit, then inserted the string. I was in the process of getting it tuned up and was a little sharp, so I tried to back it off a little bit. That's when I heard the awful crack. I looked down at the peg and, sure enough, there was a large crack. I don't understand, as I was taking off the pressure on the peg. I can understand if too much torque is used, but I wasn't doing that. I was only a little sharp, within a semitone of the desired pitch. I'm beginning to doubt the value of my fiddle. I can understand the "free" stuff (case and bow) not being the greatest quality, but I never thought the fittings, particularly the tuning pegs, would crack like this.
Oh well, to his credit, the luthier where I bought my fiddle told me to take it in and he would solve this issue at no charge. This is still a bummer, though, as I really wanted to practice more now. I'll have to wait
I've attached a couple of pics to show the peg. At least it's not the peg box.
Regulars
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Just throw some superglue on it and carry on until you get to the Luthier to change it out.
"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein
Regulars
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Aloha @cdennyb,
That crack was pretty deep. Luckily for me, the luthier is a short walk from my house. I got it replaced today and everything is good to go! While it doesn't match my other pegs, at least it matches my tailpiece. I'm not too picky on the fittings, as long as they work.
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Crazy, looks like he used Rosewood instead of Boxwood. You can't let that slip...
If you mail us the cracked peg, I'll shave you a new peg to replace the cracked one. Also, you can use wood glue or Gorilla glue on your cracked peg, wrap it tight with some rubberbands and it'll be as good as new when you take off the rubber bands. Just try to wipe as much excess glue off the peg as you can with a moist cloth when it's still wet.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Aloha @Fiddlerman,
Thanks for your response. I thought about the glue thing, but wasn't if it would work. At this point, I'm more concerned with learning how to play the right way vice having everything match. I may end up taking you up on your offer, however. I'm probably going to replace the fittings with rosewood sometime in the future. I have a rosewood tailpiece and the new peg matches the tailpiece. I like seeing the darker grain.
Of course, I would like to fix my playing issues first. I'm still clutching the neck, making it really hard to play the higher notes on the E-string (in first position - the B a fifth above the E). I've seen lots of videos on it, and I'm trying to work on it, but this is something that will take a little bit of time.
Regulars
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This might help the clutching the neck thing.
Here's a couple of pics of how I hold the neck. I actually don't hold it, it just let it sit on my thumbprint. Allows more freedom of movement for the whole fingerboard. Try it, you might like it.
"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein
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Aloha @cdennyb,
Thanks for the pics. I'll see if I can do the same thing. I need a lot of work with my left hand. I also have issues going from L2 to 3. My 2nd finger naturally aligns closer to my 3rd finger, which is why I like to compose in D minor and G minor. I have to force that interval. I think that once the clutching issue is resolved, everything else should also follow suit. One other problem that exacerbates the clothing is that I press down too hard on the strings. That causes the neck to go down, reinforcing the "need" to clutch my fiddle.
One thing I noticed is that you con't have a contact point on your 1st finger joint. I was lead to believe that we were supposed to support the fiddle between that aforesaid contact point and the thumb. I'll have to try your "hold" and get back to you, but if it works for you it will probably work for me too. Thanks again.
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