mikeyb2 - Posted - 11/30/2013:  06:28:05

Chip, yes it's attached to the top with glue and screws. On mine it's the back which is loose and goes on last. I take your point about it being easier to change the head when it's done your way, and would probably do it that way next time. Anyway, I fitted new skin today, and managed to get the stapler into the back of the top piece as you and Rudy advised. I used heavy duty staples and glue also. Once again, you were right that I didn't need the press/clamps, as the screws drew it all together nicely. It's looking good, the tension seems ok. I'll say for sure once it dries. Thanks for all the advice to Rudy and yourself.

chip arnold - Posted - 11/30/2013:  14:07:30

Glad it's coming together for you. Let us know how it sounds :-)

mikeyb2 - Posted - 12/02/2013:  09:32:27

Finished at last. Maybe a bit of tweaking to do on the nut and bridge, and trying different bridges etc. I'm quite pleased for my first build, plenty of mistakes along the way. All part of the learning curve. Unable to comment on the tone yet until the strings settle down( and my finger nail grows back!)I've learnt a lot whilst building this , thanks to this forum. Thanks everyone, and in particular Rudy and Chip. Pictures also show the timber i started with, so there was probably a lot more work than should have been. Decent pieces of Black Walnut are not easy to come by here.

Shawn Hoover - Posted - 12/02/2013:  10:19:10

Wow, that is pretty walnut and very handsomely finished. Great job.

chip arnold - Posted - 12/02/2013:  11:39:33

Now that's something to be proud of! You've done a fine job. 

C Nyal de Kaye - Posted - 12/02/2013:  12:34:29

That looks truly nice and I just love those tuners. Great job mate.

XyloTwang - Posted - 12/05/2013:  14:02:28

That turned out beautiful!  I agree those tuners look great.  Must have been a pain fitting/shaping them?  Or what is your secret?  Tailpiece is rather elegant I think as well.

What did you use for a finish on the banjo if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks for sharing, great job!

mikeyb2 - Posted - 12/05/2013:  16:08:34

quote:

Originally posted by XyloTwang

That turned out beautiful!  I agree those tuners look great.  Must have been a pain fitting/shaping them?  Or what is your secret?  Tailpiece is rather elegant I think as well.

What did you use for a finish on the banjo if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks for sharing, great job!

Thanks, the tuners were a pain, just a lot of patience sitting there sanding away. I used a violin peg as a template and rolled some 120 grit around it and taped it up to keep the shape, just rolled up sandpaper. Seems to have worked. I'm happy with the finish but kind of stumbled on it accidentally. I used Tru-oil, 3 coats then 0000 steelwool, then another 3 coats with steelwool in between each. After that, it was too glossy for my liking, so I took it back with steelwool again and applied Neutral Briwax. When I buffed up the wax, I still thought it was too glossy. At this point I thought I had made a mistake by applying the Briwax so I decided to try and take it off with steel wool again, and after a light going over with the 0000 steel wool, it suddenly looked good! So that was it.

rudy - Posted - 12/06/2013:  11:36:47

Mikeyb2, Totally awesome build!

One of the cool things about mountain banjos is they look great as fine furniture (as your case) or when they look like they've taken a few accidental buckshot hits or been pressed into service as an emergency canoe paddle.

Viva la 'mountain!

rudy - Posted - 01/17/2014:  14:37:57

Mountain Banjo Nouveau:

There's a new version of the Mountain Banjo Nouveau plan available as a free download at my website.  The plan has additional information as well as a few minor detail changes.  You can find the download link here:

bluestemstrings.com/pageMB1.html 

Noah Cline - Posted - 01/24/2014:  19:35:44

Here's some pics and a video of my newest build (#4):

The top and back started out as a 48" x 5 1/2" x 1/2" board which had a lot of the heartwood on one side, as can be seen in the pics, then I cut it into 12" sections, and laminated two together for the top and back.

I will sadly say that when I was putting the head in, the tacks that I used split the top ring in three areas, but was able to glue it back together. The center ring had also cracked, but the sound doesn't seem to be affected, and it doesn't look terrible where I made the repairs. So, lesson learned, I need to pre-drill the holes for the tacks.   

Specs:

Poplar top, center ring, and back

Cherry and poplar neck, with a poplar star inlay in the peg head

Poplar nut and bridge

Calf skin head

Lacquer semi-gloss finish

Grover tuners with friction fifth peg

Strung with Nylgut classicals

Mountain banjo #4
	VIDEO: Shady Grove (click to view)

chip arnold - Posted - 01/24/2014:  19:58:06

I like your playing ... very nice.

C Nyal de Kaye - Posted - 01/24/2014:  22:20:37

We al learn by doing ... and mistakes, that's how it is.

It looks good to me Noah and, as usual, your playing is good.

Crowman - Posted - 01/25/2014:  08:25:55

Great to see the thread still going after all this time, and some great builds also. I have learned a lot from this forum and still enjoy seeing other folks work. Hopefully when the weather warms up again, I will be able to get back in my shop after a very long time of not building anything. Keep up the good work folks and always post the pictures for us beginners to learn from.
Crowman

twelvefret - Posted - 01/26/2014:  17:53:53

quote:

---

Originally posted by rudy

Mountain Banjo Nouveau:

There's a new version of the Mountain Banjo Nouveau plan available as a free download at my website.  The plan has additional information as well as a few minor detail changes.  You can find the download link here:

bluestemstrings.com/pageMB1.html 

---

Rudy, I just visited your site, very nice and informative, the instruments very attractive and well built.

flatfootjohnny - Posted - 02/03/2014:  01:14:05

heres my 1st mountain banjo with frets (all my others are fretless). i also did some naive folk carving on it

fretted and carved mountain banjo

fretted and carved mountain banjo

fretted and carved mountain banjo

Crowman - Posted - 02/03/2014:  08:50:29

Very nice looking Banjo, I really like the dark finish on it. I want to try another one and make it fretted myself.

flatfootjohnny - Posted - 02/03/2014:  14:29:10

Thanks, its made from an old Edwardian mahogany wardrobe.

guitarman8491 - Posted - 02/03/2014:  17:05:13

I would like to respond to each of you that showcased your mountain banjos...they all look great and my guess is each has it's own distinct voice. Great job all..

rudy - Posted - 02/07/2014:  07:32:55

Here's a photo gallery link from Lee Connah's website which shows many examples of mountain banjos he has constructed.  I don't normally link to external sites, but it's got some good examples of home brew construction methods.

folkherosandwich.com/instrumentphotos.php

Edited by - rudy on 02/07/2014 07:34:19

DoctorStupid - Posted - 02/27/2014:  11:12:35

I've been keeping up with this thread for a long time now and it's amazing how it just doesn't get old. Every time I come back to it and see the new builds and pictures and videos it's always new. I hope to build one of these one day. I have it planned as a father son project with my dad. Even though I'm almost 28 I still can't wait for some good old-fashioned bonding with my pops while making an awesome instrument that we both appreciate and enjoy. I live in Knoxville, TN and that huge display of mountain banjos at the Museum of Appalachia is only like 30-45 minutes away. I've been trying to get up there to see it for a while now but just haven't found the time. Hopefully sometime in the not too distant future I'll be posting pictures of my home built banjo on here.



Kudos to everyone who has posted their builds recently. They all look great!

Edited by - DoctorStupid on 02/27/2014 11:13:41

C Nyal de Kaye - Posted - 02/27/2014:  11:48:02

DoctorStupid, I live in Australia and have visited the Museum of Appalachia, so it's about time that you did!

cbcarlisle - Posted - 02/27/2014:  20:04:29

Knoxville? You have NO excuse. San Diego, on the other hand....

C Nyal de Kaye - Posted - 02/27/2014:  20:47:58

cbcarlisle writes "Knoxville? You have NO excuse. San Diego, on the other hand...."

Well CB,  your excuse still sounds like a weak reason to me old mate. San Diego, it's just up the road a bit.

Hankon5 - Posted - 02/27/2014:  20:57:45

NICE!!!!!! Sharp and cutting edge!

rudy - Posted - 02/28/2014:  04:18:18

quote:

---

Originally posted by cbcarlisle

Knoxville? You have NO excuse. San Diego, on the other hand....

---

Nah, There's already a mountain banjo museum in San Diego:

banjohangout.org/myhangout/pho...?id=18436

GSCarson - Posted - 02/28/2014:  07:27:44

mikeyb2, Noah and flatfootjohnny, nice banjos! 

I've enjoyed reading this thread since the start, as Foxfire book #3 is what lit my banjo building fire when it came out in 1975.  I had a neat experience earlier this week that ties it all together.  We were driving home to PA from visiting folks in Florida (that's sure a different world this time of the year!  We went from ice, snow and low teens to sandals, shorts and 80's and now back down again) and stopping in South Carolina to meet our fourth granddaughter, who was actually born early Monday morning.  An old friend lives in upstate Georgia and we ended up staying with them Monday night on our way to SC.  Turns out he used to work at Foxfire, and hanging on his living room wall was one of the banjos that first turned me on.  The fretless walnut mountain banjo Stanley Hicks built (Foxfire 3, pages 139 -157).  I took it down, tuned it up and played on it for a while, and it was great!  We had a wonderful supper and then caught up and played music until midnight or so.  For me, my whole musical experience started with building these little banjos and it truly changed my life in a whole lot of ways. 

Carry on mountain banjo builders!  Glenn C.

cbcarlisle - Posted - 02/28/2014:  13:15:31

Busted! I've got people all over East Tennessee and NC so I should get back to visit. Meanwhile I do spend a lot of time perusing the Museum of Appalachia's site (vicariously).

museumofappalachia.org/veWebsi...exid1.htm

DEmery - Posted - 03/02/2014:  09:13:17

I have followed this thread for a while and continue to enjoy seeing what folks are doing with the mountain banjo. A while back I asked Lawrence Hargis (BHO member Bisbonian) to build me a banjo since I have absolutely no building skills; and thought it would be timely to share the progress on this thread. It should wrap up later this month. We went with curly maple while walnut is more traditional. The fingerboard is figured walnut and the finish will be brown tone stained with an oil finish. This will be a player banjo at 25 1/2", frets, and a scoop. I am more than pleased with Lawrence's work and the results at this point are very pretty. I will post final photos when she delivers late in March.  

Edited by - DEmery on 03/02/2014 09:13:55

etparadox - Posted - 03/28/2014:  14:03:57

Nice one David! I love the pattern on the back.

I've also enjoyed following this thread for the past year or so. It's grown to an amazing length and is a testament to the power of the simple yet nuanced design that is the mountain banjo. I'm pleased to be able to say that my own is now in the white, and I can't wait to get the finishing touches on it. It has a walnut top and back with a maple center ring and neck. The brass fingerboard overlay is about 1/32" thick and is held on with epoxy and 4 screws. There is a hidden tensioning ring inside the pot that is adjusted via a second ring of screws on the back. it has a nominal 25.5" scale with the overly going just past the 7th fret position. More photos to come once I find time to finish it up.

Mountain Banjo in the White - Back

Mountain Banjo in the White - Front

Noah Cline - Posted - 03/28/2014:  18:12:12

I like the contrast of colors, kinda like my most recent one, #4.*

The brass plate is neat, too. Don't think I've seen any older ones that have that. Reminds me of an older Mtn. banjo that I seen that had bone scales inlaid in the fingerboard.

*The top and back (poplar) have more heartwood (light green to brown and purple) in them, and the center ring is a lighter poplar, which I don't have a pic of, which does contrast some.

I made the neck out of cherry and poplar. It would have been three piece cherry, but I didn't have enough of the cherry left, so I thought the poplar in the center would make it different and made it contrast nicely.

Mountain banjo #4

BungleBanjo - Posted - 03/29/2014:  03:11:56

Etparadox,

That banjo looks great! I love the peghead design, and the brass plate is beautiful. Where did you find the brass for it? I look forward to seeing the final product!

etparadox - Posted - 03/29/2014:  12:16:57

Thanks! I just had the brass laying around the shop. It's about 1/32" thick. I glued it on with a bit of 2 part epoxy, but the screws in the corners are a must. 

The peghead started as a product of necessity. I screwed up the scarf joint and had to eat a few inches into what would have been peghead length to fix the angle. This design was just about the only thing that would fit, but I'm glad it came out how it did. I like it better than the original design. 

That's a beaut Noah! It's funny how the builds that don't go as planned often turn out the best. 

Noah Cline - Posted - 03/29/2014:  14:49:08

I know what you mean about the the little "screw-ups."

The first head I put in, I accidentally trimmed it too short, so had to soak another one. The top's 1/2", and when I went to tack the head in, the tacks started to go through all the way, and with some, split the top ring into 3 pieces. I was able (thankfully; I didn't want to scrap it since the whole thing stained and finished nicely) to glue the top back together mostly.

The center ring has two cracks: one from where I predrilled a screw hole (guess it was the way the grain was), and I can't remember how the other one occurred.

You definitely learn from each one as you build them, and work out the "quirks" on the next.

Edited by - Noah Cline on 03/29/2014 14:51:57

chip arnold - Posted - 03/29/2014:  16:14:22

It helps to pre-drill holes for the tacks. I use 45 tacks and it would split all to pieces if I didn't pre-drill. I pre-drill all my screw holes as well. One drill for the shank and a smaller one for the threads.

Noah Cline - Posted - 03/29/2014:  16:30:29

quote:

---

Originally posted by chip arnold

It helps to pre-drill holes for the tacks. I use 45 tacks and it would split all to pieces if I didn't pre-drill. I pre-drill all my screw holes as well. One drill for the shank and a smaller one for the threads.

 

---

That's the lesson I learned. Won't make that mistake again ;)

cbcarlisle - Posted - 04/05/2014:  12:05:30

I recently bought an (anonymous) mountain banjer which looked modern, and was half-fretted. Upon taking the back off I found, inside, in pencil: Jim Brandenburg  2012. If anyone out there knows this fellow please have him contact me. I always like to know as much as possible about my instruments.

Noah Cline - Posted - 04/06/2014:  15:55:09

#5 in-the-white

All poplar. Getting ready to get a stain bath.

Mtn. banjo #5 in-the-white

chip arnold - Posted - 04/06/2014:  16:33:15

Linda is building us a website. It's still a baby, but it's up and running. There are some pics of previous mtn banjos in progress.

mountainbanjos.wordpress.com/

BungleBanjo - Posted - 04/06/2014:  16:40:53

Wow Noah! I think that is your best one yet! I love the peg head!!! What are you going to do for a finish?

BungleBanjo - Posted - 04/06/2014:  18:22:37

This winter has kept me out of my garage for a long time. Finally getting back to work on #2.  I scrapped the first neck I made for it and made a longer, wider neck.  I also added a fret board.  It will have a 26-3/16  scale length.  It is made of poplar with a rosewood fret board and accents.  

MountainBanjo2

Noah Cline - Posted - 04/06/2014:  18:25:26

quote:

---

Originally posted by BungleBanjo

Wow Noah! I think that is your best one yet! I love the peg head!!! What are you going to do for a finish?

---

 Thanks! I have a spray-on semi-gloss lacquer finish that I was pleased with on #4, and will use it on this one.

The peg head was one I came up with (I was drawing different ones and this one came out).

peedee - Posted - 04/07/2014:  08:02:57

Sweet forum thread. I've wanted to build a Stanley Hick's banjo for a while now. I've got the Firefox book, seen the David Holt Folkways video with Stanley but I've yet to try my hand at it. I was wondering if anyone has made one with supplies that you could find at your local big box home improvement store. If this has already been covered in the forum, I apologize. I'm new tot he banjo and thought it would be fun to build one since money is tight.

BungleBanjo - Posted - 04/07/2014:  10:28:32

Hi Peedee,

I built my first mountain banjo last summer. I used a couple of glued up 2x4s for the neck and 1/2in plywood for the pot. For the tension ring I used a 6" PVC pipe. All from Home Depot. I used the cheap stuff because I wanted to get all the mistakes out of the way before I moved on to more expensive wood--but I must say that the banjo sounds really good and it has held up very well. If you look at page 24 or 25 on this topic I have some pictures posted of it. I am working on Banjo #2 now which is made of poplar that I got at Lowes--and that wasn't very expensive either.

In addition to Firefox, I also highly recommend checking out bluestemstrings.com. Rudy has some excellent content for the first time builder as well as plans for a Frank Profitt style mountain banjo.

If you are thinking about building one I recommend just diving in and give it a try! It is a lot of fun building your own!

peedee - Posted - 04/07/2014:  11:10:51

Thanks BungleBanjo!

Thats exactly what I was looking for. You're right, I would like to try it out on some cheap materials first since I'm sure I'll have plenty of mistakes. What sort of head did you use? I thought about ordering some goat hide from Elderly Instruments but wasn't sure if this was the right route to take. I'll go pick up some supplies soon and get started on this!

Thanks again!

peedee - Posted - 04/07/2014:  11:38:03

oh and BTW.. Nice job on the banjo BungleBanjo! I hope my turns out as nicely as yours did

BungleBanjo - Posted - 04/07/2014:  12:30:16

Thanks! The secret is to pose your banjo so the flaws are hidden when taking a picture:)

I bought my goat skin at Elderly. It wasn't very expensive. Stewart-MacDonald (stewmac.com) has cheap tuners that work very well. I used Aquila Nylgut strings that I also bought at Elderly. Those are probably a must with a soft pine neck to prevent warping.

chip arnold - Posted - 04/07/2014:  17:20:08

Home Depot usually has a selection of clear poplar and oak in widths up to 12", which is enough for a mtn. banjo pot. It's already dressed and uniform in thickness. All the hardware can be found at any hardware store.

John Firth-Smith - Posted - 04/07/2014:  17:38:02

Hello all -- I came across this auction add and thought you people might not have seen these two very old mountain banjos that were recently sold in the USA at auction.

along with other primitive instruments

Auction House --Jeffrey S.Evans & Associate -- sale April 5 2014 = a bit late but never the less interesting

Auction title --The collection of the late John & Lil Palmer

Lot 335 -- mountain banjo  ,  lot 356  -- Appalachain  folk banjo.

Sorry to interrupt the thread !   Cheers    John