A different way to make a banjo pot

A banjo pot that takes a lot less time than your average block rim.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Banjo making
• homemade instruments
• banjo pots
• block rims
• banjo building

[Hikikomori013]

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.

[maeran1]

@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]

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.

[megadeth22885]

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

[maeran1]

@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

[megadeth22885]

@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

[maeran1]

@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.

[megadeth22885]

@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"