Bart McNeil - Posted - 12/23/2010:  06:27:12

Whoops.... I guess there is more than one way to spin a banjo.

Bart

DEmery - Posted - 12/23/2010:  06:47:50

More than one way to skin a cat; and clearly more than one way to spin a banjo. I haven't tried it in order to avoid dry wall cracks from launched banjos and other unintended consequences. David E.

Edited by - DEmery on 12/23/2010 06:51:35

Bigwrench - Posted - 12/23/2010:  07:21:41

Im too scared to try anything like that with any of my banjos lol ....Maybe I will find me a used goodtime and give it a shot , that way I aint out much if I break it :)

rubicon - Posted - 12/23/2010:  09:30:20

yes that link worked I didnt realize until now that you had the original already done ,I now understand he is replicating the restoration banjo Thanks

quote:

---

Originally posted by GrassJam

quote:

---

Is there a thread on the one restored or do you have pics I was under the impression this was the thread and was waiting to see the final product

---

There was an AMAZING thread started by Dan Knowles back in June titled RESTORING 1850 when he began the restoration of the original 1850 banjo. Hopefully this link will work:

banjohangout.org/topic/180531

It's never to late to join this party... enjoy.

---

XXXris - Posted - 12/23/2010:  21:07:59

while we are talking spinning, some more uncle dave type tricks:

youtube.com/watch?v=cu_XAm6pH0s

fiddler57 - Posted - 12/24/2010:  10:46:50

quote:

---

Originally posted by XXXris


youtube.com/watch?v=cu_XAm6pH0s

---

deuceswilde - Posted - 12/24/2010:  12:09:21

quote:

---

Originally posted by XXXris

while we are talking spinning, some more uncle dave type tricks:

youtube.com/watch?v=cu_XAm6pH0s

---

Stringbean45 - Posted - 12/26/2010:  09:51:31

Hi All,
All this notches on the dowel stick speculation, leads me to a story told about my Great, Great, Great Grandpa, who was his own Grandpa. He not only spun the banjo, but used it as a flyswatter, a bat, done a handstand on it, played it behind his back, between his knees, and on occasion, the regular way.
He started whittling notches on the the down stick of his banjo, for every show he did, and didn't get hit by something from the audience, and ending up carving so many notches on the dowel stick, that it became perfectly round. See attachment.

DanKnowles - Posted - 12/28/2010:  18:43:59

This has been quite interesting, all of the comments. Thanks for posting.

Tonight I'm finishing up working on a video to post on Youtube (and here) showing my attempts at spinning the banjo....I hope to have it up soon. Watch here.

DanKnowles - Posted - 12/28/2010:  19:47:30

SPINNIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is some banjer spinnin for y'all. This was filmed last night by my pal Will Turner and I. This is banjer spinnin' as I know it.



If you watch it all the way through there is some fun at the end!

I hope you enjoy it!

youtube.com/watch?v=A534cGyXk_M

Dan

XXXris - Posted - 12/28/2010:  20:15:47

hey, nice playing!

it seems to me that spinning might also be a useful technique in aging the banjos.

timmo_1949 - Posted - 12/29/2010:  08:48:47

You'll knock your eye out!

Bigwrench - Posted - 12/29/2010:  09:07:50

Phew skeered me there when you bout dropped it , that is great Dan thanks for sharing ! About 7 hours drive but would definitely be educational to meet you someday and see you work !

DanKnowles - Posted - 12/29/2010:  17:04:14

Tim & Rick,
After looking at the video you might not believe this but I have only had one injury while doing my spinnin'. Early on I broke a 5th. string peg on my forehead as I was attempting a spin, didn't knock the banjo out of tune... didn't knock any sense in my head either.

DanKnowles - Posted - 12/29/2010:  17:26:52

SEEIN' STARZ

'nuf of all that crazy stuff.... back to work.

Today I started back on the bracket shoes. In earlier posts we discussed the laying out and cutting out of the star backer plates, Today well be prepping up the yokes or the plates that the J hooks will pass through.

First they are laid out on the brass plate.





Scoring the drilling point.



Drilling the holes for the J hooks.



The yokes are all in a nice row, so using the band saw with a metal cutting blade they are ripped out in one strip.



The cut edge of the strip is cleaned up on the belt sander. This step will save a lot of time and sanded knuckles later.



Each of the yokes are chopped out. Look Ma, I'm saving my fingers with a push stick.



Each yoke has its edges smoothed and each leading edge is rounded on the belt sander.

DEmery - Posted - 12/29/2010:  18:24:42

Dan, I like the Avatar photo. Actually I recall it from the photos taken when you built the first ebony banjo Sherry Lynne. If memory serves correctly it was after the rim had been turned and you were laying finish on it from the lathe. That block rim is still without any movement and you cannot see any seam from the ebony blocks. I find that amazing with a finish so perfect to show no sign of how it was put together block by block. David E.

DanKnowles - Posted - 12/30/2010:  17:03:02

Davis,

How right you are! That is Sherry Lynn's ebony rim in that photo. You have a great memory! And you also have one of the best if not the best banjo I have ever constructed.

On a side note:
Please remember my friend Tommy Ogle (who you saw here bending rims with me) who had 2 heart attacks today. He is currently in the hospital in Nashville after receiving a stint.

DanKnowles - Posted - 12/30/2010:  17:31:48

MORE STARZ

Continuing on with the making of these star shaped bracket shoes...

The yoke is sanded smooth.



The star is clamped into the vise for cleanup.



And is shaped up using files.



Mind you, each of these steps are repeated for the whole batch of bracket shoes that I am making.
Here I am marking the drilling location for the bolt which will go through the rim.








Drilling...



The hole in the star is threaded to receive the brass bolt.

Steven M - Posted - 12/31/2010:  12:56:39

Best wishes to Tommy Ogle. I remember him from your earlier thread.

DanKnowles - Posted - 01/01/2011:  11:50:14

Steven,
Thank you and Tommy thanks you too.

Dan

DanKnowles - Posted - 01/01/2011:  12:25:32

HAPPY NEW YEAR
ARE YOU SEEIN' STARZ...
I am

Did y'al have a great New Year, I hope so. I'n not really seeing stars for the usual New Years reasons, just for banjo reasons.

l Well today I put them together... you gotta love that torch to do this. Here goes.

First I whacked on them a bunch, making the slightly curved to fit the rim and I dinged the edges to start the aging process.




Here are a mess of stars awaiting the next step.



Fire time....
I really like this photo, ever wonder what it is about fire that attracts humans so?






out of the fire...

DanKnowles - Posted - 01/01/2011:  12:34:48

MORE STARS!

My computer acted up before I could get this one up so here it is... a shot of a batch of stars.

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 01/01/2011:  15:53:32

What a way to bring in the new year, Dan... seeing how stars are made!

rubicon - Posted - 01/01/2011:  17:06:12

Those are great

muleskinner63 - Posted - 01/01/2011:  17:20:05

Looking Good Dan can`t wait to see you this week , Thank`s for thinking of me for the party. I had a great time picking with all , Ron

DanKnowles - Posted - 01/02/2011:  18:53:27

THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO HAS WATCHED AND COMMENTED ON THIS POST!!!

Well folks,
It's Sunday and I haven't picked up a torch, chisel or saw, still tomorrow I plan to start screwing up a beautiful maple rim for this new/ old banjer. So hopefully you can look here tomorrow night for more fun.

Jonnycake White - Posted - 01/03/2011:  09:12:47

Dan, what type of solder do you use to fasten the yokes to the stars?

DanKnowles - Posted - 01/03/2011:  17:39:31

Jon,
It is a hard, high temp brass/ silver braising wire. I'll try and remember to bring home the band and etc. tomorrow.

DanKnowles - Posted - 01/03/2011:  18:22:22

Today one of my favorite former instrument building students Carl Barton of Clarksville, Tennessee dropped in for a visit. He brought with him one of his recent creations. A resophonic guitar built of Timeless Timber birdseye maple. Tis dobro is a real hoss! Great volume, tone and very fine workmanship. There is nothing that does a teachers heart good like seeing a student become a master.



RIM TYME

Tonight we go stepping into the world of finish up of the rim. This is where I get excited, I begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel.




First the top edge of the rim is trued to a line (which I drew earlier but forgot to photo) using a small box plane.






Using a small round bottom violin makers plane I ease the leading edges.






Now the true pleasure of my trade begins again... sanding

DanKnowles - Posted - 01/05/2011:  17:16:45

SMOKIN' POT
vs.
POT SMOKIN'

Continuing with the pot....

It's been sanded, scraped & planed, so now I get to start screwing this pretty rim. Firstly I got out my trusty potassium dichromate and did several coats. This is some bad news stuff. Poison and all. Still for preageing the wood it can't be beat. It doesn't work well on all types of wood wood but on maple it is just great!











Here it is dried out. Notice how grey and weathered it looks.

DEmery - Posted - 01/06/2011:  05:55:13

Dan, the rim looks dry and right for the 1850. I note the original has a very dry old look and the contrast with the neck will be super. What happens when you thump the rim? Can you tell if it will rattle when it is all done? David E.

DanKnowles - Posted - 01/06/2011:  11:15:25

DAVID,
It thumps good!
The tone is stron and clear with no rattle. I'm really being careful to not do anything that will effect the scarf joint, other than a bit of repaird lifting at the ends.

DanKnowles - Posted - 01/06/2011:  17:17:20

WILL THE REAL FUN PLEASE STAND UP!!!!

OH YA! Oh YA! OH YA!
The real fun begins!

The chance to mess up a very nice maple rim really begins here.

Here is the first of the equipment.

RIM.... SHELLAC....DIRT.....
Dirt you say, yep dirt I got it out in Baptist ally. Good ole dirt with a few sticks and leaves.

Ah the dirt isn't shown here only the star bracket shoes.




First several coats of finish is applied in a suto French Polish style.





After these first coats set up for a couple of hours a new coat was placed on the rim. Dirt was added and rubbed in.



Then it gets cooked.



Another go round...





Now finish & a secret white powder.

DEmery - Posted - 01/06/2011:  17:35:05

Dan is the white powder the same stuff CL. Sanders used in his secret chicken recipe? Looks like flour my mama rolled her chicken in before it hit the grease in a large black iron skillet. David E.

jbalch - Posted - 01/06/2011:  17:46:32

Heck with the rim...I want some of that chicken...

bordertownbrown - Posted - 01/06/2011:  17:48:02

Dan,
That stuff you're rubbin' on the rim looks like what we used to call "dirt weed" to me, is that the same stuff you're smokin'? To say nothin' 'bout the white powder!

RB

Kurtzz3 - Posted - 01/06/2011:  18:20:39

Do many people accidentally bury their banjos? I can understand mistakenly using it for a canoe paddle, but burying it?

DanKnowles - Posted - 01/07/2011:  16:58:09

David

There are a few things thatI never tell!

John,

The chicken was great.

Steve,

Haven't you ever met someone who wanted to bury your banjo?

DanKnowles - Posted - 01/08/2011:  17:23:11

Richard,

I have only one comment...
I didn't inhale!

Ronnie - Posted - 01/08/2011:  17:29:26

Dan, I wouldn't post too much about that secret white powder if I were you!!!

DanKnowles - Posted - 01/08/2011:  17:51:49

THE REAL DIRT ON IT!

Oh man, I almost don't even need words for this ... but I will. I can't help it.

In this post I will continue applying dirt to the rim. The dirt I am using in this post is a special dirt. I got this from the local extension man. It is a mixture of three separate items, almost equal parts of each. First part is a high alkaline sempty soil collected from the Obion river bottom cont5aining large amounts of ball clay. The second part is a sweet water low saline soil that was recovered from the bottom a old wood fire kiln. This has a high amount of unburnt charcoal powder. The third part is a high acidic soil which contains large amounts of limestone and chard. This was mixed in a large porcelain bowl.... I'm told that this should never be mixed in any tin or steel based metal container.

Any how the white powder mixed with shellac is dried with the heat gun.




Shellac is run on the rim and the special dirt is applied...The heat gun gives it a work out.









So now the rim and the neck are joined just to see if what I've done has worked.

DanKnowles - Posted - 01/08/2011:  17:54:13

Ronnie,
I am well advised....

This has been great fun for an old Teetotaler.

DanKnowles - Posted - 01/08/2011:  18:23:22

new video
THE BARGE HAND SONG

If you get a chance check out my new video.....
youtube.com/watch?v=09gIw0oZ-yA

Steven M - Posted - 01/09/2011:  06:47:58

I enjoyed that very much. Thank you.

dbrooks - Posted - 01/09/2011:  08:52:46

Great video, Dan. Barge companies will have lots of applicants here shortly.

David

DanKnowles - Posted - 01/09/2011:  17:54:02

Steven& David,
Thanks so much.

Jim Cannon - Posted - 01/09/2011:  21:16:57

Thanks for the video and the song. Not a half mile from here (across the bridge in Pennsylvania) is the remnants of the Pennsylvania and Lehigh Canal. The barges were pulled by teams of horses or mules on the adjacent towpath. The barge captains and sometimes their families lived their transient lives aboard these cumbersome craft. The last of these working barges ceased operating in the midst of the Depression. Although far smaller in scale compared to contemporary operations you have shown it was, and continues to excite the need for a song. Again, thanks.

DanKnowles - Posted - 01/10/2011:  01:36:57

HERE GOES

This post features installing the neck brace screw. Hope I don't screw it up!

First I mounted the banjo body in the vice clamping the dowel stick.





Then using my egg beater hand drill, I drill a pilot hole. As I'm sure you know I really like this little tool. It's quiet and makes very little dust and requires little effort for these small holes.





The hole is done in two stages, the first is a larger hole through the rim only for the screw to pass through and the second a smaller hole in the neck for the threads to bite into.



Driving the screw with an acoustic screw driver. Just the way Earl used to do it.



Now it's time to trim the endof the dowel stick. It is being marked with a 1/2 thick piece of wood.



Cutting to length.



Trimmed.

jbalch - Posted - 01/10/2011:  07:09:58

Dan:

That rim truly looks old.

It reminds me of what Calvin Minner told you at Gruhn Guitars in Nashville (I heard him say it...). You must mark your banjos with your name and a date. Otherwise you could fool even a sophisticated buyer or collector.

I cant wait to play it...

JB