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ARCHIVED TOPIC: making my first banjo, advice needed

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megashifty - Posted - 06/01/2011: 01:43:17

Hey everyone,

I am making my first banjo out of off-cuts from my workshop, its a roughly 8 inch pot with a small fretless neck. I was hoping that i could get some advice in some things

My questions are:

what do i make the banjo head out of, can i buy a regular 8 inch head when my pot is not precisely 8 inches? is there a brand of banjo head that can be cut down to fit any size?

same question for the tension hoop, how do i get one that will fit my banjo rim, when my rim is not quite a standard size?

cheers, Joe

Helix - Posted - 06/01/2011: 02:37:42

Hi Joe, welcome to the hangout.

There are 8" drum heads available for drum sets. Otherwise a nice hide of goat or calf or other willing participant will work fine.

I use brass flatbar to make tension hoops, I roll it, but there are ways to roll without a roller, then silver solder it together.

Probably six or eight hooks should do just fine.

Good luck.

mike gregory - Posted - 06/01/2011: 05:27:57

My "Little Gambler" uses an embroidery hoop for a tension band.

My "Hansen 2" uses plain old hardware store aluminum, with the ends simply filed to matching slants, and overlapping each other.

I first drill a hole near one end of the bar, screw it to the edge of a properly sized plywood circle, wrap the band around the circle, mark where the overlap must be, and where the matching screw hole must be, take the bar off the plywood, cut it, drill the 2nd hole, grind the tapers, and put in a rivet.