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DanKnowles - Posted - 01/27/2010: 19:33:00
Tom & Denton'
Thanks...a Tom I never thought of...a...this...in...a...that...a...light.
Well here is a bit more. I spent most of my day in studio working on my new opera, 1934. So I only had time today to engrave three more shoes. Here are all of them so far:
Banjolution - Posted - 01/28/2010: 14:20:57
Dan,
I've been quietly watching since the beginning of this thread also. . This is so amazing! Your a true artist,and I feel very blessed to be able to see this step by step process you are treating us to here! Awesome work. The anticipation of seeing the finished product is killing me.It sure is an exciting journey though!
Thanks so much for taking the time to share with us Dan.I very much appreciate it! 
maryzcox - Posted - 01/28/2010: 14:24:07
Dan--it is so beautiful and great of you to let everyone watch your masterpiece as it is built. I just love beautiful banjos like this.
Best wishes always,
Mary Z. Cox
DanKnowles - Posted - 01/28/2010: 18:30:24
THE TRUTH REVEALED
THE REAL BUILDER
These photos were recently made at KNOWLES STRING INSTRUMENTS. Now we know who the real master is...
Braden Jayne Dan's grandson sanding.
Now he's got him turning a ebony dowel stick!
Now he's buffing a fetless banjo neck...the truth is out! 
DanKnowles - Posted - 01/28/2010: 19:07:07
The New Dowel Stick
Today I made a new dowel stick for the NEB. I started with a nice 1"x1" piece of ebony, I like this piece because it has some nice grain in it, not T totally black. Here I've laid it out.
Here using a Japanese hand saw I'm cutting the stick to length. If you've been reading along you know how much I like Japanese chisels, well the same applies to these saws. The thought process is just intelligent. These saws cut on the pull stroke (unlike European saws which cut on the push) enabling the use of thinner metal in the blades. Also we have more control pulling than pushing. 
Here I'm marking the end of the stick for turning.
Here I'm turning the tenon. Lord what a mess!!!! 
I guess I better clean it up in the AM.
Well the camera's battery went dead at about this point. I was in a mood to keep working so I did. I wasn't able to make any photos until the very end.
So what I did was this. I cut the neck brace slots, tapered the stick, planed and sanded it into shape, routed for the binding, glued some figured maple in place and sanded it flush. I like these clean lines. I'm not sure what I'll do to decorate this stick, but I'll do something.
jbalch - Posted - 01/29/2010: 06:14:04
Is he the one really doing all that hot playing on your records too?
Edited by - jbalch on 01/29/2010 06:15:38
DanKnowles - Posted - 01/29/2010: 15:37:28
No John it wasn't that one...It's this one who plays all those "HOT LICKS". His name is Keaton and like the other one is 4 years old. When he saw his brother on here, he requested that this truth be out too!
Keaton requested these... 
DEmery - Posted - 01/31/2010: 15:36:59
It is like pie...I suppose.Thought there would be a weekend installment but even luthiers in Paris, Tennessee get the Lords Day off from banjo building. David
Edited by - DEmery on 01/31/2010 15:39:23
 Dowel Stick Carving |
DanKnowles - Posted - 01/31/2010: 15:55:34
HEEL CAP INLAY
Here is another way I like to create designs that are symmetrical.
First I cut out a piece of paper in a rectangle about the size of the proposed inlay. Then I fold the paper in half and start cutting.
Here I've cut one out, I didn't like it much so I cut again. In fact I cut about twenty of these out, gradually working towards my final design. 
Here is the winning design glued to a Abalone blank. I like this piece because it has a lot of subtle opal like colors. 
Here it is glued in place ready for me to scribe.
This time I scribe the shape with a scalpel. I like these sharp pointy knives. They arn't very strong but they work well for so many things.
After scribing, the abalone is removed and the cut filled with caulk.
Then the cavity is routed and the Abalone is glued in place.
After the glue has hardned all is leveled by sanding. It is then polished to 800 grit.
Then I lay out the engraving lines. This is somthing that I enjoy I'm not haveing to follow someone elses design. Here I can make it go any way I wish. Here I have began engraving.
More engraving.
Finally the engraving is complete the lines are filled and wiped. 
DanKnowles - Posted - 02/01/2010: 19:15:17
MORE BRACKET SHOES
Today many chores related to making a living kept me from spending as much time on the New Ebony as I would have liked. Still I had the chance to engrave a few more bracket shoes and I thought you might enjoy the process.
First the shoe is loaded up in the jig and the jig is fastened in the engraving vice. Next using a diamond bit in my dremel, the radiating lines were made.
Next using a tiny nail set, the space between the lines is textured.
Then using a home made chisel a line is engraved at the top of the textured aria.
Here is the shoe finished to this point.
Next the bolt head is textured.
Here is todays progress.
DanKnowles - Posted - 02/02/2010: 19:45:47
NECK CARVING
Before I start showing today's progress I have news, THE NEW EBONY IS NAMED!!!
The name was suggested by my friend Tom Berghan ( who is a fine Banjo picker and Lute Maestro)... drum roll please... open the envelope...
Othello
Names we give often express our hopes and dreams. Othello was a handsome black Venetian General and was the central character of one of Shakespeare's most loved plays "Othello, the Moor of Venice". My hope is for a strong, powerful, handsome musical instrument. Mostly musical.
Today I started carving the neck. Again like I stated in an earlier post, this is the way I work and I am not necessarily recommending these techniques to anyone else. Firat I started with the band saw and removed a large amount of excess wood.
After removing as much extra material with the band saw I mounted the neck on this carving fixture.
Here are the tools I use to carve. From left to right: Horse hoof rasp, Pocket plane, Spoke shave and half round rasp. I'll also use a half round file and several chisels.
First using this 100 year old spoke shave, that I found in Vineland, Ontario, I do the basic rounding and of the neck. This old shave will really remove the wood, accurately and fast.
Next the horse hoof rasp begins to true the long running lines of the neck, flattening hollows and bumps left by the shave.
Then using a half round rasp and half round file, the curves are further refined.
The corners of the heel are removed using a small Japanese saw.
And are carved to basic shape with this round bottom Japanese chisel. Then are rasped and filed into shape.
Next I started doing the decrative carving around the 5th. fret. This is going to be a small floral like piece and its design will help solidify the design for the heel carving. Here I am using a small Japanese (1/8") chisel.
Well this is where I got to before I had to change into my teaching hat.
As a side note, today my new ebony knobb Pegheads tuning machines arrived this afternoon. I really like the way they look, solid, well made, small and black. Perfect for Othello!
DanKnowles - Posted - 02/03/2010: 19:48:11
FIFTH FRET CARVING
Today I concentrated on the carving that decorates the side of the neck starting at about the 5th. fret and going up to about fret 8 or so. When I am planning on carving both this spot and the heel I often start here, especially when I am doing the design work. It seams to help set my work and creative flow. Here I am using a vine design. I don't know the name of this one vine, but something like this is found growing in boggy arias around my part of Tennessee. This will match up with the Paw Paw leaves which I plan on carving on the heel. Paw Paw's are often mentioned in Victorian songs about the Mississippi river, which of course is our tie to the race. Besides I was talking to Othello and Paw Paw's were requested!
'Nuf of that verbiage.
I first used a white pencil and sketched my basic shapes. The early pictures in this process didn't come out... sorry. Then I used my trusty knife to cut the lines in. Then I used a chisel to start removing background material. Most of the chisels I use in this are quite tiny like this one.
Here is the carving after a couple of hours of fooling with it. Looking at it here I notice that I need another leaf on the upper curve. It's been interesting the things I notice later in these much larger than life photos that I go back and work on the next day. See there is a reason for this posting!
Here I'm begining to detail a leaf that's just peaking out from behind the stem.
More background cleaning. Most of the work in this low relief carving seams to be on the background. Here (at least for now) I'm planning on making the background smooth. So the background has to be flat. Tomorrow I'll continue refining and detailing.
Folks, I don't know about you, but I love the look of the black and white lines as they come together at the back strap. So here is a photo of that. 
BNJOMAKR - Posted - 02/04/2010: 03:39:39
Go ahead with your bad self... you the man, Dan!
GREAT WORK!
DanKnowles - Posted - 02/04/2010: 18:28:56
MORE CARVING
Today I continued working on the fret 5 carving. Mostly it was background smoothing.
Most of the work was achieved with these small tools. Here a small riflers file is used to smooth the edges of the carving.
Here a knife smooths an aria soon to receive a leaf.
Here I am sanding the aria between the stem and the binding.
Here using a small diamond file, I'm sharpening the detail between the leaf and the stem. As a little by the way I got this pack of diamond files a while back from Harbor Freight for around $7, these are great little files at a great price.
After I was purty happy with the stem shape, I started carving small ropey shaped lines over the surface of the stem. Most of these were cut with a small graver.
Here is where I gave up the ghost today. The photo doesn't quite show how these new stem lines go over the whole stem shape.
DanKnowles - Posted - 02/06/2010: 20:08:50
FRET 5 CARVING COMPLETE
I just had to use big letters there because it really feels great to have made my last cuts in this part of the carving. There will be a bit of sanding and smoothing around the carving, but for me that is always expected.
THE SAGA CONTINUES
As brother Bob Robert has said on many occasions on this post, "It all comes down to drawing." So here it is , I'm a drawing and drawing and drawing!
When I started this part of the carving,I was thinking of another ebony banjo, the one that my friend David Emery possesses. But David as much as I like yours (and I do), I wanted to do a new twist on it. So I brought the leaves around and intertwined them.
After I had begun carving on this a bit, another pal of mine, biologist Barry Hart stopped by to check on things. He took one look at the carving and said, "Ya know what kind of leaves you got there?"
"Nope," I said, "I just hope they ain't dope leaves."
"Don't worry its just ebony."
"Ya mean they're ebony leaves?" I asked.
"No" he said "they're Paw Paw leaves, on an ebony banjo." That settled it. I knew I could go back to work now.
So here is where I started out drawing. First it was the long leaf and then on to the others.
Eradicating bum lines. I shudda known that a rainbow wouldn't fit with Paw Paw leaves. Or even tobacco leaves as Gary Jinkins called them.
When I carve, I usually start by cutting in the major lines. Here I'm cutting with a favorite knife of mine. It is the remains of a professional butchers boneing knife that I have shortened and sharpened on one side. It has great steel that holds a wonderful edge. I guess I from the old school of use and create and recreate. Most of the specialized tools and jigs I use, are ones I have made. Or re-made as this case may be.
Next I begin to remove background material. But being quite undisciplined and wanting to know what the foreground is going to be like, I seldom finish the background before moving forwards. A very fine carver you should all check out on the Hangout is GSCarson. From the appearance of his photos it looks as though he removes all of his background material first. I wish I could make myself do that.
Here I am working on the background, although if you look closely you can see the details peaking out.
Anyway after quite a bit of carving this is what it looks like.
And after more time and carving... this.
Once I get the basic shapes carved, I begin detailing. Here I am using a graver to incise the vane lines on the leaf. I like to use gravers for detail work. They take little wood and are quite easy for me to control.
As I said before, I go back and forth between back and foreground. Here I'm working the background again. I'm going at it with one of my favorite Japanese chisels. When removing background wood I usually use this chisel or a miniature bent carving gouge.
Finally today I worked some of the major vane lines and the leaf separation lines with my checkering file. Carefully used this makes quick work on straight lines. Here I'm moving along, using it almost like a saw.
Tomorrow I will try to get this part of the work real close to completion.
DEmery - Posted - 02/06/2010: 20:40:15
Beautiful. I have attached a photo of the carving at the 5th on Goshen you did to add another example of how delicate this creative touch adds to the neck design. Your detail on the vine is a super feature. It gives a simple frailing notch class. David
Edited by - DEmery on 02/07/2010 05:39:37
 Goshen |
DanKnowles - Posted - 02/07/2010: 18:11:50
David,
Thanks for posting Goshen again. See if this doesn't remind you of Sherry Lynn.
MORE CARVING
Today I finished the basic carving. Now all that remains of the carving is to sand and do some final shaping and other detail work.
I worked on the top line ( or bottom line depending on how you look at it). I'm trying to true it up so it maintains the distance from the heel cap in a nice smooth straight line.
Here using my handy dandy knife I'm smoothing some of the marks left by the gouge.
Then using a riflers file, I'm cleaning out between the points.
I kinda got tired, so here is where I stopped. This is the bass side of the heel. There is a little spot of white wood which didn't show up until I started carving. Later on I will dye it black and make it disappear. 
Another view of the 5th fret carving.
And now the treble side...
And now the center.
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