A Dilemma

Jerryc41

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 4, 2015
Messages
10,243
Reaction score
3,115
Location
Catskill Mountains, NY
I bought a 10" drum to make a banjo uke. It's just like the one on my Firefly concert, but larger and walnut color. I'm not sure about what to use for the neck. I don't feel like carving one out of mahogany again, so I ordered two rough-cut necks.

One is a tenor neck in standard configuration with a rosewood fretboard. The other one is a concert with a slotted headstock and a maple fretboard.

Dimensions from the nut to the end -
Firefly concert: 10.5"
tenor: 9.5"
concert: 8.5"

Both fretboards are too long for a banjo uke, as they would overhang the drum. The maple fretboard has a nice triple point design at the end which I like, but that would have to be cut off. Although I just saw a Goodtime banjo uke with the fretboard overhanging the drum.

So, I'm looking for suggestions for what to do about the neck. I prefer a longer neck, but I like the slotted headstock. The only way to get that would be to make my own neck. I know I can make a bare bones neck, but I prefer the standard uke-type neck. In the past, I've carved them out of a block of mahogany.

I'm leaning toward using the tenor neck with the maple fretboard overhanging the drum by a little over an inch. These necks come from China, so delivery takes weeks.

I await your suggestions.

Good Time Banjouke.jpg
 
can you put a block between the body and neck? If done well it will look ok. I have seen folks do this on cigar box ukes to get a little more neck length
 
Fretboards don't usually overhang the body on banjo uke's. If you do, just ensure it does not come into contact with the head.
 
You can use the concert fretboard on the tenor neck. Check to see where the bridge position would be and proceed from there.
 
Fretboards don't usually overhang the body on banjo uke's. If you do, just ensure it does not come into contact with the head.

Yes, that had occurred to me. I like the shape of the fretboard, but I wouldn't want it pressing down on the head. It would be overhanging by barely an inch.
 
can you put a block between the body and neck? If done well it will look ok. I have seen folks do this on cigar box ukes to get a little more neck length

I hadn't thought of that, but I did consider cutting a couple of inches out of a neck and inserting it into the middle of the concert neck. That might be too much of a technical job, though. If I could get these delivered quickly, I could experiment, but waiting three weeks is a drag.
 
can you put a block between the body and neck? If done well it will look ok. I have seen folks do this on cigar box ukes to get a little more neck length

I did some measuring, and about 1" added to the neck would put the bridge in a perfect location. I have some left over mahogany that should be perfect.
 
Are fret markers in place? If not just cut off the first fret and use the shortened fretboard.

Ah, so I can cut off the top fret? I wondered about that. The fret markers are already on the board, but there's always a work-around.
 
Yes, just make sure you cut off at the nut end! I shortened a bass fretboard by cutting off two frets and repositioning the markers, cleverly using wood from the offcuts to fill the holes left by the MOP dots. I cut larger diamond shapes and filled with matching romboids. Put in a tremendous amount of work and the discovered I should’ve cut three frets off.
 
Yes, just make sure you cut off at the nut end! I shortened a bass fretboard by cutting off two frets and repositioning the markers, cleverly using wood from the offcuts to fill the holes left by the MOP dots. I cut larger diamond shapes and filled with matching romboids. Put in a tremendous amount of work and the discovered I should’ve cut three frets off.

I won't have to cut the fretboard. I added a bit of mahogany to the end of the neck, and I'm satisfied with where the bridge will be located on the drum. I thought up a way to attach the neck to the drum, and I hope it's firm enough. I hope to get it attached tomorrow and see how it is. If I have to buy a new drum and neck and start over, it's not a major expense. : )
 
Top Bottom