Kevin B
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2012
- Messages
- 102
- Reaction score
- 1
I'm going to try to share my foray into making a banjo uke.
My main banjos are five string banjos. I’ve played the five string since 1976. However, having learned that my grandmother played the banjo ukulele in the 20’s and 30’s I was moved to add that to my arsenal (I have always liked some of the old twenties songs and depression era songs).
I ordered a cheap ukulele to see if I could pick up playing a uke. Then I bought a twenties banjo uke off Ebay that was almost a toy. I planned to sacrifice the neck but it turned out to be a very playable instrument.
Wanting a better banjo uke I ordered an import which was backordered multiple time. While waiting for the other I built a rim. Once I realized this was a viable rim I cancelled the import order.
I had a scrap of flexible hardwood plywood. I ripped it to the same height as my soprano uke. The plywood has two layers oriented vertical and a paper-thin layer oriented horizontally. I found a piece of PVC pipe roughly 6 9/16” OD. Then wrapping one layer of the plywood around I sanded the end until I had a tight fairly flush joint. I used three staples at the joint to hold that layer together (I drove them in below the surface). Then I followed the same procedure, wrapped a second layer around the first, and glued that layer with Titebond. Next I used six hose clamps to make two clamping bands to hold it all together (all I had but you can get a single 9” clamp). I clamped it for up for 48 hours. Next unclamped the rim and pushed the PVC out with relative ease.
I ordered hardware kit from Mainland Ukulele. It had the 8” head, stretcher band, some hooks, lugs and a tailpiece.
The friction tuners went to my Schoenhut Ebay banjo uke. I did not like the tailpiece and did not use it. I ordered more lugs and hooks off Ebay to make my uke a 12-hook unit.
The rim was stained to approximate the final color intended for the neck. All staining for the banjo was done with Fieblings alcohol based leather dye. Stewart MacDonald Color tone sanding sealer and instrument lacquer (all aerosol) was used for finishing of the neck and rim.
Note, the tone hoop is a brass plated steel ring from Hobby Lobby that is a perfect 8” in diameter and was less than $2. It acts as a bearing to keep the head off the rim and increase the vibrating surface. An alternative approach would have been to bevel the top of the rim.
My main banjos are five string banjos. I’ve played the five string since 1976. However, having learned that my grandmother played the banjo ukulele in the 20’s and 30’s I was moved to add that to my arsenal (I have always liked some of the old twenties songs and depression era songs).
I ordered a cheap ukulele to see if I could pick up playing a uke. Then I bought a twenties banjo uke off Ebay that was almost a toy. I planned to sacrifice the neck but it turned out to be a very playable instrument.
Wanting a better banjo uke I ordered an import which was backordered multiple time. While waiting for the other I built a rim. Once I realized this was a viable rim I cancelled the import order.
I had a scrap of flexible hardwood plywood. I ripped it to the same height as my soprano uke. The plywood has two layers oriented vertical and a paper-thin layer oriented horizontally. I found a piece of PVC pipe roughly 6 9/16” OD. Then wrapping one layer of the plywood around I sanded the end until I had a tight fairly flush joint. I used three staples at the joint to hold that layer together (I drove them in below the surface). Then I followed the same procedure, wrapped a second layer around the first, and glued that layer with Titebond. Next I used six hose clamps to make two clamping bands to hold it all together (all I had but you can get a single 9” clamp). I clamped it for up for 48 hours. Next unclamped the rim and pushed the PVC out with relative ease.
I ordered hardware kit from Mainland Ukulele. It had the 8” head, stretcher band, some hooks, lugs and a tailpiece.
The friction tuners went to my Schoenhut Ebay banjo uke. I did not like the tailpiece and did not use it. I ordered more lugs and hooks off Ebay to make my uke a 12-hook unit.
The rim was stained to approximate the final color intended for the neck. All staining for the banjo was done with Fieblings alcohol based leather dye. Stewart MacDonald Color tone sanding sealer and instrument lacquer (all aerosol) was used for finishing of the neck and rim.
Note, the tone hoop is a brass plated steel ring from Hobby Lobby that is a perfect 8” in diameter and was less than $2. It acts as a bearing to keep the head off the rim and increase the vibrating surface. An alternative approach would have been to bevel the top of the rim.
