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mike gregory - Posted - 07/28/2011: 08:44:39
One of you 60,000 spare brains thought up the idea of a Formica(TM) body.
So I went to the big box building supply store, where they had sheets advertised for $13.99
Lucky me, all their $13 stock sheets looked like granite, but...
the guy had one leftover sheet, slightly larger, supposed to be dark mahogany, for $10.99
OK, so it's bigger, cheaper, and possibly a less jarring sight (though anybody who has stood around playing a Mastertone or copy thereof for a while, would easily believe the darn thing WEIGHS like granite!)
Cut a bunch of strips 2 & 1/4 wide (so I can trim it down to a nice even 2, once the possibly misaligned laminates are dry), and proceeded to try a continuous strip.
That didn't sit too well. So, after the first one had dried, the next bunch were set in, one at a time, cut to size, glued, and clamped in place.
I've got about 3 more strips to put in, but I'm busy elsewhere until Monday, so I figured I'd post a "so far, so good" picture.
The waxed paper is to keep the wooden cauls from sticking to the Formica.
I'm wondering if clamping it to the OUTSIDE of a form would make for a tighter fit.
Anyway, including the glue, this isn't going to cost me $20 total.
Mike Greylak - Posted - 07/28/2011: 09:04:36
It will be a : FormicaGregory banjo?
Edited by - Mike Greylak on 07/28/2011 09:05:55
xnavyguy - Posted - 07/28/2011: 09:23:20
It looks round and already resembles a banjo rim and, your idea isn't going to generate a lot of waste to pollute the environment. Looks like a cracker jack of an idea so far. How about calling it the For(Mike)a banjo rim?
SamCy - Posted - 07/28/2011: 09:51:36
Martin uses high-pressure laminate (Formica is a brand name) for the back and sides of some of their less expensive guitars. It seems to work for them. It should be very consistent, rim to rim. Go for it.
theonly1hardway - Posted - 07/28/2011: 09:53:28
Mike,
If you don't mind my asking.... what kind if glue are you using? When I do basically what your doing I sand both ends of a 8 ft strip roll it up and stick it in a form (eight inch) and glue both ends with super glue...I just push it to tighten the layers....then run exacto knife in between the layers and run super glue right behind the knife blade...if I end up with any voids (which are small) I fill them with super glue...I do tap with a hammer it helps the glue move....you do have the advantage of the screws for the shoes will be going through the rim. When I round off the top of my ring which pushes against the head I once again put a nice coating of super glue it will come out more or less a solid thickness of formica which will polish to slick as glass.
At on time tried to make a wood form with a slot in it to hold the formica to start rolling it and found I could get it just a tight by using the inside form and just pushing it by hand.
harrisonbanjos.com
vernob - Posted - 07/28/2011: 11:14:43
Oh Mike. You go, man.
timmo_1949 - Posted - 07/28/2011: 16:21:58
The people who bought my boyhood home recently remodeled the kitchen. I was able to get about 30 square feet of original brand name Formica from 1956. It is pink with little boomerang shapes. Happily, you can't get that pattern any more. I thought it might be good for fretless fingerboards. I had not thought of using it to wrap rims but it might be kinda cool if you have a very sophisticated sense of beauty like Mike.
Tim Smith
savethebanjos.com
mike gregory - Posted - 07/28/2011: 16:34:36
If memory serves, it was you, theonly1hardway, who posted on a thread about a pot for a mountain banjo.
I didn't realize you only glued the ends.
I'm using a product called Fix All, one little tube at a time, from the dollar store. Sort of like DUCO, or airplane cement.
rudy - Posted - 07/28/2011: 18:12:34
"Happily, you can't get that pattern any more. I thought it might be good for fretless fingerboards."
Some of the SE builders sanded the pattern off and faced the normally hidden surface to the outside. It looks great after it's sanded a bit.
country frank - Posted - 07/29/2011: 02:32:56
Mike, thats a great idea and i am highly intrigued as to how this will hold up/sound/perform.
Please keep us posted.
McUtsi - Posted - 07/29/2011: 02:44:26
Some Pedal Steel Guitars(Dekley etc) are covered w/ Formica ; I quite like Your
idea ; why didn´t I think of that..?..McUtsi
jbalch - Posted - 07/29/2011: 05:16:48
Jack Pearson ( jackpearson.com/ ) plays slide on a Silvertone Jupiter model guitar from the 1960s. It is made of formica.
He sometimes jokes that you just can't get good formica these days....
Bart McNeil - Posted - 07/29/2011: 06:02:25
Boomerang formica is still available... it is used on countertops and tables in the local national brand pizza place in our mall which is only a few years old. And if it is good for eating pizza it should be good for playing music.
Flaunt it!
banjot - Posted - 07/29/2011: 06:21:11
I'm guessing that most of you know that Kyle Creed sometimes used Formica on both the outside and inside of rims, as well as for fingerboards, headstocks, heel and rim edges.
timmo 1949: I'd love to have enough of the pink/boomarang Formica to do a fingerboard, headstock and heel cap if you're planning to sell some.
Tom Mylet
kevinwholmes - Posted - 07/29/2011: 06:36:43
Very cool idea, formica pot. I know some people use it for boat models. I was considering using it as sheathing for the small, but real rowboats I used to build. I also know it's been used for fretless banjo neck fretboards (that last bit sounds contradictory).
yumagah - Posted - 07/29/2011: 10:17:05
I have one of those Martin guitars with HPL back and sides. At first glance the HPL looks like wood because the mahogany pattern is pretty good. This guitar has an excellent tone - it holds it own with Martin's more expensive models. But it does have a strange "feel" to it, almost like it's too rigid. I'm told that the sides won't hold their shape if the guitar top gets damaged & detached. Since guitar is not my main instrument, naturally, I think I will keep this guitar for a long time as it is all I need.
theonly1hardway - Posted - 07/29/2011: 20:36:02
Mike,
I do just glue the ends to fit it in the form....then I use the exacto knife to open the plys to let the super glue flow inbetween the plys....formica is hard to glue since nothing penertrates it.
harrisonbanjos.com
Randall - Posted - 07/30/2011: 03:39:25
Formica banjo = for-Mike-a-banjo!!
mike gregory - Posted - 08/04/2011: 18:54:17
What I've learned:
Do NOT assume that the Formica will easily conform to the frame. Clamp it a in a lot of places, or you'll have a lot of voids..
If using epoxy to try fill voids, first wax the outside of the body, so the drips wont stick.
Randall - Posted - 08/04/2011: 19:20:22
How is the train banjo coming along?!
mike gregory - Posted - 08/05/2011: 06:28:39
Train banjo client said he'd send half the $ "in August".
Haven't heard from him, so, haven't done anything more.
