Has anyone used Zither tuning pins for a cbg? If so how did it work out. They seem to be pretty cheap to buy.

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Will a drum tuning key work with them?

Randy S. Bretz said:
yeah I have on some builds, they work o.k, but you need the wrench to adjust them. That`s the only draw back to using them.
i've used zither pins for several projects. here's my thoughts.

cheap? certainly.
easy to install? YES.
keeps tune well? yes, if the holes are drilled right (i use 3/16 in hardwood, and go one size smaller in soft wood)
easy to retune? not really. after some REAL practice (a few years) i'm pretty good at tuning zither pins. but it's a SKILL.
wrench? pain in the ass.

easily the biggest drawback to zither pins is aquiring a proper zither pin wrench. an adjustable wrench *works* but the taper on the head of the pin makes the wrench roll a bit, and messes up the pin.

here's two instances::

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEGM8HZ_xow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJZb7zJyKjg

after all this, i've moved on to using eye bolt compression tuners. they're adjustable, so you can really crank em tight to hold a tune, and a common screwdriver put through the eye can give plenty of extra leverage for fine tuning.

here:

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/eye-bolt-tuner-w-string-b?conte...


have fun!!!!
Thanks Crow

Crow said:
i've used zither pins for several projects. here's my thoughts.

cheap? certainly.
easy to install? YES.
keeps tune well? yes, if the holes are drilled right (i use 3/16 in hardwood, and go one size smaller in soft wood)
easy to retune? not really. after some REAL practice (a few years) i'm pretty good at tuning zither pins. but it's a SKILL.
wrench? pain in the ass.

easily the biggest drawback to zither pins is aquiring a proper zither pin wrench. an adjustable wrench *works* but the taper on the head of the pin makes the wrench roll a bit, and messes up the pin.

here's two instances::

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEGM8HZ_xow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJZb7zJyKjg

after all this, i've moved on to using eye bolt compression tuners. they're adjustable, so you can really crank em tight to hold a tune, and a common screwdriver put through the eye can give plenty of extra leverage for fine tuning.

here:

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/eye-bolt-tuner-w-string-b?conte...


have fun!!!!
I just joined CBN a short time ago, and when I googled zither pins, it brought me back here. Judging by the submission dates I am a couple years behind everybody else. Just came into some zither pins and, since all my builds are basically $0 budget, wanted to try them in some new builds. Each is an experiment for me. Saw your videos, excellent work and thanks for the ideas- I will be stealing them and working them into my available materials. Thanks

Crow said:
i've used zither pins for several projects. here's my thoughts.

cheap? certainly.
easy to install? YES.
keeps tune well? yes, if the holes are drilled right (i use 3/16 in hardwood, and go one size smaller in soft wood)
easy to retune? not really. after some REAL practice (a few years) i'm pretty good at tuning zither pins. but it's a SKILL.
wrench? pain in the ass.

easily the biggest drawback to zither pins is aquiring a proper zither pin wrench. an adjustable wrench *works* but the taper on the head of the pin makes the wrench roll a bit, and messes up the pin.

here's two instances::

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEGM8HZ_xow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJZb7zJyKjg

after all this, i've moved on to using eye bolt compression tuners. they're adjustable, so you can really crank em tight to hold a tune, and a common screwdriver put through the eye can give plenty of extra leverage for fine tuning.

here:

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/eye-bolt-tuner-w-string-b?conte...


have fun!!!!

The first time I heard of zither pins being used on a cigar box guitar was on a cigar box ukulele being shown off by Pat and Patrick Costello back in 2008. Here is a few photos extracted from their video with a URL. Might be worth a watch.

I thought it was an interesting design concept, which might work well for you if you are planning to go with zither tuners.

 

-Rand.

 

My latest 6 string was built with zither tuners and they work well. They are also great because kids can't make them go out of tune! As Crowe said, they are a pain to use the wrench. I'm sure there is somone that could make a better, cheaper wrench- I picture something like an old bleeder wrench that you would use on a radiator in your home. Anyone out there with tooling skills that could make them?

I have also tried hose clamps on one build.  Very rustic looking but they were quite difficult to tune

the wrench isn't a problem for me, my dad bought me one to use with my autoharp.  I just need to find out how to install the stinkin pins  Zither pin wrenches can be easy to get if you have access to a piano/harpsichord tuning supplier, which I don't since my dad died

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