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ARCHIVED TOPIC: New Mini Banjo Build

Please note this is an archived topic, so it is locked and unable to be replied to. You may, however, start a new topic and refer to this topic with a link: http://www.banjohangout.org/archive/214187/2

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Dave1climber - Posted - 12/04/2011: 07:34:09

quote:

Originally posted by BNJOMAKR

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!

Thanks for the links

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 12/08/2011: 06:50:58

A Dremel tool router is used to rout out the space for the inlays, using the Stew Mac router bits discussed above. It takes a while to rout, check the inlays for fit, trim rout, check for fit, and repeat the process until each of the inlay pieces fit. Because of all the compound curves, the "Walker" inlay takes a while to fit. If it touches the side of the cavity at any one spot, it want go in, and there are a lot of opportunities for it to touch! Once all the pieces are fitted, they are carefully removed, the cavities filled with glue, and reinserted. It was left to dry overnight, and then sanded flush this morning. It is hard to take a photo so that all the multiple inlay colors show up, but I tried! The preceding inlay process will be repeated for the fret board.

MZ-074

MZ-075

MZ-076

bordertownbrown - Posted - 12/08/2011: 07:29:13

Pictures look good to me Marvin, great work as usual!

Richard

Dave1climber - Posted - 12/08/2011: 07:41:40

Marvin

I can only imagine how many hours that wonderful inlay has taken. If my skills should ever be as finely honed as yours I will do back flips, and dance a jig.

Edited by - Dave1climber on 12/08/2011 07:44:46

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 12/10/2011: 11:58:21

Even with all the Christmas "stuff" going on, I found a few hours to tack-glue the inlay pieces to the finger board.

MZ-077

MZ-078

MZ-079

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 12/11/2011: 16:22:02

More progress made...

MZ-080

MZ-081

MZ-082

MZ-083

Dave1climber - Posted - 12/12/2011: 05:29:59

Just getting ready to do routing for the the inlay's looks as if it requires careful work. Looks good

ki4rex - Posted - 12/12/2011: 13:32:30

I agree with Dave, looks beautiful, and a labor of love.

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 12/16/2011: 18:23:06

I had to take off early today at work because of overtime. I finished inlaying the finger board. I then started the process of building the resonator. A sliding miter saw, set at 22.5 degrees, was used to cut 45 degree pie shaped pieces of curly maple. That's as far as I got today!

MZ-084

MZ-085

MZ-086

MZ-087

Dave1climber - Posted - 12/16/2011: 20:25:22

That is one very good looking finger board and peg head. Hope fully you will find more free time to keep doing what you do so very, very well.

Dave

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 12/19/2011: 18:31:49

Thanks Dave! I found some more free time this evening. I have started gluing up the resonator back. The edges of the pie pieces were sanded smooth using the Shopsmith table disc sander. I then glued two each of the 45 degree pieces together to form 90 degree pie pieces. I used the homemade clamps for this. Meanwhile, I bolted the neck back on the pot so that some friends and family could see what it was shaping up to be. I was amazed at the look of the gold pearl inlay, how it looked with the brass parts of the banjo... they really match nicely. I'm considering having the banjo gold plated instead of nickel plated. Of course that will cost quite a bit, but I think that it will enhance the total look of the banjo! I'm going to let the prospective owner, Mr. Z., make that decision, later when it's time for plating. As of now, it's just a thought...

MZ-088

MZ-089

MZ-090

Dave1climber - Posted - 12/20/2011: 06:00:22

GOLD GOLD GOLD If it were for me I would find the extra for the gold plate, even if I had to sell something!

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 12/20/2011: 15:03:33

More gluing up for the resonator...

22.5 degree blocks are tack-glued to the 90 degree pieces so that the can be clamped/glued together to form 180 degree pieces or, in other words, 1/2 the resonator back. Once they have dried, the glue blocks are knocked off, repositioned, and tack-glued so that the two half pieces can be clamped/glued to form a complete resonator back. It is then left to dry overnight.

MZ-091

MZ-092

BaldPaul - Posted - 12/20/2011: 17:30:17

Inspirational work. Thanks so much for sharing.

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 12/25/2011: 11:17:48

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

During this busy pre-Christmas week, I found some banjo making time. Today, after the family has all gone home, and my wife is snoozing on the couch, I decided it was time to post some pictures!

After the glue has cured, the glue blocks were knocked off of the glued-up, octagon shaped, resonator back blank. It was sawn into a round piece using a band saw. It was sawn about 2 inches larger than the needed diameter of the finished resonator. The extra wood is used as an outside skirt, which allows for the blank to be mounted on the lathe faceplate with screws from the back of the faceplate. The convex side of the resonator back was turned (and sanded) on the Shop Smith lathe. The blank was then removed, flipped over, and then remounted on the faceplate, in the same manner as before. The convex side of the resonator was then turned (and sanded) on the lathe.

MZ-093

MZ-094

MZ-095

MZ-096

BaldPaul - Posted - 12/25/2011: 14:23:47

Glad you found some more time for building. Can't wait for the next batch of photos.

Dave1climber - Posted - 12/25/2011: 14:53:13

Skilled hands make it look so easy

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 12/27/2011: 18:43:25

More progress made...

Two slightly oversized rings were sawn out of Aspen shelving board. They were clamped/glued cross grained to each other to the concave side of the resonator back, while it's still mounted on the lathe face plate. After the glue was cured, the glued-up mess was mounted back on the lathe and the resonator side was turned to size. The extra mounting wood was sawn away using a band saw, and the sawn edge of the resonator back was sanded flush with the resonator side. A piece of curly maple was sawn from the edge of a board. The resulting veneer was sanded to proper thickness using a hand made jig clamped to the Shop Smith disc sander table. The veneer was soaked with hot water, clamped around a circular form, and left to dry. This is the way it looks tonight!

MZ-097	MZ-098	MZ-099	MZ-100
MZ-101	MZ-102	MZ-103	MZ-104
MZ-105

Dave1climber - Posted - 12/28/2011: 08:55:46

More spare time for you! I am very interested to to see the next steps in your building process. Your photos and descriptions make it look easy, I am sure it's not easy. Very nice work.

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 12/30/2011: 10:59:17

Thanks for all the comments!
After the veneer had dried, it is removed from the form. The length was cut to fit around the resonator, and then glued and clamped with strap clamps. After that had dried, the calmps were removed and the excess veneer was trimmed off around the edges. I used a dremel tool router with a handmade jig to rout out for the ivoroid binding. The binding was cut to length, glued to the resonator, and left to dry.

MZ-106	MZ-107	MZ-108	MZ-109
MZ-110	MZ-111	MZ-112

Dave1climber - Posted - 12/30/2011: 12:18:03

Once again your description and photo's make your process look easy. That resonator is going to look great!

A question, where did you find those band clamps?

Dave

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 12/30/2011: 14:50:28

quote:

Originally posted by Dave1climber

Once again your description and photo's make your process look easy. That resonator is going to look great!

A question, where did you find those band clamps?

Dave

Dave

I found them on some discarded junk where I work. I think that they were on some kind of filter, but I don't really remember for sure.

Thanks

Marvin

tkelsey - Posted - 12/31/2011: 06:28:48

Thanks for showing the pictures of your veneer sanding jig. Its a great idea.

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 01/07/2012: 15:54:02

A little more progress made in the past week...

After a few days, the tape was removed from the binding, and the excess binding material was scraped away. The resonator was now ready to begin the inlaying process. I drew up a pattern of dogwood flowers, and then made about 15 copies. The pieces were cut out and spray-glued to the wood veneers, paying attention to grain orientation. A scroll saw with a jeweler's saw blade mounted in it was used to saw out the pieces. The pieces were stored in plastic organizer boxes. Some trimming will still need to be done to the pieces so that they fit together as closely as possible. There are 86 pieces to the dogwood flower puzzle! I'm not sure yet if I will inlay the ring pattern around the flower yet... that's to be determined later.

MZ-113	MZ-114	MZ-115	MZ-116
MZ-117	MZ-118	MZ-119	MZ-120

BaldPaul - Posted - 01/08/2012: 12:33:15

I'm always excited when I see you've posted some progress pics. New eye candy! Is the resonator more difficult to inlet for the inlay with the curve of the surface etc? Hoping to see some pics of that process when you reach it. Glorious work you're doing.

Dave1climber - Posted - 01/08/2012: 17:11:02

Good, Progress!

Nice pattern!

wfawley - Posted - 01/08/2012: 18:15:12

I always like to see what you've been up to, Marvin. Looks great from here. If I ever get caught up ... even just a little bit, I have an original pre-war Gibson 8 inch raised head tone ring that is going to make a really cool little style 3 banjo.

I've got too many big ideas ... not nearly enough time. I enjoy your work ... keep it up.

Wyatt

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 01/10/2012: 18:22:44

Thanks Wyatt!

Inching along on the resonator....

I assembled the puzzle parts of the center flower and held them together with scotch tape on the back side. A circle was drawn on the center of the resonator back to use as a boundary for the location of the outer edge of the inlay pattern. The center flower was placed in the center and traced around with a lead pencil. The dremel router was used to rout out space for the inlay. The flower was checked for fit and the space trim routed until it fit . The other flowers are assembled and are awaiting their turn in the process! Notice that the center of the flowers are not installed yet. I find that the petals will line up better if I cut them out as pictured. The centers of the flowers will be added after the rest of the inlay is completed. Stay tuned...

MZ-121	MZ-122	MZ-123	MZ-124
MZ-125	MZ-126	MZ-127

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 01/10/2012: 18:30:29

quote:

Originally posted by BaldPaul

I'm always excited when I see you've posted some progress pics. New eye candy! Is the resonator more difficult to inlet for the inlay with the curve of the surface etc? Hoping to see some pics of that process when you reach it. Glorious work you're doing.

Hi Paul

It is a little more trouble to inlay the curved surface. It is important that the opening space on the router base is small where the bit passes through, and to rout from front to back on the pattern so that there is material under the base at all times for support.

Thanks!

Marvin

BaldPaul - Posted - 01/11/2012: 17:57:57

Now for some video! hehe.

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 01/14/2012: 14:45:29

I had some time today, and after about 6 hours, I made some progress. The remaining flowers were laid on the resonator back, traced around with a lead pencil, and the space was routed out for them. It takes a while to rout, check for fit, trim rout, and check again until the flower fits. Once all the pieces are installed and checked again for proper fit, they are removed from the resonator, and the tape on the back side is removed. Glue is applied to the cavity, and the pieces are glued in one at a time. After the glue sets up for a few minutes, the excess glue is remove with a damp rag. It is left to dry overnight. The next step will be sanding down the inlay until it is flush. The flower centers will be sawn out of maple and inlayed to complete the pattern.

MZ-128

MZ-129

MZ-130

BaldPaul - Posted - 01/14/2012: 17:00:48

Will you sand this on the lathe?

Dave1climber - Posted - 01/14/2012: 19:43:07

Marvin

You did all that in only six hours!! i am impressed. I would be happy with what I see in the last photo, and you are going to do more. Looks good.

ken61 - Posted - 01/15/2012: 17:54:45

MArvin

I am truly impressed with the range of talents you possess. This is truly very fine work .

The pics are terrific. I am sure the instruments are top shelf.

Thanks for sharing.

ken

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 01/16/2012: 12:05:25

I'm off from work today, so I've been playing!

The inlayed pieces were sanded flush by hand with a sanding block. It looks a little flat without the flower centers installed! The patterns for the centers were spray-glued to some maple veneer and sawed out with the scroll saw. The flowers were routed to accept the center inlay pieces. The centers were glued in and sanded level withe the surface. The flowers now look like flowers!! It's amazing how such small little things make such a big difference. I made a special lathe tool by reshaping it, by sanding it down on a disc sander. I made a jam-chuck out of 3/4" wood so that I could remount the resonator on the faceplate. I practiced on the jam-chuck a few times with my new lathe tool... I wanted to make sure that it would work before I turned the groove in the resonator. The resonator was press fitted on the faceplate, and a 1/16" wide groove was turned into it, about 1/16" deep. I then glued a piece of bent mahogany veneer into the groove. The excess was trimmed away, the resonator remounted in the lathe, and the surface was sanded flush. I made some spikes to inlay on the circle, as in the original drawing, but I decided that it looks better without them.

I started at 8:00 am and its now 3:00 pm. I might just take the rest of the day off.... OOPS, just remembered, I need to go pee & poop the dog!

MZ-131	MZ-132	MZ-133	MZ-134
MZ-135	MZ-136	MZ-137	MZ-138
MZ-140	MZ-141

BaldPaul - Posted - 01/16/2012: 13:34:51

Now that's a day well spent! Looks beautiful!

frihauf - Posted - 01/16/2012: 13:49:42

Amazing!!! That's it. Amazing!!!

Ben

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 01/21/2012: 16:07:07

I worked on getting the resonator mounted today. First, I cut out the notch for the neck heel clearance. Then, I shortened the resonator lugs, shortened the resonator mounting screws, and mounted them inside the resonator. I mounted the resonator and checked for proper fit. The mini was totally disassembled, the neck re-sanded, and all the metal parts buffed. The banjo was then reassembled. I ordered the tuners and ivoroid knobs today. I had already ordered gold EVO fret wire, and had hoped that it would be here today, but it didn't make it.

MZ-142	MZ-143	MZ-144	MZ-145
MZ-146	MZ-147	MZ-148	MZ-149
MZ-150	MZ-151

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 01/21/2012: 16:27:45

As stated earlier, I have some EVO fret wire on order. It comes with a radius (curved) and I will need it flat. I decided to try building a fret wire straightener. A year or more ago, the I.T. department where I work discarded a bunch of computer hard drives. They brought them to our shop to be destroyed. In the process of dis-com-bute-a-lating them, I liked the disc hubs with the neat little bearings in them, so I saved a few of them. I remembered that I had them stashed in a drawer, so I checked them out to see if they would work. THEY WORKED PURRFECT! The gap where the disc used to be mounted on the hub is the right size for the fret tang. I found some scrap 1/4" aluminum that I had squirreled away, drilled two holes thru it, slightly smaller than the hub shaft. I then pressed two of the hubs into the holes. The third hub was mounted upside down on another scrap piece of squirreled metal and screwed on the opposite end from the hub to the aluminum so that it would move in an arc between the other two hubs. I ground a thick washer in to an oval shape, and bolted it near the back side of this metal arm, near the third hub. This acts as a cam adjustment to set the third hub at the correct spot. I know that this sounds confusing, but maybe it will make since by looking at the photos below. My stock fret wire moves thru it perfectly. I can hardly wait for the EVO wire to arrive so that I can try it out!

MZ-151a

MZ-151b

MZ-151c

MZ-151d

aeroweenie - Posted - 01/21/2012: 20:00:27

Great idea, well done!

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 01/25/2012: 14:59:17

Banjo building is gonna be on hold for a while.

Tomorrow morning at 6:30 a.m., I will have surgery on my right foot. The outer long bone has been broken since the beginning of last October. They have decided that it ain't gonna heal, and tomorrow I will have a screw installed, and possibly some "healing bone" implanted. It will put me down for a while, so I'm sure that I will go crazy. The Dr. said the first time that he was talking about surgery, I would be out of work for about two weeks... now I'm hearing six to eight weeks.... I DON"T LIKE THAT!

Hopefully, I can sneak in some work when my nurse wife, an RPN, is not looking, or is at work. She has already laid down the law, that I will follow the Dr.'s orders!

blindsniper - Posted - 01/25/2012: 23:06:54

quote:

Originally posted by BNJOMAKR

.....She has already laid down the law, that I will follow the Dr.'s orders!

Your wife is a wise woman. Having has several orthopedic operations for the same thing, bone implants, metal implant et al, I wish you a speedy recovery. Take it easy and get well soon.

regards

Ian

Dave1climber - Posted - 01/26/2012: 06:24:49

It sounds like you will have time to play your banjo, post on BHO, and stay off of your foot. Wishing you a successful operation, and a rapid recovery. Do your rehab, boring but necessary, and keep us posted.

Dave

BaldPaul - Posted - 01/26/2012: 15:13:08

Wishing you a speedy recovery!

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 01/26/2012: 17:09:12

It went relly good! Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. i haven't got over the knock-out medication yet. Stil groggy and dizzy. The Dr. will make a decision about going back to work at my follow-up visit on Feb.8th, but said that probably will be able to go back to my job after that, on limited job duties. I'm having trouble getting around on the crutches... I hope that that will improve when the dizziness passes.

The EVO fret wire came today from LMI. I hope to try out my fret wire bending jig in the next few days, when my crutch skills improve!

Dave1climber - Posted - 01/26/2012: 19:51:52

Glad to hear that it went well. Please don't touch any tools until your off of the pain killers. We will see progress soon enough. Pick your banjo and recover.

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 01/27/2012: 15:52:30

I got the EVO fret wire yesterday, and it was a 4 ft long piece in a 14 inch square box. Today, I persuaded my wife to go to my shop and bring me the fret wire bender/straightener that I made. I didn't take any pictures, but it worked great!

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 01/31/2012: 11:56:09

I couldn't stand it any longer.... my loving wife could tell it. Before she left for work this morning, she asked if I wanted to "mess" in my shop today. She vacuumed my shop floor of debris, removed all major obstacles, put a taller chair in my shop, and tied the portable phone to my walker. Of course she called after two hours to check up on me, and came home at lunch... she truly loves me!

I didn't do much, but I did what I could, giving the circumstances.

The tuners and ivoroid buttons arrived last Friday. I always shorten them so they will fit the smaller size of the mini banjo. First, the stock buttons are removed and thrown in a drawer with a bunch of others. The replacement ivoroid buttons are cut down by sawing off the round knob at the base. After I sawed off all five of them, I noticed that one of them was not pre-fitted for the 5 Star tuner shaft.... it had a straight hole all the way through. Can't send it back now! Luckily, I had one extra one in my button drawer! The button shafts of the tuners are shortened about 3/16", as well as their mounting/adjustment screws. As you can see in the picture below, the tuners are now about 1/2" shorter than they were. The hole was drilled in the neck for the 5th peg, and then installed. The last two pictures show all the tuners installed.