well...me too.

here are a few pics and here's the topic I started for it...
http://www.banjohangout.org/topic/227321

-Phil

7

8

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Edited by - tron.miller on 02/03/2012 07:22:38

Here's a couple of banjos I had made by Charlie Glenn of Banner Elk, NC for my little ones. The one of the right is Cherry, the one on the left is black walnut.

For more info: http://www.banjohangout.org/topic/219635

Edited by - Slingerland on 02/17/2012 19:43:24

Rudy asked me to post these pics of my second mountain banjo this one is for me and I look forward to learning how to play!  Made the peg board to look kinda like a bird even added in a brass rod for an eye. enjoy

Ross

Hi All,

Going the opposite direction from some of my more elaborate mountain banjo designs, I recently put together a simple banjo utilizing a Remo pre-tensioned Fibreskyn 3 hand drum for the pot.  It would definitely fit in with the mountain banjo esthetic, though.  This is an adaptation of my "Wine Box banjo" design, and you can use the same basic plans to make this banjo.  The Wine Box banjo plans are available as a free pdf download at my website if you want them.  Although you can use the 10" by 2" shown here, You could also opt for a 12" by 2-1/2" size, or even use a smaller diameter and use the outer surround to mimic the look of a Proffitt-style mountain banjo without the need to tension the head.  There are more detailed photos on my homepage photos section in the "Travel banjo" folder.

If anyone would like to have the plans for usage of the Remo pre-tensioned hand drum to create the banjo shown above they are available here:

http://www.bluestemstrings.com/pageWineboxBanjo1.html 

There are 5 pdfs that assemble into a full size plan.

Rudy, I was thinking of doing just what you did with that hand drum banjo you made.  My first used an 8" Remo hand drum inside a 12" body... I like the sound of it, but it's not very loud.  It has a nice tone though... pitch wise, the 8" hand drum seems to have roughly the same resonance / tension as what I like on a normal banjo head (for clawhammer style).  I was wondering about the larger drums - how they sound and how much volume.  Do you have any videos of it?  Yours looks really nice (as always!).  I can't tell by the picture - is it fretted or are those fret markers?

quote:

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Originally posted by justdiggity

Rudy, I was thinking of doing just what you did with that hand drum banjo you made.  My first used an 8" Remo hand drum inside a 12" body... I like the sound of it, but it's not very loud.  It has a nice tone though... pitch wise, the 8" hand drum seems to have roughly the same resonance / tension as what I like on a normal banjo head (for clawhammer style).  I was wondering about the larger drums - how they sound and how much volume.  Do you have any videos of it?  Yours looks really nice (as always!).  I can't tell by the picture - is it fretted or are those fret markers?

---

Thanks for the complement, I'm always thinking about ways to introduce folks into the banjo building world without a lot of investment in tools, materials, or even a lot of woodworking experiance.  Using the Remo drum cuts your work in half, even for a mountain banjo design. 

Sorry, no video yet, I should sit down and do a quick one.  The 10" has a nice tone, but isn't very loud when compared to a standard 11" open back.  If you're interested in volume I'd definitely go with the 12" by 2-1/2" deep version of the Remo pre-tensioned hand drum.

The lined finger board is created by simply drawing across the board with a Bic pen held against a straight edge at the appropriate locations.  It creates a nice incised line that won't rub off or smear.  The incised line positions are based upon a fixed 23" scale length, so that locks in your bridge position.  Without the lines you can obviously place the bridge wherever you like.  The line positions as shown are noted on the pdf plans referenced above.

I have no financial interest in this, but here's a video of a mountain banjo being built if anyone would like to view it.

http://youtu.be/DUPK8HicQBA 

Do mountain banjos have the ~1-3 degree downward angle between the neck and the top of the pot like that of "regular" banjos?

Warren

quote:

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Originally posted by oldtimefolkie

Do mountain banjos have the ~1-3 degree downward angle between the neck and the top of the pot like that of "regular" banjos?

Warren

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 Traditional styles, no.  

The finger board is aligned with the same plane as the head and a lower height 1/2" bridge is used.  They would benefit from having a bit of back angle for a number of reasons, but it's not often seen in the Proffitt style mountain banjo, which is oft cited as the definitive design.

I finally finished my latest semi-mountain-ish style banjo. It uses a variation of Rudy's internal tensioning system, which works quite well. Video (and original song) here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0JVTyV11U0

I'm learning a lot as I go along. For starters, I've realized that two of the biggest factors in how a banjo sounds are the amount of tension on the head and the bridge. It took me quite a while to tweak these two elements to get the sound just right. If the tension was too low, I got a nice plunky sound on open strings and frets down by the nut, but higher notes further up the neck didn't resonate and ring the way I wanted them too. I kept cranking the tension up until I found the right resonance. The highs still sounded a little muddy, so just as an experiment I took the bridge off my other banjo and tried it on this one - the bridge has an ebony strip and just happened to be the right height (11/16"). Voila! It was like like those Claritin commercials, where they show the first half of the commercial in a haze and then remove the haze so things look clear. It finally sounded clear. The original bridge I made was maple - apparently switching to harder ebony made all the difference.

One thing that's different about not having a dowel stick or coordinator rod is that there's nothing to hold the sponge in if you choose to use a sponge to damp the sound. I made a little stick that's about 1/8" thick - just enough for it to be bendable. This holds the sponge in, and can be removed easily if desired. Without the sponge it still sounds nice - just a bit louder and more tubular (for lack of a better word). I know the banjo overpowers my voice when I sing, so I left it in for the video.

Anyway, thanks for watching, and comments and suggestions are welcome!

quote:

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Originally posted by rudy

quote:

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Originally posted by oldtimefolkie

Do mountain banjos have the ~1-3 degree downward angle between the neck and the top of the pot like that of "regular" banjos?

Warren

---

 Traditional styles, no.  

The finger board is aligned with the same plane as the head and a lower height 1/2" bridge is used.  They would benefit from having a bit of back angle for a number of reasons, but it's not often seen in the Proffitt style mountain banjo, which is oft cited as the definitive design.

---

I shoot for a 1 degree neck angle on the ones I build.  I think it makes the action a bit easier to play, and unless you look closely, it looks like it is built in the traditional way.  It sure isn't easy with that neck-to-pot joint, though.  Tricky to get everything to mate up right.  It's a whole lot easier to cut all the angles at 90 degrees and just build it straight.

Rudy, I've been looking at your winebox banjo plans.  You're a genius.

That is all :)

Hi All,

Since photos of mountain banjos are a primary way we pass along construction information and ideas I thought I would mention the Curt Bouterse has added many photos on his home page.  Please take a look and also visit his website.  His photo section here on the hangout is:

http://www.banjohangout.org/myhangout/photos.asp?id=18436

I'm not sure if anyone knows this, but this is the coolest thread on the Hangout...just sayin'. :)

Rudy Thank you for post full size plans. this is going to save me from a lot of head aches when I get started building. I have read and re-read foxfire3 until the book just falls open to the chapter on Banjos.

Also tank you to all that has posted great advise along the way.

talk about information over load... thats where my head is at the moment. I am all ready building my first banjo it well have a wood top on it I got the ideal from Foxfire 3 M.C. Worley had talked about it and they showed plans. So I had to try it. My next one will be more like the one everyone else has built. The biggest problem I see having right now is I play a lot of different interments, some I never learned to play the banjo. What better way to learn than to build it then learn to play it.... OK I may just be Crazy.

quote:

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Originally posted by Coonskin

I'm not sure if anyone knows this, but this is the coolest thread on the Hangout...just sayin'. :)

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 It's either the topic that keeps on giving or the topic that just won't die...

quote:

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Originally posted by rudy

quote:

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Originally posted by Coonskin

I'm not sure if anyone knows this, but this is the coolest thread on the Hangout...just sayin'. :)

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 It's either the topic that keeps on giving or the topic that just won't die...

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Well, unlike other topics that just won't die,  this one is cool, and full of helpful stuff about banjos! 

I hope it never dies! iT HAS INSPIRED AND INSTRUCTED ME. 00ps

I'll take this all as a compliment, since so few come my way. You're welcome. :) And thank you to everyone who keeps the thread alive!

quote:

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Originally posted by MountainBanjo

I'll take this all as a compliment, since so few come my way. You're welcome. :) And thank you to everyone who keeps the thread alive!

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 I recon as long as a few of us are still kickin' this topic ain't going to see the archives!

Ive just uploaded a couple of vids of my latest Mountain banjo... "Ill Fly Away" and "Poor Ellen Smith". The banjo is made from half piano and half wardrobe... 100% reclaimed timber.

Nice! Great sounding banjo, and you sing!  Still working on that, here...  I was impressed with that grain measure banjo, too.

Heres my 1st, I love this thing, 2nd is in progress,

VIDEO: Spotted Pony Mountain Banjo Double C (click to view)

quote:

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Originally posted by steve j.

Heres my 1st, I love this thing, 2nd is in progress,

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 Hey Steve,

I really like that, great sound.  I'm a beginner clawhammer guy & I hate getting into the different keys.  Building 2 or 3 mountain banjos & dedicating each one to a certain tuning may be the answer for me.  Do you recommend the Firefox 3 book as opposed to some of the other suggestions in this thread?  Do you think I could build a mountain banjo that sounds as good as yours for under $100 in materials?  I read where you talked about the pricey woods you were looking at but I don't know if the more expensive woods were necessary for the sound or just appearance.

Thanks,

Joe