mike gregory - Posted - 02/22/2010:  09:37:40

I posted most of this for Louisiana Rose, but I'm giving it a thread of its own, with a title designed to draw the attention of those who find their banjos uncomfortaby heavy.

One may play a banjo while sitting.

One may also get a pair of plastic snap hooks, a length of bungee cord, and a mop handle, and fabricate a "Spinesaver".
I will later post pictures. I promise.


Make a deep notch in one end of the broomstick.
Fasten the plastic hooks to the ends of the bungee. (Plastic, so they don't scratch the banjo).
Snap the hooks to a couple of banjo brackets, put the cord in the notch, and experiment as to how short the stick should be cut, and how short the bungee should be, to get the banjo in a good playing position.

The stick should come up where the neck meets the body. You may wish to wrap it in an old stocking, or other soft material, to keep it from rattling OR scratching.
(Use a clean sock, so you don't catch athlete's rib.)
A crutch tip on the bottom of the stick will prevent it sliding.

With the banjo strap around your shoulder, for security, and the bungee transferring most of the weight to the stick,
it should be a lot less strain on the old bones than the usual setup.

Dustyone - Posted - 02/22/2010:  09:44:34

Hey Mike! What have you been smokin?

mike gregory - Posted - 02/22/2010:  09:58:48

Grass, dude.
Plain old blue grass.
Apparently, I should have left it the greenish-brown color it was, when it first came off the underside of the lawn mower.
But I had heard so much about how blue grass is a treat for the ears.
So I spraypainted it, let it dry overnight, stuck it in my ears, and lit it up.

Good thing I wasn't wearing my hat.
Stuff went up like a fornicatious road flare.
(Since I didn't have a camera running, I can't post a video.)

Anyway, what's that got to do with what a banjo weighs?

I'm just trying to help people whose backs ache from the weight of their beloved banjos.

5stringpicker2 - Posted - 02/22/2010:  09:58:55

Mike likes the good stuff but, his idea does have merit it's like a mono-stand for the Banjo that supports the banjo while standing up I've one myself I've been playing with. I have a bad back also.

(I )===='---<::)

mike gregory - Posted - 02/22/2010:  10:05:07

If a stick on the floor is a fair prop for an orchestra-quality bass clarinet, it's fair for a banjo.

Of course, this is only an option, not a command.
Being this goshdarn good-looking does not automatically make me the boss of anything or any one.

Cuzzin Donny - Posted - 02/22/2010:  10:09:33

Waitin for the pics Mike.

Dustyone - Posted - 02/22/2010:  10:19:57

quote:

---

Originally posted by mike gregory

Grass, dude.
Plain old blue grass.
Apparently, I should have left it the greenish-brown color it was, when it first came off the underside of the lawn mower.
But I had heard so much about how blue grass is a treat for the ears.
So I spraypainted it, let it dry overnight, stuck it in my ears, and lit it up.

Good thing I wasn't wearing my hat.
Stuff went up like a fornicatious road flare.
(Since I didn't have a camera running, I can't post a video.)

Anyway, what's that got to do with what a banjo weighs?

I'm just trying to help people whose backs ache from the weight of their beloved banjos.

---

mike gregory - Posted - 02/22/2010:  10:50:28

OK, you are now the ChairMan in Charge of Sitting Boldly.

(Former job title was "Bold Sitter", but too many people heard it wrong, and a lot of beverages got needlessly spilled.)

mike gregory - Posted - 02/26/2010:  19:23:05

As promised, I took some pictures.
But it took me just long enough to get a round to it, that I lost this topic.
So the pictures are elsewhere.
Excuse me whilke I go get them, and haul them over here.

mike gregory - Posted - 02/26/2010:  19:24:37

Since the sweeper is no loger being manufactured, I re-designed the whole thing.

So, here it is:

Spinesaver 2.2


The main pole is one of those shower curtain rods which tightens by twisting the two sections in opposite directions. That allows for a great range of size for the basic length.

The other bits are:
A sock (to cushion the pole, so it doesn't scratch the instrument
A 1/4 inch eyebolt
A scrap of dowel
a couple feet of bungee cord
Two plastic clips, attached to the banjo brackets.



The eyebolt goes through a hole in the toe of the sock.
The bungee gets attached to the clips. (Don't tie BOTH ends TIGHT, until you're happy with the adjustments.)
A loop of the bungee is pulled through the eyebolt, and some sort of dowel or pencil stub is put through the loop, to keep it from popping back out.
Then the rod is stood upright, the strap is put over ONE shoulder, and the bungee is tweaked until much of the weight is on the bungee and on the pole.

The bungee takes the weight, and the strap provides enough control and security to allow the picker to move around without a whole lot of problems.

And then, after posting the pictures, it occurred to me that if you put a big wooden bead or similar, INSIDE the sock, and a rubber band to hold the sock to it in a nice lump, the bungee loop can be put around that, instead of the dowel bit, and there'll be one less bit to drop on the floor.

Edited by - mike gregory on 02/26/2010 19:34:55

Louisiana Rose - Posted - 02/27/2010:  02:15:12

Thankyou Mike that's great

u k sandra - Posted - 02/27/2010:  02:58:00

What!! you want me to put a notch in my broomstick?. She`s just gone through her MOT, and you want me to put a hole in her. Have you no feelings. Just think. I`m happily flying through the air and Woosh, she conks out because I`ve put a hole throught her. The very idea.

mike gregory - Posted - 02/27/2010:  05:03:47

Didn't Shakespeare write about some Royal bloke who tried fly a broomstick off a castle parapet, and failed?
After which, he decided that galloping might be safer, and cried
"A horse, a horse!" (etc.)

Something about King Richard the THUD!

(Please note: No actual royalty was harmed in the making of this joke.)

Edited by - mike gregory on 02/27/2010 05:50:04

saphine - Posted - 02/27/2010:  06:05:48

Oh Mike, you should be on telly with your own comedy show. What a waste of such talent...Richard the Thud...best ever. lol lol lol lol....

mike gregory - Posted - 02/27/2010:  06:22:36

And there's the scene in Braveheart, where the King tosses the Prince's boyfriend out the window.
Since we were watching it on the telly, not a a motion picture theater, I made the comment, out loud:

"Bet ya the kid thought that, as boyfriend to the Prince, he'd get a nice Gov't job. Looks like he was-briefly- head of the Royal Air Force."

Anybody wants to give me my own telly show, I've nothing more interesting going on at the moment, by way of a paying job.

Please note: No actual Mel Gibson movies were harmed in the making of this joke.

saphine - Posted - 02/27/2010:  07:05:12

Please note: No actual Mel Gibson movies were harmed in the making of this joke.

Shame! Another opportunity missed!