rot-n-dobe - Posted - 04/29/2010:  14:44:20

beautiful dan, and thank you for posting. just my opinion, but i think when you change the tuners, you should stick with the ebony knobs. that looks great but i think silver plated tuners would really set it off.

Hedge Hog - Posted - 04/29/2010:  14:53:53

Now all you need is a Resonator and you'll have a very nice instrument there.....

It's been interersting watching this thread grow. I especially like the vine carving around the Rim. I think even I might be able to accomplish that. You have inspired me.

dbrooks - Posted - 04/29/2010:  16:31:43

The banjo looks amazing, Dan. I just went looking for audio files on your home page. I guess I'll have to be patient.

David

dubtom - Posted - 04/29/2010:  17:18:57

A resonator Hedge Hog!!!! why would anyone want to hide the beautiful carving behind a resonator, I'm perlexed at such a suggestion.

Bagpussfrog - Posted - 04/30/2010:  01:33:02

quote:

---

Originally posted by Hedge Hog

Now all you need is a Resonator and you'll have a very nice instrument there.....

---

frihauf - Posted - 04/30/2010:  11:03:56

I have to agree. A resontator would hide too much of the hard work and artistry.

ben

Hedge Hog - Posted - 04/30/2010:  11:40:32

......... you do know that was a bit of a joke, a funny, a statement so ridiculous it couldn’t be taken seriously.

..... I do love the look of a beautifully crafted resonator though.

DanKnowles - Posted - 04/30/2010:  14:02:14

Steve,

I agree about the ebony tuner knobs. I'll have to either make or order a set.

DanKnowles - Posted - 04/30/2010:  14:43:05

Michael, Don't worry about the heresy! This banjo is as loud or louder than most resonator banjos. Still I have thought about making one of my flush resonator... I don't know that I will though.

David, Look at my next post today.

Tom, Ben & Shaun, Heresy is my middle name!

DanKnowles - Posted - 04/30/2010:  14:56:14

ENGRAVE & MP3's

Here are some Mp3's of Othello. They are recorded with two At 4033's set in an x pattern. There are no effects although just a lot of room. There is a bit of buzzing on the 4th string that I hope doesn't bother y'all too much.

banjohangout.org/myhangout/med...archived=

banjohangout.org/myhangout/med...archived=

banjohangout.org/myhangout/med...archived=

banjohangout.org/myhangout/med...archived=

banjohangout.org/myhangout/med...archived=

Layout...

dbrooks - Posted - 04/30/2010:  18:11:30

Thanks for the audio files of Othello. They sound terrific. Great clarity and timbre to my untrained ear, and I imagine you will tweak her a bit further to get the sound you want and that I cannot imagine until I hear it from your hands.

What a great journey this has been and continues to be.

David

jbalch - Posted - 04/30/2010:  20:06:42

Sounds very good Dan. I can't wait to play it myself.

Marc Nerenberg - Posted - 04/30/2010:  20:44:25

The trouble with those MP3s is that you're such a fine player that I'm too busy being dazzled by your playing that I'm forgetting to listen to the specific tone of the instrument!

rot-n-dobe - Posted - 04/30/2010:  20:53:39

dan, love the way you tied the ferrule in with the heel. the stippling really makes the leaves look pronounced. will have to listen to the music when i get home. dont think my boss would appreciate it on work time.

steve

Bagpussfrog - Posted - 05/01/2010:  01:16:24

Dan, It's really great to hear Othello speak for the first time!

The clips were very interesting, not only because of the range of tunes - you're such a great player! - but also the different tones you can get out of it. At times Othello reminded me of a Kora - an African harp, - particularly on Melody and the Last Song... haunting and resonant. At other times just a very sweet, fine sounding banjo!

I'll look forward to hearing the banjo as it develops - what tone ring do you think will work best?

tomberghan - Posted - 05/01/2010:  08:31:47

EXACTLY!!!

Dan,

What tone!
A beautiful solid (versus airy) timbre with GRANDE sustain! My theory (in part) is that because of all of the very hard ebony the transfer of energy, in terms of time, from the strings to the wood, is lengthened, thus Othello's sustain is extremely high. (It isn't the tone ring . . . it is the wood and your construction.) I love the sound Dan. I am amazed and extremely impressed. Happy birthday Othello!

Dan, I am just flat knocked out by the sound of Othello. Of course he is the most beautiful banjo ever . . . but the sound . . . incredible.

I'm comin' to Paris to play this banjo!
Many, many congratulations,
Tom

rot-n-dobe - Posted - 05/01/2010:  15:01:02

dan,
just listened to the mp3's. fantastic!!! isn't it a wonderful feeling to be able to create something so beautiful that makes equally beautiful sounds? that is the part i like the best! i believe that it is all in the doing, once that is done, its time to start a new journey.
thanks very much! it has been a fantastic journey for many of us.

steve

DanKnowles - Posted - 05/02/2010:  16:09:44

MANY, MANY THANK YOU'S TO EACH OF YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE
Thank you for your ultra kind comments!

Tomorrow I am planning to take Othello back apart. It is a difficult thing to contemplate after having enjoyed her voice for this time. Still I wish to have her totally finished. I'll continue to post photos as we go.

I'm going to try and get Roland to let me photograph him as he plates all of the metal work. Hopefully y'all will find that interesting. Then there will be a few more of putting her back together. Then lastly Test driving the banjo with different tone rings. I have 3 to try. A white lady (that you have heard), a Tubaphone and a double cut White Lady all created by the capable hands of my friend Bill Rickard.

I am working on a DVD compilation of all of the photos from this project. Also to be included will be a edited version of all of these posts. Also I have been in contact with publisher on having a glossy coffee table book printed of Othello. More on these projects soon.

Also there will be some new posts: A custom banjo for one of my favorite banjo pickers and a true 1850's banjo that just entered my shop for conservation/ restoration. These should be fun rides.


Again I thank each of sticking with me through all of this time and encouraging me through the whole build.

Yours,

Dan Knowles

jbalch - Posted - 05/02/2010:  16:46:56

Dan:

You will have to include a CD with the book...and/or a soundtrack for the DVD.

dbrooks - Posted - 05/03/2010:  14:48:07

Oh yeah, John, there has to be music as well.

David

brokenstrings - Posted - 05/04/2010:  00:04:43

It has a lot of character and the kind of sustain I would expect from a metal-strung harp.

DanKnowles - Posted - 05/05/2010:  19:11:20

John,
That's a great idea, maybe I could get you to come help!

David,
Ok, I might just do it!

Jessica,
I had never thought of banjo in those terms, but this banjo does have a bit of that harp kind of 'silveryness'.

DanKnowles - Posted - 05/05/2010:  19:23:23

TAKING OTHELLO TO PIECES

Well I finally worked up the nerve to do it... I took the banjo down to brass tacks. In the next couple of days I'll carry over to the plating shop for silver.

Here it happened...

First I played her for about an hour...



Here is the empty bench , waiting.



Bench with banjo...



Cutting the stangs...



Removing the tuners. I didn't feel so bad about this seeing how I like them so much





Removing the brackets...





Knocking out the neck braces.





There tiz... all apart.

Viper - Posted - 05/06/2010:  08:17:44

You could probably just show photos of you taking apart and putting Othello back together over and over again, and we'd still show up to watch. Cheers!

Couchie - Posted - 05/06/2010:  18:51:57

A truly amazing instrument that's in a class all it's own.

Bravo Dan.

brokenstrings - Posted - 05/06/2010:  20:24:07

Dan, what about gold plating? I think it sets off the ebony better than silver does.

dubtom - Posted - 05/18/2010:  17:44:14

Wow Dan,it's been two weeks since an update,I need a fix.

Gomer - Posted - 05/18/2010:  18:12:52

my sentimentations exactly

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 05/18/2010:  18:44:19

I imagine that he's waiting for the parts to come back from the plating service... I know that I get antsy when I'm waiting for parts to return! I, like everybody else, am eager to see the finished masterpiece!

jbalch - Posted - 05/18/2010:  18:47:52

more...more...more...more...

Bagpussfrog - Posted - 05/19/2010:  01:14:23

I must admit, I'm gettin' the jitters!

DanKnowles - Posted - 05/19/2010:  07:05:58

Brad & Don,
Thank you a whole lot.

Jessica,
I too like the look of gold with black (ebony), But I really like the elegant look of silver.

DanKnowles - Posted - 05/19/2010:  07:18:53

Ha, Ha, Ha... I love it!
I'm sorry I haven't been here lately... two weeks ago today the PART (Paris Aria Rapid Transit) vehicle was destroyed by our local Electrical service. I was riding in the PART vehicle which was stopped to make a left turn, when it was struck from behind by the electric truck which was traveling at 45 mph. I survived in reasonably good condition (all things considered) although the hybrid was totaled. He was on the radio and only realized at the last moment that I was there.

Two things I've learned here, One don't talk on the cell and drive. Two, Prius is a wonderful car to be in a wreck in. I would not have survived this accident in the cars of my youth. Three (did I say 3?)... OK no three.

Folks I've done a bit more that I'll try and post later today...

Bagpussfrog - Posted - 05/19/2010:  07:57:50

Wow, Sorry to hear about that, Dan - sounds like you had a lucky escape - I hope you weren't too traumatised by the crash, that can be a pretty scary experience.

Hope you're feeling better,

S

Edited by - Bagpussfrog on 05/19/2010 08:21:09

DanKnowles - Posted - 05/19/2010:  08:11:47

BRACKET NUTS

Well I decided that I wanted to do somthing special with the bracket nuts. So I got some raw brass ones from Bill Rickard and chucked them in the small lathe and had fun! I want them all to have a family appearance, but like a family I wanted each to be different. I am thinking of chessmen here, the royality that is. Kind of fits with her name. So here is what I did.

Here are the nuts before messing with them.




Being that these are brass I can use wood turning chisels to shape them.












Here is the first one.

DanKnowles - Posted - 05/19/2010:  08:14:08

Shaun,
I am, thank you.
Dan

trapdoor2 - Posted - 05/19/2010:  08:25:26

Ow, that design looks painful (esp resting on my poor ol laig).

Glad you survived the accident, though I suspect your public utility was targetting the PART vehicle for creating its own electricity.

Turning the knight form is gonna be interesting!

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 05/19/2010:  14:14:12

Dan, just when I think you can't make it any better.... I like the new bracket nuts!

Glad you're o.k.!
Marvin

Hedge Hog - Posted - 05/19/2010:  14:35:25

Interesting choice, I never really associated Chess with River boats, ...... do they gamble on Chess, well of course they do, somewhere ....... a Poker theme seems more appropiate. Little Club, Spade, Diamond and Heart shapes brazed to the nuts seem more in line with the over all theme of the banjo, but call me crazy.

Bagpussfrog - Posted - 05/20/2010:  01:21:43

I guess maybe Dan was thinking that Othello was a General and much of the play is around the schemes of his ensign to ruin him.. so there is a chess like quality to the plot of the play, with strategies abound..... or not... Maybe I'm reading too much into it!

Oh also, he was an African Prince... erm, anyway.... I'll get my coat!

Edited by - Bagpussfrog on 05/20/2010 01:37:32

DanKnowles - Posted - 05/20/2010:  07:37:48

Thank ya'll for your concern and comments. I guess the tie of the concept for me is that one: Othello/ R. E. Lee /general / leader/ King bishop. Two: Chess/ competition/ race/ strategy. Three: I just like it.

Marc, the point shape is small enough that I think your leg will be OK.

DanKnowles - Posted - 05/20/2010:  07:51:02

MOE NUTZ

Back at it.... Here are a couple of looks at the turning.














If all works out Sunday or Monday afternoon we will have the plater here at my shop. We will both work to plate the hardware and hopefully I'll be able to make some good photos of this process.

Photos should follow. Until then I'll post some photos of earlier processes that haven't been posted to this point.

jbalch - Posted - 05/20/2010:  14:20:36

quote:

---

Originally posted by DanKnowles

... Three: I just like it....

---

DanKnowles - Posted - 05/21/2010:  14:55:00

NUTZ ... again...maybe the last





This one didn't work as planned... maybe I should auction it off here, someone could have a piece of this 'un cheep!



Here they all are.

Stringbean45 - Posted - 05/21/2010:  21:24:47

Hey Dan,
You sure do come up with some nice ideas.

I would be happy to send you a Spillway Dam Bridge, to try on your masterpiece. I thought it might fit in with the theme. Send me the height, and string spacing you want, and I will make one up for you.

Don

Bob Robert - Posted - 05/23/2010:  05:06:32

Wow. Just, wow.

DanKnowles - Posted - 05/24/2010:  06:36:36

Don,
I'd love to ty one of your bridges. I'll send you a measurement later.

Bob,
Thanks glad you like this.

DanKnowles - Posted - 05/24/2010:  07:08:20

PLATING #1

Here we are starting the plating process.

The fellas who do most of my plating are Alan & Roland Knowles. Yes we are sure that we must be related. In fact we would be brothers if we just had the same mother and father.


There are according to my under standing two plating processes, dip and pen. We will be using the pen plating process. It will go in this order:
1. Buffing
2. Cleaning
3. Nickle Plating
4. Silver Plating
5. Polishing

In this post I will just be dealing with the cleaning. Each peice needs to be thoroughly cleaned and polished. Any marks on the metal will show through the plating so polishing is essential. Most commercial plating companies charge a premium for this step so most banjo parts get only a kiss and a promise before plating and it usually shows.

First I started at the buffing wheel loading it with white rouge.



Then carefully each piece is buffed and checked for unwanted marks, then buffed again.



Then it is handed off to Roland...



Next it is placed in an ultrasonic (jewelry) cleaned where it is soaked for 20-30 minutes, brushed with a toothbrush (stiff bristles LOL), soaked a bit more and dried off.



Next the pieces went to Alan and his machine where it was electrolytically cleaned.



Here are all of the cleaned parts (minus the tension hoop),



Cleaning a bracket shoe...



Spraying off with distilled water.



A fith string tuning maching being sprayed.



Here they are the brothers Knowles. Roland (left) and Alan (right)

DEmery - Posted - 05/24/2010:  13:48:14

Lots of buff'en and detail work. Look forward to seeing it all layed out and then installed. Looks like you are about to put the final chapter on this sagga. David Emery