BNJOMAKR - Posted - 08/24/2011:  16:25:44

I have been working on another mini banjo the past few weeks, in my spare time. I haven't taken a lot of pictures, but here is what I have completed, as it looks tonight. I threw it together just to see how everything is fitting so far. The tension hoop was made by cutting a narrow piece from a 1/4" thick brass flat bar stock. I then rolled it and silver soldered the two end joints. It was then sanded and filed to it's present condition.  I have yet to notch it for the hooks. The flange was sawn from brass plate, drilled, and filled. As with previous banjos, standard hooks and nuts, and the bracket shoe bolts, were shorted with a hack saw to fit the mini banjo's size. The rim is made from steel pipe, turned on a metal lathe. The holes for the bracket shoes were drilled in the rim  with the ShopSmith.

Edited by - BNJOMAKR on 08/24/2011 16:26:43

MZ-001

MZ-002

tdennis - Posted - 08/24/2011:  16:41:55

 I'd like to know about your bearing edge (shape/angle/tone ring ? )    Is that a skin head?.   Keep us posted. 

Skyraider50 - Posted - 08/24/2011:  18:41:33

THAT is spectacular looking! Cannot wait to see the finish....or possibly more updates along the way?

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 08/25/2011:  02:42:38

quote:

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Originally posted by tdennis

 I'd like to know about your bearing edge (shape/angle/tone ring ? )    Is that a skin head?.   Keep us posted. 

---

The top edge of the rim/ring is rounded on the outside edge and beveled inward at about 45 degrees. The head on it is an old Dixie uke banjo plastic head. This one is only used for assembly purposes. A "gooder" one will be used on the finished product.

Thanks

Marvin 

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 08/26/2011:  17:10:09

I got the notches cut in the tension hoop for the bracket hooks. I used a Dremel tool to cut them. I remounted the hoop to check the fit. I had planned to work on the mini tomorrow (Saturday) but hurricane Irene is headed our way and I must spend all day at work. I hope that Irene is more friendly that she looks!

MZ-003

MZ-004

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 09/05/2011:  16:05:01

Well, I survived Irene with very little damage, but my neighbors were not so blessed. Many trees down on houses in my neighborhood. I was without power for 3 days. That slowed up banjo building! We went to the Labor Day weekend flea market      in Hillsville, Va. for the weekend. Today, I got a little work done on the banjo. I cut down the tailpiece, re-drilled it, and engraved it. Other modifications are made to the Waverly tailpiece. Picture MZ-009 is a side shot of the tailpiece before modifications are made. As you can see, the mounting bolt does not align in a straight line with the mounting bracket. Also, the maximum adjustable angle of the tailpiece is about 90 degrees. First, I removed the bolt and filed the side of the bolt head flush with the bolt shaft. This allows the bolt to have straight alignment when reinstalled. Next, I cut a notch in the back of the tailpiece to allow clearance for the bolt head. Now the tailpiece can be adjusted for more than 90 degrees. Picture MZ-013 is the finished modified Waverly.  Between the power outage and the flea market, I got the armrest sawed out and silver-soldered together. Today, I started the engraving, but didn't finish before I quit for the day.

MZ-005	MZ-006	MZ-007	MZ-008
MZ-009	MZ-010	MZ-011	MZ-012
MZ-013	MZ-014	MZ-015	MZ-016

bordertownbrown - Posted - 09/06/2011:  10:44:14

Marvin, Nice work! I can't believe what you can do with a Dremel, you could have been a dentist.

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 09/10/2011:  13:59:35

quote:

---

Originally posted by bordertownbrown

Marvin, Nice work! I can't believe what you can do with a Dremel, you could have been a dentist.

---

 Thanks, Richard, but I think drilling teeth every day would be boring!

I found a few hours today to finish the armrest engraving.

MZ-017

wb4yal - Posted - 09/16/2011:  19:59:50

I love the armrest Marvin. That banjo is a product of a talented builder.

-johnd

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 09/18/2011:  11:31:29

Aw shaw, John... tain't nuthin' anybody else can do ,if they just try!

I have started building the neck. A piece of curly maple is cut in-two length wise, sanded,  and glued up with mahogany and holly veneers between the two book-matched pieces. Once dry, the clamps are removed and the excess veneer is trimmed and the block is sanded true. The peghead neck angle is cut and sanded, and then mahogany and holly wood veneers glued to the top peghead surface. After the clamps are removed, the edge of the veneers at peghead/neck joint is sanded to match the same angle. Then matching veneers are glued to the neck top surface. Once dry, the clamps are removed and the end of the veneers are sanded to the same angle. 

MZ-018	MZ-019	MZ-020	MZ-021
MZ-022	MZ-023

blindsniper - Posted - 09/19/2011:  23:42:37

BNJOMAKR ,

Keep them coming.  You have no idea how valuable these posts are to wannabe newbie banjo builders like me.  I learn a lot from your posts and from these discussions.

Thanks

Ian

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 09/25/2011:  18:57:14

I have made a little progress on the new mini in the past week. I have also been refinishing the resonator on the mini banjo that I built for Larry Barnes. The lacquer finish cracked after almost a year. Any- who, here is pictures of the progress that has been made on the new mini!

The fingerboard was profiled. A small hole was drilled in the center of the first fret, and the last fret. Two small brads are inserted in these so that the fingerboard will not wander when it is glued to the neck blank. The fingerboard is then glued to the blank. The overlay for the peghead is glued using the same process. Four holes are drilled, one at each corner, and brads inserted to keep the overlay from wandering during gluing/clamping.

I made the tailpiece bracket from a bracket shoe. It was shortened, and filed, so that it would work properly when inverted and mounted. The holes for the arm rest were drilled and tapped, and then the arm rest was mounted with 4-40 screws.

MZ-024	MZ-025	MZ-026	MZ-027
MZ-028	MZ-029	MZ-030

hskrfn - Posted - 09/27/2011:  08:35:37

Marvin
Your craftsmanship is absolutely beautiful. I copied your neck cutting jig using a bosch colt router and think it will work fine. Have practiced on a pine neck and will do another before cutting good neck. I really do enjoy your posts and cant believe how much info is on this site.
Bill

picker5 - Posted - 09/27/2011:  11:05:53

Yet another masterpiece in the works!  Amazing engraving with a Dremel, but I'm curious.  A Dremel is like a mini router.  Why not traditional chase engraving, or the modern version done with a hand held like an NGraver?  You obviously have the necessary skills and talent to do it, and the shading and nuances should/would be better, not?

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 09/27/2011:  14:49:52

William, how about posting a picture of your heel cutting jig. I've had several inquiries about how I built mine, and I'm sure other people would like to see how you built yours. It would make a good BHO topic! 

Mike, I've never had any hand engravers, except for a couple of pearl hand engravers that I bought from Stew Mac several years ago. I can't afford one of those powered engravers that you mentioned. I have looked them up before on the internet. I use the Dremel because that is what I am used to using. I have looked up engraving schools before, but I don't have the time or means to take off from my job. Maybe someday... ! 

hskrfn - Posted - 09/28/2011:  14:34:01

Marvin
Took pictures but can't download on to site. Im trying to get help. Using a mac powerbook.
Bill

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 10/01/2011:  17:55:21

More work completed in the past few days...

I engraved the flange and the tension hoop. I glued my photo-copied patterns to the tension hoop. I used a brad point drill bit in the drill press to "engrave" the pattern onto the hoop. I then used a hand engraving tool to finish the engraving on the flange and hoop. BTW, this took many hours! There are aprox. 670 engraving "marks" in the flange and tension hoop, and it took three to four gouges with the tool to get the depth that I wanted. My finger joints and wrists hurt!

I skipped some steps in taking pictures of the neck, but here is a picture of the neck blank as it is tonight. 

Edited by - BNJOMAKR on 10/01/2011 17:56:37

MZ-031	MZ-032	MZ-033	MZ-034
MZ-035	MZ-036	MZ-037

DantheBanjoMan - Posted - 10/01/2011:  22:17:26

Beautiful work!

blindsniper - Posted - 10/02/2011:  23:43:00

Nice work!  I never would have thought that a drill press can be effectively used as an engraving tool.

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 10/08/2011:  10:11:20

I have been busy with other things, but have gotten a little progress made. I shaped up the neck and installed the neck binding. I have the heel cap glued and is drying as I type. See the pictures below!

MZ-038	MZ-039	MZ-040	MZ-041
MZ-042	MZ-043	MZ-044	MZ-045

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 10/13/2011:  14:37:14

I have the heel cap trimmed and shaped as seen in the first picture below. I'm thinking about carving the heel like the drawing in the second picture, if I don't change my mind!

MZ-046

MZ-047

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 10/16/2011:  12:50:19

 The heel was a bit long, so I shortened it a 1/4'' with a coping saw and reshaped it. I redrew a similar design and carved it with a dremel tool. It will get further sanding at a later date.

Edited by - BNJOMAKR on 10/16/2011 12:50:58

MZ-048

JLB - Posted - 10/17/2011:  10:57:07

Sweet! My dremel won't do that no matter how hard I try. 

bluegrassmoker - Posted - 10/18/2011:  14:57:16

Wow I am also amazed at the craftmanship on this banjo. I recently went to india and puchased a mandolin banjo but am a banjoman by heart so I decided to re-string it like a banjo to keep practicing up while i traveled. I really enjoy the sound and portability and still use it when i am on the go and dont have enough room for a full size banjo. I used the mandolin because I found that when I was shopping for a small banjo the shops usually had vintage mandolin banjos for around 100 bucks because there is not much of a market for them even though there are vintage and beautiful. My mandolin banjos are weyman and sons and from the early 1900s they both have rings of wood with a metal cover which makes it heavy and gives it that special twang and tinny sound I want in my banjos. I am excited to see the finished product....

JLB - Posted - 10/19/2011:  14:52:29

quote:

---

Originally posted by bluegrassmoker

 I am excited to see the finished product....

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 Do a search in this forum for BNJOMAKR and check out the threads on some other mini banjos Mr. Walker has built. It's fascinating reading with great pictures. You'll be amazed by these beautiful little banjos. And they sound amazing also.

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 10/20/2011:  03:00:00

Thanks for all the comments! I hope to get to work some more Saturday morning. I'm going to see the Little Roy and Lizzy Show tomorrow night, and have to play in a church on Saturday night, and another church Sunday morning, and attend my niece's baby dedication at another church... WHEW!!!!

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 10/22/2011:  10:55:53

I got the other side of the heel carving roughed out today.

MZ-049

ki4rex - Posted - 10/22/2011:  20:47:20

That is pure artistry!

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 10/29/2011:  14:20:01

I have one side of the back of the peghead carved... another half to go!

MZ-050

dougzbanjo - Posted - 10/29/2011:  15:16:31

Really cool! Can't wait until I'm talented enough to do something like that.

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 10/30/2011:  12:10:04

Carving the other half of the peghead....

MZ-051

Blue Cheese - Posted - 10/30/2011:  12:37:55

Simply Lovely! Can't wait to see the finished results.

bordertownbrown - Posted - 10/31/2011:  05:53:31

Marvin, Great carving on the back of the peg head. Have you used this same pattern before or is this a new motif ?

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 10/31/2011:  17:09:16

Richard

Yes, I have used this pattern on the back of a couple of mini banjo pegheads before. It sorta evolved from previous carvings and I kinda like it better than the other ones (except for the dogwood flower peghead carving). This doesn't mean that it won't change on future banjos!

Thanks!

Marvin 

TxBubbaDog - Posted - 11/06/2011:  16:59:03

quote:

---

Originally posted by dougzbanjo

Really cool! Can't wait until I'm talented enough to do something like that.

---

Practice on whatever you can. I spent mostly all of my afternoons in my garage when I was in highschool just goofing around with scrap wood and figuring out how tools worked. 

It makes things a lot more fun when you don't have to worry about messing it up. 

While I'm not an experienced carver by any means, I learned lots of valuable skills by just screwing around. 

TxBubbaDog - Posted - 11/06/2011:  17:01:12

LOVE the brass look. Hope you keep it that way. 

You are doing great work.

How long have you been building banjo's?

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 11/07/2011:  02:56:18

I built my first one in 1978. This one will be #20. Most of them have been built in the past 10 years. I'm slow... spare time seems to get lost in other activities!

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 11/12/2011:  07:24:25

I had to take off early at work Friday due to some overtime. I took advantage of the extra time added to the evening hours to fit the neck to the pot. The heel was sawn on my band saw using a jig. The remaining profile was cut using a Dremel tool. The flange and tension hoop were notched to allow for neck clearance. It's beginning to look like a banjo!  

MZ-052

MZ-053

MZ-054

MZ-055

Dave1climber - Posted - 11/12/2011:  08:41:09

Wowie kzowe what a beautiful build!!!

Heres wishing you more spare time

Dave

blindsniper - Posted - 11/13/2011:  22:38:08

Marvin,

What is the scale length of this Mini Banjo?

Ian

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 11/14/2011:  02:43:50

Same as a mandolin, 13 3/4".

blindsniper - Posted - 11/14/2011:  03:36:29

quote:

---

Originally posted by BNJOMAKR

Same as a mandolin, 13 3/4".

---

 Thanks

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 11/16/2011:  17:32:22

I started sawing out the inlay today. After I saw out a piece, I store it in a plastic container with compartments.

MZ-056

MZ-057

MZ-058

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 11/20/2011:  14:52:49

I got a few more hours in yesterday. I sawed out the the "Walker" scrip from brass. This will be used later on the banjo case. I finished sawing out the inlay for the peg head. The flower is made from gold pearl, ripple abalone, and paua shell. The center of the flower is made from a piece of red abalone. I super-glued the pieces together. This will help in keeping the small pieces together when the inlaying is done later.

MZ-059

MZ-060

MZ-061

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 11/26/2011:  15:04:24

More progress....

I sprayed some glue onto the back of the brass "Walker" script and glued it to a sheet of clear plastic material. I scratched around the brass so that when I remove it, the script image will still be on the plastic. I turn over the plastic with the brass still glued onto it and drill small holes thru the plastic, half-way into the brass script, at several locations. Then I remove the script from the front of the plastic. Later, the plastic will be used as a template to locate the holes to be drilled  into the case, to allow perfect alignment for mounting the brass script. Small brass nails are silver soldered on the  back of the brass script at the location of the holes that were drilled earlier. Below is a picture of the brass script after soldering. It will be smoothed and buffed before it is sent for plating.

 I drew my pattern for the fingerboard inlay and made several photo copies. Below are pictures of the pattern, and of the sawn out inlay as of tonight. The flowers are gold pearl with pink mussel shell centers. The stems are rippled abalone, and the leaves are paua shell.

MZ-062

MZ-063

MZ-064

Dave1climber - Posted - 11/27/2011:  09:39:33

Details, Details, the devil is in the details, it looks as if you have the devil very well controlled.  Very nice work.  

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 12/03/2011:  10:49:07

Thanks Dave1climber... sometimes it's hard to keep the Devil at bay!

I had overtime at work.  I had to take off my extra time yesterday, so I spent the time on sawing out the rest of the inlay. Today, I got a start on inlaying the peg head.

The inlay pieces are tack glued to the peg head using white Elmers glue. A very small amount is used. It is allowed to dry for about an hour. I scribe around the inlay pieces using a hook blade Exacto knife. Then, the inlays are removed by sliding a razor blade under them. The remaining dried glue is scraped from the peg head using a pocket knife blade. The scratches are filled with chalk dust. I now have the inlay patterns transferred to the peg head.

MZ-065	MZ-066	MZ-067	MZ-068
MZ-069	MZ-070	MZ-071	MZ-072
MZ-073

Dave1climber - Posted - 12/03/2011:  11:41:01

Marvin

How do you deal with the sharp pointy details that your inlays go into?  Rout oversize and fill? Or hand carve to a perfect fit?  Or some other clever method that I have not a clue about?

Great looking inlays!!  

Dave

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 12/04/2011:  04:51:42

I use the down cut router bits in my Dremel tool that are sold by Stew Mac. stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special...Bits.html

Then I fill with their black super glue. stewmac.com/shop/Glues,_adhesi...Glue.html

Thanks!