laojim - Posted - 01/16/2008:  02:32:00

I have a banjo made with a a ring held against a wooden lip rather than a series of brackets. I have never been clear what this sort of construction is called. Does this construction method have a name?

"Don't put no constrictions on the people. Leave 'em the hell alone." Jimmy Durante
James Stewart
laojim@laojim.com

ackeim - Posted - 01/16/2008:  02:40:00

I use this method for all my banjos. The ring that the hooks go through is called a flange. I have never used a special name for this method, but i like it!
Aaron

www.thebeansprout.com

scruss - Posted - 01/16/2008:  07:36:06

I've heard this called a bracket band. Here's the one that Bill Rickard (will1717) makes: http://banjo-workshop.com/parts/bracketband1.htm

--
http://scruss.com/blog/

laojim - Posted - 01/16/2008:  08:05:11

I was referring to a tubular ring with the hooks passing though the ring and the nuts tigtening against that. I don't think I ever noticed a bracket band like the one in the link and I'm not sure what the advantage of that arrangement is.

"Don't put no constrictions on the people. Leave 'em the hell alone." Jimmy Durante
James Stewart
laojim@laojim.com

mainejohn - Posted - 01/16/2008:  08:11:37

Did you mean "bracket shoes?" I think your banjo still has brackets, and the "tube" (or "ring") eliminates the need for not only the shoes, but the need to drill those 24 holes thru the rim. You might have a rim that was originally turned for a two-piece tube-and-plate Gibson style flange, and someone may have just removed the flange, leaving the tube as the anchor for the brackets.

Cheers,
John
Scarborough, Maine

Dan Pennington - Posted - 01/16/2008:  09:33:44

It's just half of the tube and plate flange system.
I've got an Alvarez bluegrass banjo that I comverted to open back by removing the plate part of the flange and the resonator and hardware.

Dan out of Minneapolis and on the road



What's that in the road, a head?
No, that's just me driving across Texas.

laojim - Posted - 01/17/2008:  12:45:23

The tube is much more comfortable on the leg than the brackets and that my be its primary advantage aside from a certain elegance of conception. Unfortunately my banjo is heavy and I don't rest it on the leg much because it is too dangerous for me.

"Don't put no constrictions on the people. Leave 'em the hell alone." Jimmy Durante
James Stewart
laojim@laojim.com

Helix - Posted - 01/17/2008:  16:07:01

The whole idea with flanges and bracket bands is to keep from drilling holes in the rim, some think it sounds better. I do. I'm using Rickard's flanges, they sound good. removes the least material from the rim blank. The tube and plate style of flange is archaic in my view, but it works.

(_)==='===::}

laojim - Posted - 01/17/2008:  16:31:42

I don't want the flange on there unless I'm going to hang a resonator on it. I don't want the brackets on there if I'm going to rest it on my leg, which I no longer do, but the principle remains. And I really don't want the hooks projecting back behind the pot and into my chest so this ring system seems to me to be an excellent system. So whoever thought it up in the first place gets my kudos.

"Don't put no constrictions on the people. Leave 'em the hell alone." Jimmy Durante
James Stewart
laojim@laojim.com

snakeherd - Posted - 01/17/2008:  16:34:12

Even with the tube you'll still get the hooks projecting out the back.

Scott
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