DanKnowles - Posted - 07/06/2010:  20:48:54

MORE TAILPIECE ABUSE

I hope y'all had a great 4th of July holiday. Do you realize that the US. was maybe only 75 years old when this banjo was built. Thomas Jefferson & John Adams had been dead only 25 or so years. Mr. Martins guitar company had been in existence for less than 20 years. It kind of puts its age in a bit of perspective.

Well today I'll continue to inflict more scars of 160 + years on this burnt persimmon tailpiece.

Here I'm burnishing the edges to make it smoothed as if it had been rubbed for years.



Here using a small ball peen hammer, I break the tailpiece so I can repair it. This is the type of detail that makes the piece real... at least to me.



Next using a permanent marker I color the bare wood so it won't show in the repair.





Then using cyno I glue the pieces together.





A traditional violin bow repairers fix for this would be using a spline... so here I go making the saw kerf for the spline.



Spline installed.



More burnishing...



I neglected to shoot photos for just a bit, so I missed being able to show all of the steps leading to this next photo. But here is what I did...
I glued a cross grain piece of ebony (about 1/16" thick) under each end of the tailpiece beneath the holes. This provides an immense amount of strength in these often stressed arias. Holes were drilled and edges reamed. My brand stamp, name and repair date were placed on the underside of the tailpiece.

Viper - Posted - 07/07/2010:  07:39:17

If it ain't fixed, break it so you can.

I love the look of the tailpiece. In another 160 years, someone will be trying to recreate your craftsmanship.

GrassJam - Posted - 07/07/2010:  08:04:12

Dan, I mean this in the nicest way, but you are one mad scientist. I have images in my head of you working on my banjo fiendishly rubbing your hands together and laughing maniacally. Is it true that every time you tune up one of your projects for the first time you scream, “IT LIVES, IT LIVES” ?

Paul

frihauf - Posted - 07/07/2010:  09:42:14

That is a great picture.

Ben

Ron Ortegel - Posted - 07/07/2010:  10:03:43

This really is great stuff. I would love to stop by your workshop to see you do this.
But don't worry, I wouldnt want to interrupt and I 'm too far away.
I'm going to be glued to this thread.

vintagewells - Posted - 07/07/2010:  11:34:46

We come across "antique" stuff all the time that is obviously modern work, made to look old. Most of it is in the folk art gendre, and they think they are achieving the aged, folk art look by doing sloppy work.
What they don't realize is that these pieces were truly art and the craftsmanship was there. Making something look aged is an art in itself.
This is fascinating to read and I am glad you are sharing the process. I have learned a lot from it.
I have some late 1900's marquetry in which the wood was shaded by charring. It just barely touched the wood, and considering that the pieces were about 1/4 inch , a lot of control had to be used.
Lorna

DanKnowles - Posted - 07/07/2010:  19:20:24

Brad,
I certainly hope that you are correct.

Paul,
I hate to admit this, but whenever I finish a project like this, the last thing I do is...
Whack it on the peghead and shout "Out fell spirit!"
I totally agree with Ben, I love this picture. Did you put this one together? That sure looks like your banjo.

Lorna,
Thanks for your comments, I've seen a lot of that stuff too. I think that often folks don't really look at the old stuff. One has to look close at what is truly there. I to love the look of the shading in charred marquetry.



Ron,
I don't think you're to far away, after all I made it here from Glendive. Of course the last time I was there was the day I was born.

GrassJam - Posted - 07/08/2010:  06:36:41

quote:

---

I love this picture. Did you put this one together? That sure looks like your banjo.

---

DanKnowles - Posted - 07/08/2010:  20:49:34

REPAIR 1

Tonight I'll start the first of the posts following the repair of the rim.

I begin by preparing a small pot of hide glue. This is made from granules of cooked down hoofs, bones, hide and other animal parts. There are many different types of animal glues including rabbit skin, fish, hide and bone glues. I use a mixture of 85% hide glue and 15 % bone glue. The bone glue is a bit more brittle (than hide) which makes for better sound transmission. Glues like Titebond and even epoxy retain a slight bit of rubberiness and this in turn acts as a filter muting vibrations.

The down side to animal glue is that it needs correct preparation. If not made properly it can fail. It must be worked fairly quickly, its set time is much quicker than many modern glues. Also unlike modern glues it must be cooked. no quick squeeze from the glue bottle.

Here is my glue pot. It is a small crock pot. I bought it at Wal Mart at Christmas time years ago for about $10. I've often thought that one of those small pots for cooking up that sweet smelling stuff (the name at present escapes me) might work just as well. Inside the crock pot is a small glass jar. The glue will be put into this jar and the pot will be filled with water.



Here is my glue. I premix it in dry granule form and then just get out of the can what ever I need. I buy all of my hide and bone glue from Kramer.



Putting glue into the jar. I'll add water to this and soak it overnight.



Here it is in its water bath. After soaking overnight it is brought to a temperature of 145-150 degrees Fahrenheit. This will take around one hour or so.



When the glue is both up to temperature and the right amount of viscosity it will run off the brush like good maple syrup. I tried but failed to make a good photo of this...sorry. Anyway I lke to remove the glue from the pot so I can keep it near the work. This makes for a much neater job.

Here I'm pulling the jar from the pot.



Remember this crack? It's on the lower edge of the rim. This will be my first victim.



Using a small stiff bristle brush I quickly apply the hot glue.



Then squeezing the crack repeatedly, setting up a pump action, I work the glue deep into the crack.



The glue is now in the crack and lightly wiped.



Now a clamp is applied.



Then removed to allow the excess glue to be wiped off.



Then the clamp is quickly reapplied. This gluing went quite quickly and smoothly. Preparation is the key to this type of repair. The glue must be right, everything needs to be close at hand and the aria to be glued must be fully prepaired.

Steven M - Posted - 07/08/2010:  23:44:16

Dying to see how tight the repairs are.

DanKnowles - Posted - 07/09/2010:  19:08:03

Now Stephen, you don't expect me to show everything do you?

Paul & David, I hope the photo on my avatar makes sense to you!

REPAIR 2

Tomorrow I hope to be in Murfreesboro, TN for the Uncle Dave Macon Days contest and festival. So due to banjoin' I won't be posting. Odd thing not posting on Banjo Hangout because of banjo playin'... go figure!

So today I'll continue fixin' this ancient one. Here is our first problem child of the day, one of many bracket shoe hole cracks.



This one is pooched out a bit so I'll have to use a 'c' clamp on this to press it back together. Here is the clamp. I've stuck some cabinet bumper pads on the bearing surfaces to keep it from marring the banjo.



Putting the glue on the crack...



wiping off the excess glue.



clamping the crack.



Now I move on to the seam separation. This of all the problem arias has concerned me the most. Because the wood has been wet here sometime in the past, the wood has buckled and lifted up in several arias. I'm hoping that my plan of first reawakening the old hide glue with warm water will also soften the wood fibers enough to allow them to lay back down. Here is a new look at the trouble spot.



Fist hot water...then glue.



Wax paper is placed against the joint then a cork faced block is next.



The it is all clamped with wooden klemsha clamps. These are the luthiers workhorse clamp.

DanKnowles - Posted - 07/11/2010:  12:57:01

Yesterday (Sat. 7-10-2010), I was over in Murfreesboro for Uncle Dave Macon Days. It was my privilege to visit with my friend John Balch at his home where we looked and played through his very fine banjo collection. The great Plectrum, Tenor & Clawhammer player Jim McClellan came by and I had a large time leaning more of his geat techniques.

Also Paul graciously allowed me to carry the 1850 banjo with me and John and I had a great time looking and discussing the instrument. John brought out a Lyon & Healy banjo (ca.1890's) and we were able to compare heads. Here they are, John shot the photo.



REPAIR 3

In this post I'll continue to repair the many cracks and checks on this ancient beauty.

Here I'm gluing another of the bracket shoe checks. With this one I was able to use hot water to swell the wood a bit and then here I'm adding the hot hide glue to hopefully hold it together.



Here I'm wiping the glue off.



And clamping it shut.



Another bracket shoe hole gluing.



And clamping flat.



Another couple of cracks...



Gluing...



Wiping...



And clamped. Folks that is the true luthiers life gluing, wiping and clamping. 50% at least... the other 50% is sanding... romantic job isn't it!

jbalch - Posted - 07/11/2010:  13:13:48

Dan:

We all really enjoyed your visit. The restoration project is very cool. When you are done, that banjo will look look totally "correct" and be as solid as a rock. I bet it will sound amazing too. I really appreciate seeing the care and skill you bring to a project like this. Thanks again for sharing it.

BTW...that old banjo in the comparison photo is a Lyon & Healy that belongs to Ronnie Collins. The head is very old...possibly original to that pre-1900 instrument. I gotta tell you...it was hard to say which head looked older.

Viper - Posted - 07/12/2010:  09:58:56

Wow, that's a lot of clamps! Your aged banjo head looks a good 40 years older than the Lyon & Healy.

DEmery - Posted - 07/12/2010:  16:24:18

Dan, I understand that you took the 1850 banjo to the Balch house for UDMD. Also heard you guys picked all day. Wish I could have been there for the event. Look forward to seeing photos of Othello put back together. you may have to endure a call from me soon for an update on banjo activity in Paris . David E.

DanKnowles - Posted - 07/12/2010:  18:21:49

John,
I sure thank you for hosting me. I certainly had a wonderful time. The strings arrived today and I hope to turn the remaining tuning pegs tomorrow.

Brad,
Ya I like to use a lot of clamps. Fortunately I have a bunch. There has been more than one young person who has been in my shop that has remarked wondering if there aren't too many clamps in my shop. They ae alys surprised when I say that some times I don't have enough!

David,
I always look forward to your calls! Unfortunately Othello was not completed this last week as I hoped. I did emergency surgery on a road musician friends instrument which totally ruined my scheduling. Perhaps this week will be different.

DanKnowles - Posted - 07/12/2010:  19:12:20

REPAIR 4

During this post I'll be finishing up the remainder of the glue work. When this is complete and set I'll start the hiding of my work as best I can. As y'all know by now this is the part I enjoy the most. I'm not to far from completing the job now. The remaing jobs are:

Making the remaing tuners.
Making a replacement bracket and nut (fo one that is missing.
Installing the tuners.
Making a bridge.
Putting the banjo back together.
Stringing and setting up the banjo.

Thats not to much. Perhaps 5 or 6 hours work. There may be some other jobs that I'm not thinking of at this moment but I work on them as they arise.

First I start by breaking off the clamps and inspecting all the glue joints for soundness.








Next moving to the small perch pole hole I glue the cracks. I fill a small pipette with hot hide glue and apply it directly to the crack. I could use a small syringe for this, but I fine that I have more control with these.





Cleaned and clamped.





Using a 1/4" round bottomed chisel I begin cleaning the remaining glue squeeze out from the scarf joint.







After this work is complete.

Ronnie - Posted - 07/13/2010:  19:08:00

Dan, sorry I missed you at John and Sheila's house. I had a bit of an emergency to take care of and had to leave for a while.
Damn! You mean I missed Jim McClennan, too!!! Oh well, I know I had my priorities straight, and did what I had to do!! !

Edited by - Ronnie on 07/13/2010 20:43:14

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Edited by - Ronnie on 07/13/2010 20:48:26

Kurtzz3 - Posted - 07/13/2010:  19:21:40

Spam. -sigh-

DanKnowles - Posted - 07/13/2010:  20:15:11

Ya know I never did like spam... even when I was a kid and it came in a can. Fried, baked or cold, I just never liked the taste of it. I never figured I get spamed here in 1850's land. Is nothing sacred anymore. Leather... I thought for a second they might be talking of clamping cauls.

Ronnie,
I heard about your adventures over the weekend. I am sorry I didn't get to see you also.



REPAIR 5

Well now that we have returned from China, back to the land of Restoration, I'll return to work on our 1850's darlin'.

Now that the glue has been removed I've got to re-dirty (or age) the work. One nice item for this is powdered graphite.Normally it's used to keep locks happy, but here in my shop I have many uses for this nearly magic powder. Here I'm applying it to the skarf.



Bet ya cant guess what this is!!!!!!



Give up?
Well it's a toothbrush moving real quickly rubbing the graphite in.

Next I used this steel wool to really rub it home.



The doctoring is complete.



After gluing these cracks, near the small end perch pole hole, I'm cleaning up glue from the inside .



And clamping...



And here clamping the newly glued crack that is by the neck screw.

Ronnie - Posted - 07/13/2010:  20:19:39

LOL I didn't even recognize my own banjo. In the confusion of the weekend I left it at John's house. I bought the L&H many years ago from the estate of a local gentleman who purchased it used in 1910, according to his daughter. . As far as I know the head is original 19th century. Dan's looks older!!(I always felt a little guilty as the Durkee tailpiece alone is worth a lot more than I paid for the whole banjo!!)

..and thanks again John and Sheila for your hospitality and your help and understanding. We'll try this again after the broken lady is mended!!

Edited by - Ronnie on 07/15/2010 15:31:53

Stringbean45 - Posted - 07/16/2010:  12:13:28

Hey Dan,
I haven't commented on your banjo restore job in awhile, as I'm still trying to get over you breaking the ear off the tailpiece, on purpose.
When I first seen it, I was scrolling down fast to get to where I left off, and run past it, and seen the ear broken off the tailpiece, and felt so bad for you, and then when I started reading, and seen where you broke it off on purpose, I couldn't believe what I was reading.
I understand what you are doing, and know others do also, but it still hurts me to see all the work go into making a nice piece, and then go about messing it up.
I try hard not to mess things up, and do, so maybe I need to work for you, and you wouldn't have to go through the anogy of breaking something nice.

Just a thought,
Don

Hedge Hog - Posted - 07/16/2010:  14:03:29

It does seem like it would have been better to put in a spline repair without actually breaking the piece, but I wouldn't have punched a hole in a perfectly good head either. I'd also be tempted to get an old coffee cup, put stain on the bottom and set it on the head, there' nothing like a good coffee stain on a banjo head or a cigarette burn under the strings on the tuning head.

DanKnowles - Posted - 07/16/2010:  15:33:49

Ronnie,
Of course my head is older!!! I'm sure if I think about it long enough I could come up with proofs too!

Don,
Come on down! I*'m a real slave driver. Please don't let it hurt you (this bre3aking) Remember that this was part of the plan and is as important to the final product as the band saw cuts which give the first form. Each step is important.

Michael,

I like your coffee idea. Maybe...............

DanKnowles - Posted - 07/16/2010:  20:00:30

REPAIR 6
Starting out this post, I begin removing the clamps.





Here I inspect the repair for soundness and to decide my next action,
.



Using a knife I clean a glue joint around one of the bracket shoe holes.



I collected a handfull of sawdust / shavings and dirt from the floor. Most of the sawdust is from wor4king some ebony. Lots of nice dark color for this procedure. I sprinkle this mess onto any raw wood, it makes it look right, right off.





Here on the rim inside.

DanKnowles - Posted - 07/16/2010:  20:03:25

REPAIR 6
Starting out this post, I begin removing the clamps.





Here I inspect the repair for soundness and to decide my next action,
.



Using a knife I clean a glue joint around one of the bracket shoe holes.



I collected a handfull of sawdust / shavings and dirt from the floor. Most of the sawdust is from wor4king some ebony. Lots of nice dark color for this procedure. I sprinkle this mess onto any raw wood, it makes it look right, right off.





Here on the rim inside.

DanKnowles - Posted - 07/17/2010:  15:34:47

PUTTING HER BACK TOGETHER 1

Oh boy! Oh boy. Today I get to start reassembling this 1850,s sweetie. We are not t far from hopefully hearing her voice. It's been a long time since she has sung.It is my own personal feeling that she hasn't raised her voice in song for over a hundered years. I have no proof of this, it's just an ole' pouts feeling.

Here it waits on the bench...



I'm looking at the drawing which I made during disassembly so I can place all of the parts back in their proper orientation.



Here, bracket set #1 is removed from its cocoon.



Here is the set exposed.



Going on.



Inside with the nut on.





Another one going on.



Tightening the nut.

Mr100BoJangles - Posted - 07/17/2010:  15:42:00

This has been a very informative and interesting post to read. Can't wait to see the finished product!

GrassJam - Posted - 07/17/2010:  17:27:11

As mentioned earlier, this is my banjo, so I can't wait to see it completed as well. I'm also wondering what it will sound like considering it is such a simple thing. This is really getting exciting now.

Paul

Paul R - Posted - 07/17/2010:  20:52:37

Dan,

This has been a truly captivating thread - and it isn't done yet! I can't speak for anyone else, but I've been learning about the art, the craft, the science, and the intellect behind such a fascinating project. It's definitely a master-class.

Seeing all those sharp implements, whirring blades, and the surfaces you work with, I'm sure "blood, sweat, toil, and tears" factor into your work in a big way.

Thank you.

Bob Robert - Posted - 07/18/2010:  17:54:26

Just amazing. Why on earth didn't I follow this thread sooner? Any thread headed up by Dan Knowles is going to be well worth reading.
Regarding torching the tailpiece, when I was a kid, a friend of my dad's made cigar store Indians. He came to our house and made a three-foot one (that is, three feet tall, not an Indian with three feet :) ) for my dad. When he got it all carved he went over it with a torch to dry the wood out a little and to age it a bit. It looked pretty good.

DanKnowles - Posted - 07/18/2010:  19:25:35

Michael, Pauls & Bob,

I thank you for your kind comments. It is comments like yours that keep me coming back to write again and again. Thank you so much.

Dan

DanKnowles - Posted - 07/18/2010:  20:02:21

PUTTIN' 'ER BACK TOGETHER...
some more

Hay, it's good to be back on the hangout tonight! I've just gotten home from Louisville, KY where we had a nice visit with our son, his wife, our grand kids and banjo master David Brooks. We stopped on the way home at Mammoth Cave National Park where we did a couple of tours... it was wonderful! If you haven't ever visited the cave you should do so soon. It is a most amazing place to be.

I'm sure you are waiting for this long winded traveler to stop rambling and get down to business (would you like to see my home movies?). Here we go...

During the installing of the bracket shoes, small arias of patina were rubbed from some of the nuts, so using a very tiny brush ( a flared 00) I brushed on a small amount of oxidizer, renewing the patina. Here I'm using the solution lid as a cup for a small bit of this stuff.



Brushing it on...



Here the head is placed on the rim. Because of all of the working over coloring and etc. the head has shrunk somewhat. One of the neat things about skin heads (among many) is that it will re stretch! Just a bit of wetting does the trick.







On with some brackets...

Bob Robert - Posted - 07/19/2010:  04:58:20

The banjo is nice and all, but what can you tell me about that mug in your new avatar picture?

Actually, I think the work you're doing on the banjo is absolutely fabulous. You constantly amaze me.

(Seriously, I do want to know about that mug, though.)

aj_fuller - Posted - 07/19/2010:  05:15:52

Dan,

It is exciting to see this coming together! Looking at your last post though, one of those hooks does not quite look like the others...

Is that just a placeholder or will you be giving it some treatment to match the others? If the later, it will be interesting to see how you go about putting 100+ years of character on that shiny new metal! As always, your work, and willingness to share it, is inspiring.

A.J.

Green_98 - Posted - 07/19/2010:  09:28:03

EXCELLENT thread.

Where can I find a link to your other restorations? I could lookat this stuff all day.

Hedge Hog - Posted - 07/19/2010:  10:03:34

Here's a question..... Why not shim the beacket holes so they are nice and tight. I'd think leaving them big and wallowed out would lead to them moving again. It seems like you could glue in a dowel and drill new holes that wouldn't show at all but would make for a more stable instrument....... I'm not really making a suggestion, I'm only wondering.

DanKnowles - Posted - 07/19/2010:  19:15:06

Bob,
The mug... ah yes the mug.
When the mood strikes me I am a potter, clay tosser, whatever. This is one of my mugs. I like sculpting faces.

A.J.
I hate to admit this but I forgot about the missing bracket until I got to this point. So yes this is a place holder until I get another one made.

Patrick,
Thank you. I have no other restoration posts, but if you go to my home page I have another post on building an ebony banjo. It's called New Ebony Banjo.

Michael,
Initially it was my thought to do something of that nature, but I decided against doing it. It was a choice between myself and Paul to not materially alter the originality of the banjo. We wanted it to really maintain and show its patina and years.

DanKnowles - Posted - 07/19/2010:  19:49:44

J-HOOK TIME

As was so aptly noticed by our ever watchful BHO bretheren, one of the brackets did not match. As I said before, this was due to my forgetting that I needed to make one. So during this post I'll rectify this missing hook.

First I measured and found that the existent hooks had been constructed from 1/8" rod. Interestingly the reason that I'm making another set is not due to a missing hook but instead a missing nut. The threads on the hook did not match any thread pattern which I could find. I suppose this could be due in part to a lack of standardization in 1850. Most of the hooks on this banjo are 10-24. This one is not. Perhaps Jacobs or whoever made this instrument made his own dies.

Anyway here is how I went about it.

I started with a piece of 1/8" drill rod that I had started threading for some other project. Note the thinner aria. This was threaded to 10-20.



Marking the bend length.



Here it is loaded into an old wheel wrights vice. This vice could be as old as the banjo, but not near as old as my Grand kids think I am!



Then heating the bend location with a propane torch I hammer the piece over.





Then cut it with my Dremel.





Then trimmed on the grinder.

dbrooks - Posted - 07/20/2010:  18:00:00

"Banjo master David Brooks" -- You had to be smiling when you typed that. I know I got a chuckle.

We do share a deep appreciation for the banjo -- especially old ones with their unique charm. And as we have seen in this great thread, sometime those "old ones" have their charm recently updated and enhanced.

David

DanKnowles - Posted - 07/20/2010:  20:10:56

David,
I meant every word.
Ya it's true, I do love these old baby's. D'ja ever wonder about that? Two young guys like ourselves always fooling with these archaic things. At our ages we should be foolin' with GTO's, Vets er something.

AGEIN' A J-HOOK #1

Well today's post will involve rusting a j-hook. I know this is a beautiful hook... I know most of us spend hours trying to keep this from happening. So don't do this on your banjo.

Here the hook is in the vice waiting to have its hook end filed.



Filing...



Filed.



Now the fun begins.

Force rusting the j-hook.

First bring to boil 1/2 C. pure (filtered) water
mix in 2 tsb. kosher (has to be kosher) sea salt
Boil for 1 minute or until thoroughly dissolved.
pore into small medicine cup (or Dixie cup if below the Mason Dixon Line)
Insert 1 steel pre-threaded J-hook. cover the hook completely or at least mostly...



Leave hook in brine 22.3546 hours.



Remove from brine and dry completely.
Allow hook to rest quietly in an almost darkened location for exactly 14.26 hours at 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
Rinse with tap water.
Dry then lightly coat with oil. Preferably virgin olive or walnut oil.
Buff off to remove all traces of oil.
Make photograph for post.



Make post.
Post post.

Bob Robert - Posted - 07/21/2010:  00:19:55

Nice. We see a lot of "antiques" here in China. As I read this thread I'm learning a lot about where those antiques come from.

Dan, I started learning pottery last summer, and started teaching it last semester. It's probably my favorite medium to work in. The mug gives me ideas for class.

Bigwrench - Posted - 07/21/2010:  10:02:52

Dan,

You are amazing I cannot tell you how much I have learned from this post ( especially the fact that I have several extremely old banjos in this bad of shape and worse that I was considering throwing in the trash .. not anymore) I thank you for all you do and I just put away my 1890's Bay State and spent my entire lunch hour reading through this post with fascination. Ill break in the Bay State later!!! I am too busy trying to remember the processes and how I can implement some of them in several of my really old restoration projects Thanks Again !

Jonnycake White - Posted - 07/21/2010:  10:27:15

quote:

---

Originally posted by DanKnowles

David,
I meant every word.
Ya it's true, I do love these old baby's. D'ja ever wonder about that? Two young guys like ourselves always fooling with these archaic things. At our ages we should be foolin' with GTO's, Vets er something.

AGEIN' A J-HOOK #1

Well today's post will involve rusting a j-hook. I know this is a beautiful hook... I know most of us spend hours trying to keep this from happening. So don't do this on your banjo.

---

DanKnowles - Posted - 07/21/2010:  20:39:09

Bob,
I have always loved pottery. Next to banjo playing it is one of my most restful diversions. As a side note my wife and I have collected many pieces from potters we searched out on our travels. You ought to post some photos of your work. This one was part of a run of 20 mugs which I made for a local coffee bar.

Brad,
Thanks for your kind comment. I to love Bay State Banjos. I don't own one but the first time I won the Tennessee State Old-Time Banjo Championship it was on a borrowed one. They are always worth restoring.

Jon,
Thanks. I'd almost completely agree except that last weekend I was traveling through Bowling Green, KY and I saw the most beautiful black and gray, '50s vet... Oh my but was it pretty.

DanKnowles - Posted - 07/21/2010:  21:02:54

nutzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Well folks I got the J-hook made, so I guess I figure that I ought to make a matching nut. The other originals on this banjo are handmade, brass, square nuts. None of them are drilled exactly in the center and the are different sizes and few are truly square. Anyway today I'll show how I made one.

First here is a shot of the banjo on the bench.



I had this piece of brass left over from a project. I was about the right thickness. so I laid out the shape for the nut drilled and taped it. Then cut the thing out. I forgot to photograph those first steps....





Here it is in my small vice waiting to be slicked up.



Slickin'
By the way it is being done with a small diamond file.



After all the edges were smoothed and shaped I started getting the patina correct. Here I am applying an oxidizing solution to the nut.



Done.



On the banjo.

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 07/22/2010:  04:19:28

The only way to replace old missing handmade parts is to make new handmade parts, and make them look old... I'm enjoying this Dan!

stevel - Posted - 07/22/2010:  13:28:18

DanKnowles said: "Leave hook in brine 22.3546 hours"

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ah-ha! the secrets out! and here i thought it was 22.3547 hours!



seriously, amazing work there dan, truely amazing.