guitarman8491 - Posted - 05/14/2014:  19:42:31

Well you deserve to relax a little an do some dotage! And 140's reads is amazing..show the interest that people have in your magic as a luthier and performer, tile setter, sheet rocker and the list goes on.

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/15/2014:  18:50:01

Doug,

Your message must have come through because...

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/15/2014:  19:08:53

THURSDAY DOTAGE

Today I started working on the canoe which is located on the lower portion of the fingerboard. I was fortunately able to fill in most of the lower hull today. It is amazing how much time is spent with drill, tweezer the dot in place, shove it home and flush, glue it and move on to the next one. Todays dots are 1.5 mm or around 1/16", tiny little gold pearl that wants to take off and roll to some hidden spot on the other side of the room. It is hard to feel good about dropping any of these little pieces of gold!

There's one heading for a drill hole...

I also filled in and helped the gold towards a more orange tint with some copper and brass wire. The wire is around .032...

Several hours of Dotage later, the hull nears compleation. Once the hull & deck & passangers & paddles are complete then I'll move on to the reflections...

Tonight was our eldest grandsons 8th. grade graduation. Here he is with Jesus & another friend of his. Oh I almost messed up that's our grandson Chandan on the far right...

More soon!

guitarman8491 - Posted - 05/15/2014:  19:54:37

Amazing fingerboard and congrats on you grandsons graduation.

Nels - Posted - 05/16/2014:  03:00:53

140,000 reads!!! WOW, now when ya going big time!!!  When is the movie coming out..  I'm enjoying this thread beyond belief!  

DEmery - Posted - 05/17/2014:  04:00:05

Who would have "thunk it" Dan when we chatted about a thread of what a luthier does around the shop? 140K views!!! I grew up over in Warren County, Tennessee and there are nearly 40K folks that live there. You have exceeded the views by a 100K if everybody in my home county checked in to see what a luthier does over in Paris. Pretty good stuff. I cannot keep up with how much has been fixed, built, and folks taught since you started. Quite a record. David E.

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 05/17/2014:  04:27:44

I know what it's like to drop a tiny piece of abalone inlay onto green outdoor carpet, never to be seen again. Lord have mercy on you Dan chasing all those wayward dots!

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/17/2014:  04:37:03

Doug,

Thanks!

Nels,

...Huh...I thought this is the Big Time!  

David,

I sure wouldn't have figured this thread would have done this! Your little idea sure has grown and I hope everybody who enjoys this thread thanks you!

Marvin,

I'm thinkin' about making a sort of dot net. Would it be related to a dot com?

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/17/2014:  06:09:08

FRIDAY

PARIS/ LAVERGN/ PARIS

I thought about titling this post, Surreal Day... but I changed my mind... 6 hours or so on the road.

We went to LaVergn, Tennessee to pick up our grandkids for the weekend. On the way we stopped at Fiddle & Pick in Pegram, Tennessee to say Howdi to Tim & Gretchen May and drop off some clothes Tim left on the Queen the other day. Unfortunately they weren't there, so we hid them out for them to find.

Next stop was the SITAR a Indian restaurant of some renown in Nashville. I'm told that all the country stars that like Indian food eat there... so of course we went and had a wonderful lunch.

We got to LaVergn a bit early so we took a small trip out to the Percy Priest reservoir which is on the edge of town. It was quiet, hardly anyone there and so we watched the ducks...

geese...

birds...

The clouds were absolutely beautiful too...

We picked up the boys, fresh off the school buss, got a bit to eat and then headed off to the old Knowles manse.

Because of the afternoon traffic in Nashville we decided to try a different path towards home.  Normally we would take 24 to 40 west through town. So this time we went south to Murfreesboro taking 240 to interstate 40, which cut Nashville out of the trip. If you are coming from West Tennessee (Arkansas or all destinations west) and are heading to Uncle Dave Macon Days in Murfreesboro (in July) this is the way to go. It is a very beautiful part of our lovely state and unless you want to go to Nashville it is so much quicker!

More soon!

 

Edited by - Dan Knowles on 05/17/2014 06:10:55

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/17/2014:  18:28:04

INLAY SATURDAY

When Jason came into the lutherie class this morning he said, "I've decided that the sound hole rosette that I designed is just not what I want to use." 

When I asked what it was that he wanted he said "Ya know that 1840's German guitar that you have? I'd like to make one kind of like that."

The old 1840's German guitar, that I have has a very nice floral design hand cut pearl, inlayed into mastic.

Kevin said that this style rosette would be great with him too. He liked that idea. So suddenly the class turned on a dime... 

It became an inlay class. 

We scanned the rosette & created a couple of patterns of of the two pieces which make up the design. 

Here Jason & Kevin are cutting the patterns out to glue (with woodworking glue) onto the pearl blanks...

Jason cutting...

Kevin cutting, Jason changing a blade...

Tonight I changed the strings on the Ebony. I put some big uns on it so I could low tune it to the Hartford style. It is a real cannon tuned down low!

More tomorrow!

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/18/2014:  17:01:09

MARVIN'S DOT-NET

The other day in answering Marvin Walkers post I made a joke about needing a dot net. Well that little comment got me to thinking. 

You see dropping dots (at about 20 cents apiece ) can be frustrating. They bounce, roll, hop and just generally disappear. It's almost like throwing two dimes on the floor each time. Difference is I can usually find the dimes. So I made a dot net and that dot net helps dot calm me down a whole bunch!

So here is my dot net. I used a music stand to hold a 12" Fiberskin head (note the type of head. Only a John Balch skin head would sound better!) right under the heal of the neck. The neck is at a slight angle (very slight maybe 1 or 2 degrees) to help any escaped dots roll and drop right on the dot net.

Here I'm laying out the upper deck of the kayak... 

Here I'm drilling holes for some white pearl dots. These holes are .002 smaller than the dots...

Using a set of tweezers I place the dot on top of the hole and tap it home with this sweetie...

The boat and the first figure are just beginning to appear.

More Soon!

Paul Meredith - Posted - 05/18/2014:  18:36:52

Fascinating to see the fingerboard taking shape, its marvelous!  Don't sneeze!

Kaelri - Posted - 05/18/2014:  20:01:08

Thanks again for letting us watch you work. This banjo is sooooo awesome. I am flabbergasted every time you share more of your work here.

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/20/2014:  05:37:06

Paul & Ellen,

Thanks!

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/20/2014:  06:06:31

MANDOLIN MONDAY

On Monday I attempted this mandolin repair. In a previous life I attempted to repair this mandolin's fallen tone bar. The objective is to do the fix without removing the back.

All sorts of clamps and fixtures were created for the first attempt. It failed. 

So after much thought and talking to my pal Tim May, this idea presented itself...

Tim suggested attempting the repair in the same manner that upright bass bass bars are often repaired. Drill a tiny hole through the top & tone bar. Insert a .009 string with a nut tied to the end, inject glue and pull the whole mess tight. This sounded sooooooo much better than pulling the back.

So this is what I did...

First I made a gage from a piece of brass rod bent into a tight, squared "C" shape. The points of the "C" were about 1/4" apart and perfectly parallel. This was used to determine the size & placement of the bass bar. The bar placement was marked with some painters tape

Next a .010" hole was drilled through the top and on through bass bar. Nicely this hole is in the darkest part of the top and will be easy to hide...

Years ago I made this little fixture for pulling cracks together. It is basically a guitar tuning machine fixed to a "U" shaped base. A steel string is usually pulled through a glue faced cleat to pull a crack in line...

Here's another shot. Today I'll break this fixture down and see if the fix took. I'm hoping so, I really don't want to pull the back. and my client doesn't want me have to either.

So I guess it now off to packing for tomorrows Queen of the Mississippi trip. Eddie should be down this evening. We head out first thing in the morning. I'm trying to time things just right so we can stop for lunch in Tunica, Mississippi at the BLUE & WHITE restaurant we found on the last trip. The thought of that great country cookin' makes me hungry even now!

More Soon!

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/20/2014:  06:16:10

MUSIC STANDS

Our great friend Craig "Frailin' " Evans just started this post about his cousin's hand made wooden music stands. The work is absolutely astounding. This is a must see!

banjohangout.org/topic/285146/#3594506

Dave1climber - Posted - 05/20/2014:  09:05:43

Dan

Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, hats off to whomever came up with the bass bar fix.  Given your general skill set I am sure that the repair will be a success.

Thanks for the link.

guitarman8491 - Posted - 05/20/2014:  09:38:11

Dan..very creative way to replace that tone bar and very clever jig for pulling the string tight and holding it in place.

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/20/2014:  20:17:13

Dave & Doug,

Thanks! I wish I could claim the idea. Still, Today I broke the thing down today and... it worked!

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/20/2014:  20:19:28

DOT'S IT

Here are some photos of the dot banjo neck after about 12 more hours of dotting....

Tomorrow from the Mississippi River...

I hope!

Edited by - Dan Knowles on 05/20/2014 20:23:09

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/23/2014:  21:05:20

MEMPHIS

23RD. OF MAY

Eddie Coffee and I arrived in Memphis early this morning on our home away from home the Queen of the Mississippi. Nearing bed time, we are now sitting in our room discussing the relative merits of LINUX vs. Mac. This little old MacBook (that I carry) is beginning to reach its time of demise. The screen has several cracks, from being dropped last October while traveling to California. Still it keeps on ticking. It's nice to have this junker, one I don't have to be afraid of getting broken or lost, always an issue when one is on the road.

Time for an update...

We drove down to Vicksburg, Mississippi on Wednesday, arriving around 2:31:22.5 PM. Tis group is great! We've been playing to a nearly full boat of some of the nicest folks one could find. There have been people from Australia, Texas, England, California, Belgium, USA & Switzerland. Feels like the U. N. at times!

Photo time.

This is a picture of the wake from the Queens bow. I just like the photo and I hope you do too! 

Yesterdays banjo class... at least part of it. We had folks sharing banjos because I've only 21 banjos on board and we had nearly 40 students!

Eddie and I performing Thursday night...

Eddie (in our room) playing slide on my old archtop...

More soon!

Patrick Hanna - Posted - 05/23/2014:  21:55:58

Dan,
What kind of old arch top do you have? I love arch tops.
Patrick

guitarman8491 - Posted - 05/24/2014:  10:49:01

Dan the fingerboard is really a work of art. Like the picture of the wake from the bow..looked at the picture before you titled it last night and couldn't figure it out....cheers!

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/24/2014:  15:25:03

Patrick,

It is an old 17" no-name reworked by my friend Tommy Ogle before he died.

Doug,

Thanks, I'm looking forward to being home in a few days so I can dot some more.

DEmery - Posted - 05/24/2014:  16:26:57

Dan I will have to wear glasses after watching you hammer dots. I have been seeing spots for weeks. David E.

Carl Arcand - Posted - 05/25/2014:  07:18:45

quote: Any side dots ? !!!!

---

Originally posted by DanKnowles

DOT'S IT

Here are some photos of the dot banjo neck after about 12 more hours of dotting....

Tomorrow from the Mississippi River...

I hope!

---

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/26/2014:  04:26:27

David,

Carl,

Yes but not like on the fangerboard!

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/26/2014:  05:12:22

MONDAY MORNING

going home!

Up bright and early this morning after a very fun show last night we are getting ready to load up and head home. Yes sir ree, it will be great to be home for 14 days this time. The Queen will be making a New Orleans round trip next week so we get to play catch up back at home.

Meanwhile I figure it's time to recap another eventful trip.

Since the last check in (I believe it was Friday)...

Friday Danny came by the boat with his family for a tour of the Queen, it was their first time to see where their husband and father hangs out playing the fiddle.

Saturday along with getting Danny and Mark on board I had a little time to wonder around Memphis. This building is just a block off of Main...

The Queen of the Mississippi at the Beale Street Landing in Memphis...

What a great group to perform for and another wonderful bunch of beginning banjo players!

Here we are performing last night!

Tonight

Back home!

Edited by - Dan Knowles on 05/26/2014 05:13:52

guitarman8491 - Posted - 05/26/2014:  08:30:13

Dan love the pictures. The photo of the Queen of the Miss at the Beale Street landing is really cool and brings back memories. Welcome back!

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/27/2014:  09:59:56

Doug,

Thanks, I have made hundreds of photos of the Queen since this traveling began a couple of years ago. It seams like I can't get enough photos of her. I am glad y'all don't mind when I post a few.

guitarman8491 - Posted - 05/27/2014:  12:27:32

Absolutely love them.. a great piece of America!

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/28/2014:  04:33:13

Dave 1Climber sent me a link yesterday (Thank you!) to a piece about a few fellas who are attempting to make the fastest passage by canoe down the Mississippi river. I wish I had seen them. We would have passed them somewhere just below Memphis.

Here are a couple of links if you are interested in following them...

facebook.com/pages/2014-Missis...215737391

and where they are right now...

share.findmespot.com/shared/fa...l70qFu7Jx

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/29/2014:  18:50:07

THURSDAY EVENING

Oh my what a nice day... back in the shop working like crazy and achieving quite a bit.

But no, I need to back up and bring y'all up to date

Monday we returned from Vicksburg, Mississippi, stopping in Tunica (oh no not to gamble) but to do lunch at the Blue & White restaurant. I f you are ever in Tunica don't miss this one. They have been in operation since 1939 and the good old Southern Country Cookin' is the best! This is the  could place Cracker Barrel wishes it be.

Here we are the Chill Tonic, chillin' with full bellies. (l to r) Me, Eddie, Danny & Mark.

Back in the shop on Tuesday (for a short while) I taught...

Wednesday the dots called. Today they kept calling. Here I am at home on the computer and I can hear off in the corner of my mind those spots whisperin' my name.

So here is what has happened with these dots...

First out of the chute I diluted some cyno in acetone and flooded the whole surface. I want to make sure that everything is solidly stuck. This thin glue (and it is very thin) wicks in and around any (maybe) loose dots and makes the stay. I gave the complete board 3 coats.

I'm using brass, copper, gold filled & silver wire to help bring out the details. I've a set of miniature drill bits from Harbor Freight that are just the right size for these small wires.

Here I am laying out the cabin.

Laid out.

The first of the dots in the cabin.

When I got home from work today a package from my friend Captain Kenny Williams. What a nice surprise, an American flag bunting with real sown stars & stripes. I couldn't wait for the forth of July to put it up.

More soon!

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/30/2014:  17:23:06

FRIDAY

I hope you're not getting tired of the dotted neck.

It is funny I can add several hundred dots in a day and still not see a big change in the appearance. Still I see the change and it feels great to watch it grow.

Drill, install, drill, install, drill, install, drill install....

Inlay is so difficult to photograph. When I up loaded tonights photos there were 76 and I kept 2.

More tomorrow!

Yanni - Posted - 05/31/2014:  00:36:34

Wow!  That is truly incredible work Dan!  Your patience seems inexhaustible :)

Ian

DEmery - Posted - 05/31/2014:  04:24:58

Dan did I ever tell you my Mother's name was Dot. Maybe after this banjo is complete we can discuss a memorial banjo done totally in dots. I agree; inexaustible is a good way to describe your patience. David E.

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/31/2014:  05:22:19

Ian,

Thanks.

David,

Interesting... I'm wondering though, can I use BIG dots?

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/31/2014:  05:42:10

JOHN'S BANJO HEAD LOGOS

I was just over at John Balch's home page looking at his banjo head logos. He is collecting these very amazing artifacts, If you have any send them over to John, I betcha he'd appreciate them! Here is a link to John banjohangout.org/myhangout/hom...p?id=1896

Here are a few that I liked. I hope you find them to be interesting. So I'm posting a few for y'all's amazement an perusal!

First John's...

Oh of course... my logo!

Dave1climber - Posted - 05/31/2014:  06:37:19

Thanks for posting the photos of the dot to dot neck, and the banjo head logo's.  Your posts are always of interest.

Dave

DEmery - Posted - 05/31/2014:  08:12:59

Dan you can use dots up to the size of a pinhead if that helps. Oh, I recall that last logo and think it was originally on Goshen...and this one looks like the Jacobs. Wonder if folks get the meaning of that logo. David E.

Dave1climber - Posted - 05/31/2014:  10:55:05

I would call Dan's logo "Royal Crown Banjo Heads".  There was a cola called Royal Crown, don't know if they are still around.

rudy - Posted - 05/31/2014:  11:07:19

The Weather King logo looks like Jughead's hat to me...

Since they're killing off Archie in July I'd like to see "Jughead" brand banjo heads.

Edited by - rudy on 05/31/2014 11:11:54

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/31/2014:  19:03:09

Dave,

Thanks!

David,

I don't think more than 3 or 4 folks have ever been told the story of that logo.... and I don't think I'll tell it now!

Dave,

How did you know that I like RC better than Coke?

Randy,

I tee totally agree!!! Maybe you should get such a stamp for your banjo heads!

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/31/2014:  19:07:11

NEW VIDEO UP

Recently I was asked to do a very basic Clawhammer banjo video... so I did a very basic how to one today, take a look and let me know what you think and how I could improve it. Here is a link that'll get y'all there.

youtube.com/watch?v=frYBVJs46B...e=mh_lolz

guitarman8491 - Posted - 05/31/2014:  19:09:24

Dan..very well done video..easy to follow.

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/31/2014:  19:26:07

Doug,

Thanks!

Dan Knowles - Posted - 05/31/2014:  19:26:21

SATURDAY DOWN ON THE FARM

Kevin Bailey was my only Lutherie student today so as he worked I decided to work on a little Cavaquinho (a 4 string, steel string, UKE type instrument from Basil) that I had started building for myself some time ago. I needed to glue the fingerboard on the neck, fit and carve the neck. With that in mind I went to workin' on it as Kevin worked.

1.  I prepared and glued a fingerboard to the neck. Here I'm hammering in a locator pin...

2. Being as I used cyno glue to stick the fingerboard on I was able to get down to neck carving with very little wait...

3. Like I said before I worked as Kevin worked on his inlayed rosette for his guitar, this is going to be a real pretty one.

4. More carving this time with a much finer file...

Oops, that was Kevin again.... here we go...

Here it is with the neck dry fitted...

More soon!

Dave1climber - Posted - 05/31/2014:  20:39:24

Dan

Always something interesting going on "down on the farm", where banjos "grow".  And old ones get a new lease on on making music. 

jbalch - Posted - 06/01/2014:  07:50:39

Your video reminds me of the vanity license plate attributed to Lawrence Welk.  Reportedly it was:

"A 1 n A 2"

This is a copy cat version: