Banjo uke built totally out of junk for less than 5 bucks.......

E

ejnovinsky

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 18, 2011
Messages
177
Reaction score
0
Built me a banjo uke this weekend....found a 4 dollar hand drum at a local crafty/knick knack type store, and was inspired. The drum is the only money I spent. (outside of strings) Everything else is found materials from around the house.....the neck was sawn and carved from a piece of hard maple firewood.....the tuners were whittled out of a kindling stick (unknown wood type) and hold crazy good for what they are. the bridge and nut whittled from scrap wood. The frets are finishing nails cut and epoxyed into slots in the neck then sanded to a decent height. All freebies....the strings cost more than the whole uke! True it shows...not a show piece, but highly functional and fun! the red paint i used on the body refuses to dry so I didnt get good pics, but Ill get some more tommorow if anyone is into seeing them. !cid__0205022222.jpg!cid__0205022222a.jpg
 
yes that is a patch down by the bridge too, My loving wife knocked a mug out of the cupboard and it happened to land right on top of my poor unfinished project....patched with some heavy vellum and glue, and holding very well........all good instruments have scars right?
 
Thanks for the inspiration! It is a cutie. Can we get a sound clip maybe??
 
ejnovinsky said:
My loving wife knocked a mug out of the cupboard and it happened to land right on top of my poor unfinished project....
Click to expand...
It's funny how loving wives are prone to accidents around ukuleles. I only had my uke a few days when I heard it bouncing and clattering off the tiled hallway floor, as my loving wife accidentally let it slip out of its case. :rolleyes:
 
Great job, yes, sound clip please. And I was wondering all weekend if a tambourine without the jangles would be good for a banjolele body.
 
Not a bad project for a weekend..
:D
 
Excellent work! You are officially the Bear Grylls of the ukulele world! I'm looking forward to maybe hearing how this sounds.
 
Inspiring, thanks for sharing. Very cool!
 
excellent job, i am in the process of making one myself, but i need a dremel to put the curve in so the neck attaches to the drum snugly, so it is waiting patiently, one question when you attached the neck to the drum what did you use please, coz i don't know whether to bolt it on or what
 
If it were me I would bolt and glue, but I tend to be paranoid and over-engineer everything.
Got a spare Dremel thingy here you can borrow if you get stuck.
 
Well done Sir, all I do on a weekend is consume large quantities of Port and cut the grass now and then.
 
Ha ha, thanks for the kind words all....got to play it a little tonight, and god is it rubbish! the sound is terrible, and the intonation is foul beyond beyond compare, but I love it! I cannot fathom that those silly little whittled tuning pegs hold so well! Some of the credit for that goes to the flourocarbon strings however and their low tension. Ill get a soundclip together somehow if for nothing else comedy sake. What a fun build! Im going to keep hacking at it and maybe I can make it better, well see. Neck joint is glued and screwed, and yes making the curve in the neck to fit the drum is a pain, I used a rounded rasp, be wary its easy to go far and ruin your scale length do the curve before you set your frets, and leave a little wiggle room at the nut in case. Oh and spend more than 4 bucks on your drum.....otherwise you might get one that is more oval than actually round!
 
ejnovinsky said:
making the curve in the neck to fit the drum is a pain, I used a rounded rasp, be wary its easy to go far and ruin your scale length
Click to expand...

How can the depth of the neck joint ruin the scale length when you have a floating bridge?
 
Neck joint is glued and screwed, and yes making the curve in the neck to fit the drum is a pain, I used a rounded rasp, be wary its easy to go far and ruin your scale length do the curve before you set your frets, and leave a little wiggle room at the nut in case. Oh and spend more than 4 bucks on your drum.....otherwise you might get one that is more oval than actually round!


I have realised this problem, hence the Dremel, thanx for the offer shifty, but i'll probably buy a cheap version of a dremel, i read about another guy who made his own banjo, and what he did to solve his intonation problem was to offset the neck by 3mm, by putting a wedge into the top where the neck meets the drum, its worth a try ejnovinsky and it could save you chopping up the neck base
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
Vintage Slingerland-Built Small-Pot Banjo Uke (High Quality)
Replies
0
Views
331
Tommy B
T
aaronckeim
  • Locked
Beansprout Banjo Uke #24- originally built for Lil Rev
Replies
4
Views
2K
PhilUSAFRet
PhilUSAFRet
DPO
Southern Cross Banjo Uke
Replies
1
Views
103
Doc Ivory
Doc Ivory
Ondrej
Melodie (Anton Rubinstein) for uke banjo
Replies
2
Views
127
Ondrej
Ondrej
Captain Simian
For Sale Hanalei Banjo Uke Project
Replies
1
Views
305
Captain Simian
Captain Simian
Top Bottom