@Hikikomori013 I sympathise. My first pots were made from bending wood. Accuracy was a great problem although the banjo I use at pres and which is being played on this vid is one made this way. The lathe is great and only cost me 99 GBP or about $150. I'd like to see and hear one of your banjos.
Love the idea, but think it would be great if you tackle a mandocello. Keep me informed. I wnat to build my own guitar as I am a guitarist, but I think I need to retire first. Teaching simply steals your life away from you.
you can cut perfect angles with a miter box and a hand saw to fit in the slots... sanders are inexpensive... the one power wood shop tool you really need thatll take care of most projects is a bandsaw, thats certainly the one to focus on getting, you can get one for about $100 at home depot... i use rasps and those small single-handed hand planers for shaping necks... so i use mostly hand tools too now, cept for the bandsaw and sometimes my thickness planer
@megadeth22885 I do have a miter saw but I want to try different ways of manufacturing the pot. The method I chose allows me to use reclaimed timber. I too use rasps for the neck, but I also use a spoke shave. I have designed my own necks with an overhanging shelf for the 5th string. This allows me to capo all the way up the neck with a mini capo made for the fifth. This idea came about by accident but allows me a lot of versatility. I'll drop a picture for you some time. Thanks for the advice
@maeran1 i used to use a spokeshave as well, but its too easy to accidently make a bad gouge... those really small single handed planers are perfect though and you can adjust how much they take off... my next project might not even be a banjo though.. im liking the idea of building a mandocello instead
@megadeth22885 be interested to see your mandocello if you get round to it. The banjo is making good progress. fitted the oak ring around the bottom. I don't have a problem with the spoke shave, in fact I think it's one of the most versatile tools. I shape the main part of the neck with the spoke shave and then finish with rasps around the heel.
@maeran1 well, its just an option of something i may build.. in all honest i will probably just go with making a tack head banjo with a skin head on it.. heh, i could call my banjo "the skinhead"
@megadeth22885 I know that is how other craftsmen make pots but I decided to try something different. I'm about half way through the build and it's going well. I have also made one using two rings in different sections. My first two banjos were made by bending the wood. I regularly record with the second of these. I just like to experiment and have completely redesigned the pot and the tensioning system. My banjos weigh between 4 - 5lbs instead of 12 - 13 lbs. Cheers for the comment
@maeran1 well, you should have some way of fixing the pieces together thaltl yield a stronger joint than that.. sure the banjo doesnt have as much tension as a guitar or cello, but for longevity reasons you should have something a little more to hold the joints together better.. maybe drill into each section and glue a dowel rod in between them to give you more surface area on a joint... or have some kind of tongue and groove added and it would be fine
@megadeth22885 Good thought. I am fixing an external ring around the base of the pot. This will hold the tension hooks and replaces the metal grill. It is oak and will be glued and also either dowelled through the base of the pot or screwed for rigidity and strength. I'll use ten fixing points in addition to the glue and am using ten tensioning hooks pulling on twenty tensioning pints on the tension hoop via a cantilever arrangement. I know this works because I've done it before. Thanks!
@maeran1 hmm.. well i have a chop saw and a bandsaw so i wont have any trouble cutting the pieces to the angles i need for a block rim... the right tools really does make it a lot easier
@megadeth22885 True. I am gradually building up a my tools, but it is slow progress with tool costs vs small children's needs. I use mainly hand tools at present but am hoping to invest in future.
That's a pretty clever idea.
I use several arcs glued together to make my pots. It is tedious, but I don't have a lathe. Rasping the finished pot round is a pain, I must admit.
Hikikomori013 4 months ago
@Hikikomori013 I sympathise. My first pots were made from bending wood. Accuracy was a great problem although the banjo I use at pres and which is being played on this vid is one made this way. The lathe is great and only cost me 99 GBP or about $150. I'd like to see and hear one of your banjos.
maeran1 4 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
"I made a little banjer,
made it out of pine
the only tune that it would play...
'I wish that you'd be mine.'
"Get along home, Cindy, Cindy
Get along home.
Get along home, Cindy, Cindy
I'm gonna leave you now."
--Frank Proffitt (banjo maker)
Bisbonian 6 months ago
Comment removed
Bisbonian 6 months ago
Comment removed
Bisbonian 6 months ago
Love the idea, but think it would be great if you tackle a mandocello. Keep me informed. I wnat to build my own guitar as I am a guitarist, but I think I need to retire first. Teaching simply steals your life away from you.
maeran1 7 months ago
you can cut perfect angles with a miter box and a hand saw to fit in the slots... sanders are inexpensive... the one power wood shop tool you really need thatll take care of most projects is a bandsaw, thats certainly the one to focus on getting, you can get one for about $100 at home depot... i use rasps and those small single-handed hand planers for shaping necks... so i use mostly hand tools too now, cept for the bandsaw and sometimes my thickness planer
megadeth22885 7 months ago
@megadeth22885 I do have a miter saw but I want to try different ways of manufacturing the pot. The method I chose allows me to use reclaimed timber. I too use rasps for the neck, but I also use a spoke shave. I have designed my own necks with an overhanging shelf for the 5th string. This allows me to capo all the way up the neck with a mini capo made for the fifth. This idea came about by accident but allows me a lot of versatility. I'll drop a picture for you some time. Thanks for the advice
maeran1 7 months ago
@maeran1 i used to use a spokeshave as well, but its too easy to accidently make a bad gouge... those really small single handed planers are perfect though and you can adjust how much they take off... my next project might not even be a banjo though.. im liking the idea of building a mandocello instead
megadeth22885 7 months ago
@megadeth22885 be interested to see your mandocello if you get round to it. The banjo is making good progress. fitted the oak ring around the bottom. I don't have a problem with the spoke shave, in fact I think it's one of the most versatile tools. I shape the main part of the neck with the spoke shave and then finish with rasps around the heel.
maeran1 7 months ago
@maeran1 well, its just an option of something i may build.. in all honest i will probably just go with making a tack head banjo with a skin head on it.. heh, i could call my banjo "the skinhead"
megadeth22885 7 months ago
should make three of them 1/3 the height of the rim.. then glue them together in a way where the glue joints dont match up.. so like a brick pattern
megadeth22885 7 months ago
@megadeth22885 I know that is how other craftsmen make pots but I decided to try something different. I'm about half way through the build and it's going well. I have also made one using two rings in different sections. My first two banjos were made by bending the wood. I regularly record with the second of these. I just like to experiment and have completely redesigned the pot and the tensioning system. My banjos weigh between 4 - 5lbs instead of 12 - 13 lbs. Cheers for the comment
maeran1 7 months ago
@maeran1 well, you should have some way of fixing the pieces together thaltl yield a stronger joint than that.. sure the banjo doesnt have as much tension as a guitar or cello, but for longevity reasons you should have something a little more to hold the joints together better.. maybe drill into each section and glue a dowel rod in between them to give you more surface area on a joint... or have some kind of tongue and groove added and it would be fine
megadeth22885 7 months ago
@megadeth22885 Good thought. I am fixing an external ring around the base of the pot. This will hold the tension hooks and replaces the metal grill. It is oak and will be glued and also either dowelled through the base of the pot or screwed for rigidity and strength. I'll use ten fixing points in addition to the glue and am using ten tensioning hooks pulling on twenty tensioning pints on the tension hoop via a cantilever arrangement. I know this works because I've done it before. Thanks!
maeran1 7 months ago
@maeran1 hmm.. well i have a chop saw and a bandsaw so i wont have any trouble cutting the pieces to the angles i need for a block rim... the right tools really does make it a lot easier
megadeth22885 7 months ago
@megadeth22885 True. I am gradually building up a my tools, but it is slow progress with tool costs vs small children's needs. I use mainly hand tools at present but am hoping to invest in future.
maeran1 7 months ago