Peg Shapers That You Can Adjust

by David Golber

Originally published in American Lutherie #96, 2008



There are two meanings of the word “adjustable.” One is that you loosen some screws, and some part becomes moveable. Then, if you have superhuman fineness of hand and eye, you can put that part in exactly the right place, and then tighten the screws — hoping that tightening the screws won’t move the part out of place again! The other meaning of “adjustable” is that ordinary human beings can get the part into the right place.

Photo 1 shows the usual kind of peg shaper on the right. You loosen the screws that hold a blade and then somehow get the blade to exactly the right spot. Some people use these; they don’t work for me. On the left is one of my peg shapers. The crucial difference is the adjusting nuts, which allow mere mortals to actually adjust the thing.