Banjo Alert

Uke-alot said:
In any case, the angle it was initially cut was almost right, but resulted in the action being a bit high. I modified the angle slightly with chisels
Click to expand...

I also used a 10" pot, but I bought a neck. My neck angles is off a bit, so the action is too high. I don't think I'm going to mess around with it any more, but I have parts to make another. Live and learn.

1.jpg
 
Uke-alot said:
Looks good from here!
Click to expand...

Thanks. It looks nice, and it sounds decent, but this was a learning experience. I don't know if I want to cut off the neck and make another one or just make a new banjo uke. I've cut down the bridge as much as I dare, and the action is still too high.
 
jupiteruke said:
I laugh at all the banjo jokes; "There are 100 different ways to tune a banjo - and all of them are wrong" etc. but I have a warm spot for the banjo. It is the instrument I play the best and where I learned a lot about the instrument building and pearl inlay crafts.

This is "The Little Cat"
Click to expand...

Absolutely gorgeous! I can't believe the work that went into it. You sir (or madam) are an artist!
 
Uke-alot said:
Yes, that's exactly the "10-inch pot" that I used! I'm going to be lazy here and link back to my old post on this instrument, which has more photos and detail: https://forum.ukuleleunderground.co...-completed-tenor-banjolele&highlight=Uke-alot

I did make my own neck. I'm not sure what guidance I can give you on the neck angle. It was designed to be roughly 3 degrees, if I recall correctly. But what I did was create a jig to help measure how far back the far end of the neck would be from a straight line, given the height of the bridge and the scale length of the instrument. Then I made a spacer of that thickness, which I put between the end of the neck and the fence of my radial arm saw when I cut the angle. That prevented me from having to try to set the saw to 87 or 93 degrees (and 3 degrees wasn't necessarily exactly the best angle anyway). In any case, the angle it was initially cut was almost right, but resulted in the action being a bit high. I modified the angle slightly with chisels, but it's actually shimmed right now to get to the correct action. One of these days, I will take it apart and modify it a bit more so that it is correct without a shim.

The neck is a mortise and tenon joint that is held on by a screw and a lag bolt, which is also the attachment for the threaded rod that spans the pot. Once the neck angle was cut, I used chisels to undercut the tenon cheeks to account for the radius of the pot. Only the outer edge of each cheek bears on the pot.

I couldn't find any plans before I made this, so I made a drawing or two for myself that were loosely based on photos of other people's projects. I will post a drawing if I can find whatever I drew up.
Click to expand...

My jig is kind of eyeballing it as I cut it with a Japanese handsaw lol.
IMG_20201220_145031036.jpgIMG_20201220_145132437.jpgIMG_20201220_145146069.jpgIMG_20190203_152014603.jpg
I may try one where the fretboard stretches out over the neck like yours. I sort of tried that, but then I couldn't get the strings to lie properly. I have the action pretty low on them, but notice when I play my fingertips sometimes brush on the head. The just two screws hold pretty well. Tried a truss rod too but not a big deal. Fun what you can do sitting in front of the fireplace with a couple of hand tools.
IMG_20190114_195108240.jpg
 
captain-janeway said:
My jig is kind of eyeballing it as I cut it with a Japanese handsaw lol.

I may try one where the fretboard stretches out over the neck like yours. I sort of tried that, but then I couldn't get the strings to lie properly. I have the action pretty low on them, but notice when I play my fingertips sometimes brush on the head. The just two screws hold pretty well. Tried a truss rod too but not a big deal. Fun what you can do sitting in front of the fireplace with a couple of hand tools.
Click to expand...

Yes, as you probably figured out, angling the neck back a little bit allows you to have a higher bridge and still have good action, which then enables the fretboard to be above the surface of the drum (if desired). On mine, there's a little gap (maybe 1/16") between the head and bottom of fretboard.

I did see where someone posted photos of a number of banjo uke builds with Remo hand drums like yours, and that person also didn't install a dowel or threaded rod spanning the pot. Supposedly, it isn't really needed given the relatively light pull of nylon strings, but I just didn't want to take any chances. It wasn't much more work/expense to install the threaded rod.

If anyone else is thinking about building one of these, I do definitely recommend starting with a 10" drum rather than an 8". I got a chance to audition the Magic Fluke 8" banjo ukes at their factory when I bought a tenor uke there. They were very nicely made, but I just didn't love the tone (too shrill/plinky), and had the same reaction to videos of other makers' 8" banjo ukes. A 10" banjo uke has a warmer tone and much better bass response.
 
Last edited:
I like the 10" better too. Bought a Duke 10 that I loved the sound on (and the lightness) but tenor is just too big for my hands. Ended up selling it. Sniff.
 
It may be overkill, but you could quite easily extend the steel rod right through from the heel to the tail for added stability, and even add a faux dowel stick. This is what is normally done on steel string banjos to prevent the rim from deforming. May be not required on nylon strung instruments, but my guess is that the extra stability would improve tone. Just a thought. Mike.
 
TONE? Are you talking about a banjo? It's a drum on a stick!

John Colter
 
jupiteruke said:
I laugh at all the banjo jokes; "There are 100 different ways to tune a banjo - and all of them are wrong" etc. but I have a warm spot for the banjo.
Click to expand...

You probably heard this one. A banjo player spends 90% of his time tuning it and 10% playing out of tune. ;)
 
Banjos are very versatile. If someone complains about your playing, it makes a great bludgeon.
 
Last edited:
I've built a number of hand drum based banjo-ukes. Quite fun and satifying builds. Here's one I tried to elevate the level by wrapping the drum with leopardwood, some binding, and a bit of inlay on the FB. Also made a brass tailpiece. Even so, it still sounds like a hand drum banjo haha.

Screen Shot 2020-12-21 at 12.08.01 PM.jpg Screen Shot 2020-12-21 at 12.08.22 PM.jpg Screen Shot 2020-12-21 at 12.08.38 PM.jpg
 
RPA_Ukuleles said:
I've built a number of hand drum based banjo-ukes. Quite fun and satifying builds. Here's one I tried to elevate the level by wrapping the drum with leopardwood, some binding, and a bit of inlay on the FB. Also made a brass tailpiece. Even so, it still sounds like a hand drum banjo haha.

View attachment 131358 View attachment 131359 View attachment 131360
Click to expand...

Your inlay is beautiful. Did you cut away the ribbon at the point where it goes under the neck or leave it? Someone had mentioned it didn't muffle them as much.
You're right, they do sound like a hand drum lol. They're not bad though, just quiet. One of these days I may get around to buying one.
 
Thanks Cap'n :)

Yes the ribbon is cut away under the neck. In fact, this is a custom ribbon because the one that came on the drum was not workin for me. One thing about this one is that the fretboard is very low. Makes clawhamer playing too hard. Might get a fretboard mod.
 
Question: How long does it take to tune a banjo?

Answer: Nobody knows.....
 
RPA_Ukuleles said:
Thanks Cap'n :)

Yes the ribbon is cut away under the neck. In fact, this is a custom ribbon because the one that came on the drum was not workin for me. One thing about this one is that the fretboard is very low. Makes clawhamer playing too hard. Might get a fretboard mod.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'll remember trying a different ribbon if I do another one of these. Next time I may just use a larger tunable drum.
Someone above had a fretboard extending over the head which I would think gives more room. Having fretboard flush to head does have my fingers brushing on the head (or it's my playing). Most banjo ukes seem like the fretboard's flush. Oh well, these and cookie tin ukes are what I play with since I don't have woodworking tools. It's too cold to work in the garage on my mopeds this time of year and I need something to occupy myself lol.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Ondrej
Melodie (Anton Rubinstein) for uke banjo
Replies
2
Views
125
Ondrej
Ondrej
H
Price Drop Gold Tone Banjolele DLX Concert Scale Deluxe Banjo Ukulele
Replies
4
Views
477
harvard
H
M
1920s Ludwig Wendell Hall Professional Banjo Ukulele
Replies
5
Views
230
DuckyI
DuckyI
eclecticbanjo
Ukulele vs. the 5-string banjo
Replies
0
Views
162
eclecticbanjo
eclecticbanjo
clarinetagogo
Walnut Tenor Banjo Ukulele from Songbird Stringed Instruments
Replies
0
Views
206
clarinetagogo
clarinetagogo
Top Bottom