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Lachlan - Posted - 10/07/2009: 21:46:43
I was looking around on the Stew-Mac site and thought about how cool it would be to build a banjo, but then the reality of not having woodworking tools or skills hit me, and I retreated to the notion of bolting a kit together. I was hoping there might be some good recommendations here regarding who is selling decent kits with all the "hard stuff" done, like neck/pot interface, fingerboard laminated and inlaid, peghead laminated, etc. Basically, who makes a good "pre-made" kit that I could assemble?  I've seen the ones at Janet Davis, but, like all things banjo, I figured there's more than meets my inexperienced eye.
Lachlan
bigfeller - Posted - 10/07/2009: 22:12:05
I'll second the Gold Tone kit, in fact my OB-250 is a kit I put together. All the hard stuff is done for you, all you basically have to do is finishing, fret the neck and put it together. I like the finished product, sounds and plays great. The instructions for the kit were written by Richie Dotson, a hangout member and luthier. They are very detailed, well written and easy to follow.
Travis
country frank - Posted - 10/08/2009: 02:58:34
I am concerned about the cost effectiveness of a $900 kit, you could buy a used OB 250 for that, this [saga kit] looks a bit more like it to me;
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FAKJ64
Proud Union Man
Regards from London.
Edited by - country frank on 10/08/2009 04:54:59
beegee - Posted - 10/08/2009: 04:25:11
Yeh, if you're spending that much, buy a good used banjo and take it apart and put it back together. You can assemble a decent banjo from Stew-Mac parts using a minimum of tools. Saga makes an inexpensive kit.
__________________________
"It is better, of course, to know useless things than to know nothing." -Seneca
vernob - Posted - 10/08/2009: 04:53:17
The Grizzly kit is inexpensive.
Bruce Vernon
"A gentleman is a man who knows how to play the banjo, but chooses not to." - Mark Twain
"Don't worry about mistakes. There aren't any." - Miles Davis
uncledelphi - Posted - 10/08/2009: 04:54:49
quote:
Originally posted by country frank
I am concerned about the cost effectiveness of a $900 kit, you could but a used OB 250 for that, this looks a bit more like it to me;
It's not necessarily about the cost. It sounds like Lachlan has been bitten by the building bug.
fynger - Posted - 10/08/2009: 09:22:50
I built the Saga Kit....works fer me....turned out better than i expected too.
-----------------------------------------------
Have you hugged your Banjo today ?
bigfeller - Posted - 10/08/2009: 10:22:55
quote:
Originally posted by country frank
I am concerned about the cost effectiveness of a $900 kit, you could buy a used OB 250 for that, this [saga kit] looks a bit more like it to me;
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FAKJ64
Proud Union Man
Regards from London.
I guess the price has really gone up since I got my OB-250 kit, I bought mine for $650. Yeah, for $900, just buy a good used banjo. Travis
BrianBanjos - Posted - 10/08/2009: 10:30:41
quote:
Originally posted by vernob
The Grizzly kit is inexpensive.
I recall that the Grizzly looked like a good kit , perhaps better than the SAGA, but it's not on their website any longer :-( Happy Pickin' Brian Daniels Deering Goodtime II Deering Deluxe No-Name Asian Rat from dear old Dad Seagull Mini Jumbo vintage burst cedar and cherry Tacoma DR-28 Herringbone Fender Standard Telecaster
timmo_1949 - Posted - 10/08/2009: 17:09:37
I've built a few of the Saga open-back kits. Easy as pie as far as tools and/or skills needed. The neck just needs a little sanding and most any finish you care to use. Th pot is just a bolt together. With a little fiddling with the set-up, you can get a decent sounding and nearly indestructible banjo.
Timmo
"Bother Yum-Yum!"
http://savethebanjos.com
RG - Posted - 10/09/2009: 01:02:26
Bill - I think you'd sell a bunch, especially with the high quality of your work & products...$600.00 would be a bargain...
******************************************************
"It's a league game Smokey..."
WGE - Posted - 10/09/2009: 03:23:57
Bill, I believe that what you describe for $600 would be fantastic. I would order one up in a heartbeat.
Bone - Posted - 10/09/2009: 14:36:45
Bill, can I preorder one of those kits?!!!!!
Lachlan - Posted - 10/09/2009: 17:29:59
Hey Bill,
That may just be *EXACTLY* what I'm looking for! Can't wait to see some pics. Until I bolt a few together I'm not sure that I want to start from (nearly) scratch. Would your kits be fretted/wired, or would I have to cut them?
Lachlan
Will1717 - Posted - 10/09/2009: 20:15:55
Lachlan:
My thinking is that the fretboard would be glued on the neck blank and the fret slots cut, but the actual installation of the frets would be completed by the customer. The inlay work could then be performed by the customer and the customer would then hammer in and fit the fret wire, which would come with the kit.
Bill Rickard 
www.banjo-workshop.com
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs every day.
And there's also a bad side."
-- Hunter S. Thompson
mojo_monk - Posted - 10/10/2009: 06:01:08
Sounds like a good deal to me. Kits these days seem to range from too cheap to too expensive. $600 for what you've described sounds about perfect. I look forward to seeing some pics.
Sean
http://www.dearoldillinois.com
Adventures in Haitian banjo building:
http://seanbarth79.webs.com
Edited by - mojo_monk on 10/10/2009 06:01:27
philly - Posted - 10/10/2009: 11:46:39
Another big 10-4 on the Dobson kit from me. I'd go for it.
Phil in Chambersburg, PA
Will1717 - Posted - 10/12/2009: 08:27:24
It's a done deal. The kit project is going to happen! My thinking is that this kit will allow for upgrades at any time. The neck will come with a preset dowel stick that will be positioned from a standard building jig. Awhile back I posted some photos of this jig. By accurately fitting the dowel stick from the top of the Dobson tone ring you will be able to convert this banjo to a tubaphone or Whyte Laydie down the road. I set all my necks at the same distance from the top of the tone ring being used. This means that if you start out with a thin rim Dobson pot assembly and decide down the road to switch over to a 2 ply tubaphone pot assembly the existing neck will slide in place and work as is. I can't say that anyone will ever want to do this but it is very doable if the urge is there.
I'm working on an order form that will allow the customer to customize and order the kit to their requirements. Options will be as follows: 11" or 12" thin rim; nickel plated or raw brass tone ring; nickel plated or raw brass hardware; Dobson or Vega style neck; etc. etc.
The kit will supply everything to build up a thin rim Dobson banjo. All sanding, colouring and inlaying etc. will be done by the customer. I'm presently working on a price list with all the options listed, and will keep all those interested informed here on the hangout, as the list and pirices become available. I'm also connecting with one of the hangout members in hopes that he would be willing to build up the first kit and post photos etc. on the forum as he progresses. This would greatly help to fine tune the kit before going to far.
Thanks for all the positive feedback!
Bill Rickard
www.banjo-workshop.com
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs every day.
And there's also a bad side."
-- Hunter S. Thompson
ModGar - Posted - 10/12/2009: 12:00:28
Bill,
I'm only starting my first kit, so I'm far from an expert, but I think you might want to consider letting the kit builder glue on the fretboard. I think it would be easier for most to install the frets and inlay with the fingerboard off the neck.
Did you consider a kit with out a tone ring?
Gary
Bluegrass-Gibbs - Posted - 10/12/2009: 14:49:45
Bill
this is great news that it looks like the kits are going ahead! I sent you a rather garbled PM with what I would like in a kit, but it sounds like your options will fit most requirements.
looking forward to more news!
Becca
BigDawg - Posted - 10/12/2009: 16:07:45
Bill,
I'd buy one of your kits. I'm hankering for a Dobson and this is the right price point.
Ron
"When you want genuine music - music that will come right home to you like a bad quarter, suffuse your system like strychnine whisky, go right through you like Brandreth's pills, ramify your whole constitution like the measles, and break out on your hide like the pin-feather pimples on a picked goose - when you want all this, just smash your piano, and invoke the glory-beaming banjo!" Mark Twain
banjer5 - Posted - 10/12/2009: 17:08:09
I like the looks of the Saga kit. It looks like a pretty fair banjo with not too much work. There are others that will work also. Your abilitys with finish etc. will enhance the final product. I guess most any will be satisfactory as a student banjo. I do like the fact the Saga has a resonator though.
Fast Freddy the engineer says: Throttle in RUN 8 and highball, then don't look back, something might be gainin' on ya. 73,s de K5BGZ
philly - Posted - 10/13/2009: 06:33:22
I attended a Mike Ramsey banjo workshop a few yrs ago, built my own banjo and this will the next best thing to that. I'd be happy to send a deposit now if that helps out, Bill
Phil in Chambersburg, PA
raybob - Posted - 10/13/2009: 09:05:04
Great idea, Bill. What scale neck would you have in mind, or could you offer a choice in that too ?
Ray
"We learn from history that we do not learn from history." --G. Santayana
vernob - Posted - 10/13/2009: 09:21:27
Bill, your kit sounds like a great deal and I want one. Now I have to squeeze out the cash from a tight budget. Yikes.
Bruce Vernon
"A gentleman is a man who knows how to play the banjo, but chooses not to." - Mark Twain
"Don't worry about mistakes. There aren't any." - Miles Davis
bordertownbrown - Posted - 10/14/2009: 05:34:16
Bill, I think that's the greatest idea since sliced bread and a very reasonable price!
Richard Brown
pinenut - Posted - 10/24/2009: 06:31:24
Bill makes a super fine kit.
CLAWING AWAY RAY
Edited by - pinenut on 10/24/2009 06:33:03
fynger - Posted - 10/28/2009: 02:16:49
Nice Banjer there.
-----------------------------------------------
Have you hugged your Banjo today ?
mwc9725e - Posted - 10/28/2009: 04:55:40
quote:
Originally posted by vernob
The Grizzly kit is inexpensive.
Bruce Vernon
"A gentleman is a man who knows how to play the banjo, but chooses not to." - Mark Twain
"Don't worry about mistakes. There aren't any." - Miles Davis
And the Grizzly's a good banjo, at least for old time music. I put nylon strings on mine, and it sounds really good -- much better than my playing. I've had mine for about 3 years, and it's still hanging together, so I suppose the parts are pretty good quality. Paid abot $150 for mine from the Grizzly company. edit: One complaint I do have is that the fretboard's too narrow for my fat fingers. I need to figure out how to grow some wood onto it.
Edited by - mwc9725e on 10/28/2009 04:57:39
RG - Posted - 10/29/2009: 02:16:04
Bill...we need to talk...I've got to have one of your Dobson kits!!!!! Moneys burning a hole in my pocket...
******************************************************
"It's a league game Smokey..."
Bone - Posted - 10/30/2009: 12:58:40
WOW!!! These will surely be the finest kits available.
Pete
vernob - Posted - 11/19/2009: 03:39:03
What is the latest on these? Is there a release date?
Will1717 - Posted - 11/19/2009: 09:05:12
vernob:
As of now the kits are available. I just shipped a fretless ket to a BH member and he has agreed to show some photos + progress of the build as it goes together. I've requested that he openly discusses any quality issues as well as positives of the first kit. What's holding things up at present is the lack of a suitable order form that we can forward to potential customers so they can build up a custom kit to their liking and ability. The intention is to offer a fully customized kit and not a one fits all kit. The base price would be for a kit with a brass Dobson tone ring, nickel plated Gotoh tuners, Walnut cnc cut neck blank, a pre slotted ebony fingerboard at a 25.5" fret length, ebony head plate, 2 way adjustable neck truss rod, and a multiply maple thin rim. All inlay, gluing of the fingerboard and headplate, cutting of the peghead shape, drilling for the tuners and rim holes + final finishing of the instrument would be completed by the customer. Basically it would be a base kit that supplies all the parts c/w bridge, strings etc. plus the heel cutting to match the rim. All the gluing and finishing would be by the customer. From there we want to offer optional extras, such as: fretless fingerboard, fingerboard glued in place, fretting ready to go, peghead pre-cut to shape with the tuner holes drilled, dowel stick glued in place with the correct set-up angles, rim pre-drilled, decorative rim banding installed, antiqued brass hardware, frailing scoop, etc. You could basically add enough options to end up with a completed Dobson banjo minus the finish and polish. The intention is to not compete with other kits being offered from off-shore competitors but to offer a kit that should produce a high end banjo that would be a keeper. At present the only issue is coming up with a suitable order form that's easy to use plus readable on everyone's computer. Also not enough hours in the day as I'm in the process of being fitted with a prosthetic leg to hopefully get me out of this wheelchair + loose some serious weight. Any more pounds and I won't be able to reach the bandsaw table! I'm starting to look like the little fat guy in the star war movies (Obi-Kan-Obi)!
Bill Rickard
Edited by - Will1717 on 11/19/2009 09:07:39
snakeherd - Posted - 11/19/2009: 09:46:33
Please excuse my ignorance, but what is a Dobson tone ring?
I found a couple of photos of them in banjos, but it's not clear to me yet what they are.
Thanks.
vernob - Posted - 11/21/2009: 11:01:51
Thanks, Bill, for the answer. I see what you're trying to do. It's a noble effort. I'd be somewhere way back in the process so that I'd have a lot of the work to do. That's the only way I can do it financially. Plus I'd like to do the work myself, if I can. Remember that Johnny Cash song, "One Piece at a Time." That's where I'm at. I'd like to acquire the parts as I can and eventually get there! Oh well, what a life.
Dan Pennington - Posted - 11/21/2009: 11:17:47
pickinchik
Tell your husband that he can quit his day job and start making banjos. That's the best job on Saga kit that I have seen. Very nicely done.
Bone - Posted - 11/21/2009: 14:53:29
After I asked if I could pre-order a kit from Bill, he has sent me one. What a banjo! If anyone is interested, I am beginning to document my work on it in this thread:
http://www.banjohangout.org/topic/163357
Cheers,
Pete
pickinchik - Posted - 11/22/2009: 09:32:01
Dan,
Thanks! I am partial to it because of all the personal touches he put on there just for me. He wants to build his own guitar from a kit next.
Mandy
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