Avoiding Cracks  

· When tuning a tight peg higher the control over fine-tuning is diminished. Increasing the turning force on the peg can suddenly move the peg too far and the string will break. This sometimes motivates a novice into a frustrated trip to the repairman with the thought that the latter did not fit the peg right or sold a bad string. Most repairmen have experienced this scenario. Needless to say these are not happy memories on either side.

· Over longer periods of time wooden pegs will loose their correct shape and need to be replaced.

· In order to fit new pegs well, the peg holes have to be reshaped by making them bigger. Eventually these holes are too large and they have to be bushed. This is an expensive process, which involves filling the holes and retouching the new wood before new pegs are installed.

· Peg box cracks starting at the peg hole closest to the scroll are almost always the result of old and badly fitting pegs. The pressure needed here to keep the strings in tune is often beyond the strength of the peg box. This results in a very expensive repair in addition to a devaluation of the instrument.