Insert obgligatory banjo jokes here.

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MaineGeezer
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Insert obgligatory banjo jokes here.

Post by MaineGeezer »

I've been thinking about what my next project should be. I've already got more guitars than I know what to do with, so another guitar didn't seem too practical.

A few days ago I was talking with a friend of mine, who said he had never seen a long-neck banjo with a frailing scoop, and he wished his long-neck banjo had one. I said that the cheapest way to get one would probably be to just make a new neck for the banjo he has now. Conceivably that was something I could do.

Well, something got lost in the transmission and what my friend heard was more like, "I'll make you a new banjo neck." He was enthusiastic and grateful. I suppose I could have corrected him and told him I was merely speculating and not volunteering to actually do it, but he was so taken by the idea I didn't have the heart to rain on his parade. Besides, I DID need another project.

So my next project is going to be a long banjo neck with a frailing scoop, to fit his current banjo pot. It will be curly maple, with an African blackwood fingerboard and head cap. Waverly planetary tuners. I plan to embed a couple strips of carbon fiber in neck as insurance against warping. I probably don't need to, but it won't hurt. He wants the neck to be slightly wider than normal. "Normal" width of a banjo neck at the nut seems to be 1-3/16" to 1-1/4". I'll make it 1-5/16". Stay tuned for disaster reporting!
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
Danl8
Posts: 733
Joined: Mon Jul 28, 2014 7:50 am
Location: Chadds Ford, PA

Re: Insert obgligatory banjo jokes here.

Post by Danl8 »

Can't wait to watch this one get built. I've been wanting to build a frailing/clawhammer gut-strung banjo for 40 years.
MaineGeezer
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: Insert obgligatory banjo jokes here.

Post by MaineGeezer »

Remember, I'm just naking the neck.

Making the pot has always seened to me to be more of an assembly process than acgually making anything, unless one makes the rim. I supose I could make all the brackets and assorted hardware -- I've got the tools.to do it -- but making 24 nuts, 24 hooks, etc. Would be a colossal bore. Far easier and possibly cheaper to buy the hardware.
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: Insert obgligatory banjo jokes here.

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

You can tune a banjo, but how do you tuna fish? By adjusting its scales!

I know...really BAD joke.

It sounds like a really neat project.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
Danl8
Posts: 733
Joined: Mon Jul 28, 2014 7:50 am
Location: Chadds Ford, PA

Re: Insert obgligatory banjo jokes here.

Post by Danl8 »

Diane Kauffmds wrote:You can tune a banjo, but how do you tuna fish? By adjusting its scales!

I know...really BAD joke.

It sounds like a really neat project.
LMAO :-)
Danl8
Posts: 733
Joined: Mon Jul 28, 2014 7:50 am
Location: Chadds Ford, PA

Re: Insert obgligatory banjo jokes here.

Post by Danl8 »

MaineGeezer wrote:Remember, I'm just naking the neck...
I know. Halfway there is better than nothing. :-) I have a old journal detailing the making of an Appalachian all wood fretless, catgut strung banjo -- always thought I should do one of those, but your project will carry me for another few years...
tippie53
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Location: Hegins, Pa
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Re: Insert obgligatory banjo jokes here.

Post by tippie53 »

there was a book in the 70's called foxfire and there was a banjo builder in that.
I know the tone ring is the key. Look into that . Looking forward to the pictures
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
phavriluk
Posts: 554
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2012 9:49 pm

Re: Insert obgligatory banjo jokes here.

Post by phavriluk »

How long does it take to tune a banjo?

No one knows.
peter havriluk
Cbstark46143
Posts: 43
Joined: Sat Aug 30, 2014 5:49 pm

Re: Insert obgligatory banjo jokes here.

Post by Cbstark46143 »

Definition of a gentleman:

A man who knows how to play the banjo, but chooses not to......
Danl8
Posts: 733
Joined: Mon Jul 28, 2014 7:50 am
Location: Chadds Ford, PA

Re: Insert obgligatory banjo jokes here.

Post by Danl8 »

Cbstark46143 wrote:Definition of a gentleman:

A man who knows how to play the banjo, but chooses not to......
Ouch. Now that's funny!
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