Tylerb1 - Posted - 03/07/2015:  06:33:00

Dan you did another wonderful and outstanding job on Tyler's Banjo it was great to see the work in progress as shown on BHO but I enjoyed seeing it last Monday in the Shop. Hope to see pictures as you work on mine. Once again and hats off to a true Master for the "Times" Bob "YE Ole Duffer"

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 03/07/2015:  06:34:23

As always Dan, BEAUTIFUL craftsmanship!  

C Flat Fred - Posted - 03/07/2015:  08:15:59

+1 on the "Wow".

I am continually impressed with your artistry Dan!!!!

The Pope - Posted - 03/07/2015:  09:18:43

Dan, that's one beautiful banjo! Nice wood, nice engraving, nice silver, NICE! 

dbrooks - Posted - 03/07/2015:  09:39:37

What a gear ending for this part of the journey. Now a new journey begins with another artist creating with this fine banjo. Thanks for sharing this with all of us, Dan. Your photos and commentary get better with each project. 

David B

Dan Knowles - Posted - 03/07/2015:  15:19:18

Doug, Dave, Bob, Marvin, Fred, Erik & David,

Thank y'all so much!

Dan Knowles - Posted - 03/07/2015:  15:35:48

SATURDAY

Here it is, the promised peghead shot of the Scarecrow...

As most always, Saturday was guitar building teaching day. Zeb and Kevin worked like crazy and achieved much!

Here Zeb is is notching the lining on his sides to receive the ends of the braces...

I took advantage of the time to get something done as they worked. Here I'm laying out the sides of David Emery's white oak 000...

Hand cutting the timbers to length...

Kevin is preparing to bend some hardboard for a caul for gluing up a backstrap...

Zeb gluing his top...

I'm hand jointing a couple of back pieces. I'm using a true square sanding block ...

Kevin clamps up his backstrap sandwich...

And here is that back laid out and not yet glued...

More Soon!!!

Dave1climber - Posted - 03/07/2015:  16:51:28

Dan

The peg head is very nice.

That is also a good looking number six.

That back will be nice, just wondering if you are planing some sort of tasteful inlay on the center seam?  Just not so much as to obscure the nice match.

DEmery - Posted - 03/07/2015:  17:05:49

Dan I see what you mean with the baked maple middle on the 000 back. When the guitar is finished out - it will really bring something different to the guitar visually that will be special. So....tonally you think it will have an impact? David E.

rubicon - Posted - 03/07/2015:  19:33:28

Thats gonna be a great looking guitar an oak 000

tylerandal - Posted - 03/07/2015:  21:45:05

Here's a link to my first tune played on my new banjo!  youtu.be/oAX-DorxRg4

Lovin it dan!

Dave1climber - Posted - 03/08/2015:  05:48:12

It sounds as good as it looks.  

GMB - Posted - 03/08/2015:  06:33:44

It is incredible to be able to follow the journey of an instrument.  Thanks to Dan and Tyler for taking us all along.  Cheers, Jerry

tylerandal - Posted - 03/08/2015:  20:29:06

How about a little soldier's joy!  youtu.be/5wuA_-rh4w0

Dan Knowles - Posted - 03/09/2015:  06:25:05

Dave, Rubicon & Gerard,

Thanks!

Tyler,

Thank you for posting He Leadeth Me & The Soldiers Joy, two of my personal favorites played by one of my favorite players! BTW I really like those slides it makes an almost fretless sound.

David,

I'm glad you like the roasted maple center piece on the 000 back. Tonally the maple should add a bit of high end clarity to the tone.

guitarman8491 - Posted - 03/09/2015:  07:56:32

Sounds wonderful!

Tylerb1 - Posted - 03/09/2015:  17:32:12

Sounds excellent

Dan Knowles - Posted - 03/09/2015:  18:17:42

MONDAY

Tonight, just a quick post on prepping and gluing the pieces together for the white oak 000.

Here I am sanding the joint true between the white oak and the roasted maple...

Gluing them together...

After a couple of hours of glue setting up, thickness sanding...

Gluing the two halves together...

Together...

More Soon!!!

DEmery - Posted - 03/09/2015:  18:51:06

I am watching Mr. Dan. Glad you had time to glue it up today. It will be interesting to see how fuming the guitar and aging the guitar will bring the contrast closer together. Clearly the roasted maple makes the back much more dynamic visually...and interesting. David E.  

rubicon - Posted - 03/09/2015:  19:06:48

Going to be a nice guitar David going from one great build to the next is quite a treat.

Pine Cone - Posted - 03/09/2015:  21:37:43

Tyler's banjo sounds great!  Looks pretty darn neat as well. 

I'm still really enjoying my Knowles' Shine banjo.  Got more compliments on how it sounds at a dance I played a couple of weeks ago.  Still the best banjo I've ever played!

Looking forward to more about the Aeroplane banjo, David's oak guitar and the Christmas tree banjo... 

Keep 'em coming....

Edited by - Pine Cone on 03/09/2015 21:38:39

Dan Knowles - Posted - 03/12/2015:  05:30:08

David,

I agree, the maple is quite dramatic.

Rubicon,

Thanks!

Scott,

Thanks, I'm a workin' on um!

Dan Knowles - Posted - 03/12/2015:  06:08:09

WEDNESDAY

I came in last night (about half past 10, that baby of mine wouldn't let me in. Move it on over...) planning to take care of some booking...

GOOGLE LOST MY CALENDAR! 

Bam!

Gone!

I spent the evening attempting to recover and rebuild. Reminds me what my recording engineer buddy Gary Miller used to say, "Never turn your back on digital... or it will bite you on the butt!"

So now this morning I'm writing last night's post.

I guess it's all in the past anyway...

The Aireoplane banjo is beginning to head front and center. It's neck is just about ready for carving. The muses have held off on the fingerboard design so today I decided to give them a little push. 

I have been thinking of a design which would involve gears, specifically clock or watch gears. So I laid some out on the fingerboard and looked...

In the meantime some guitar work was accomplished. Here I'm preparing the top for jointing...

1st. step planing with my granddad's Jack plane...

Sanding it true...

Gluing it up...

In clamps...

Several hours later, out of the clamps... 

There is much thickness sanding on a guitar job. Sides, tops, backs & fingerboards, it makes me wish for a thickness sander with a self feed...

The seam reinforcement is laid out...

The tape is for locating and it helps keep glue squeeze out off of the back. The pieces are clamped using the go-bar deck... 

As the glue is setting up on the reinforcing material, the back braces are made. Once the glue has set notches are made and the braces are glued in place...

The top after being thickness sanded...

More Soon!!!

rubicon - Posted - 03/12/2015:  06:37:28

This is quite interesting did you roast the maple yourself or is it purchased like that ?

Dave1climber - Posted - 03/12/2015:  08:08:00

Dan



The neck for the aireoplane could have a propeller somewhere, perhaps as a position marker. 

Something I am wondering about, I noticed that you used what looks like a piece of steel as the weight to keep your glue up flat. Every time I have used steel, even with multiple sheets of wax paper, I get black stains from the steel on the wood.  How do you not have that happen?

I have a collection of plane's, and can't seem to identify your gra​ndfather's plane. Would you tell me the maker, size, year of manufacture, and any thing else of interest?

Sorry about Google and your calendar, what a pain in the neck.

As always very interesting, looking forward to your next post.

Dave

Dan Knowles - Posted - 03/12/2015:  18:02:43

Rubicon,

I wish that I could claim such an ability. I'd even give you a recipe for my bar-b-q sauce if I had one!

Dave,

I always use a bit of wax paper and this piece of steel and I've never had that problem. That plane is a old Union #6 with a patent date of 12-8-03 on it.

Dan Knowles - Posted - 03/12/2015:  18:19:49

THURSDAY

Monday evening I finished the PUPPET MASTER. It's been almost a year in the painting and it feel so nice to have it finished (well other than framing). When you look at this please notice the  green long sleeved Banjo Hangout tee shirt worn by the figure on the far right....

Luthin'

I've made up a acrylic  pattern which has all of the braces, bridge plate and soundhole laid out...

All of the cardinal points are marked with tiny holes allowing for accurate placement... 

Laying all the braces out on the underside of the top...

The soundhole being laid out on the face side of the top... 

Just to show that other work is accomplished here at the shop. I'm finishing work on a violin bridge (for the violin in the background) and branding it...

Here it's finished, strung up as Dan picks up a few tools in the background...

MORE SOON!!!

Dave1climber - Posted - 03/12/2015:  20:42:52

Dan

I don't have a Union, Great looking plane.

I do like when you show us the use of jig or a template to expedite what your progress.  Well worth the time to make if your doing more than one.

kvdkieft - Posted - 03/12/2015:  22:39:46

Congrats on finishing the Puppet Master!
Vande Crotch

Dan Knowles - Posted - 03/13/2015:  05:23:07

Dave,

It is a nice old plane. I'm tempted to get a Ron Hawk blade for it but it's difficult to justify the expense on that whole collection. And they all cut well, so...

Most luthiers that I know are jig makers in the extreme. We make jigs for almost anything. The difficulty is keeping track of all of them and what they were for! Sometime I might just do a post or two or three on Jig making.

Brother Kenny van de Kieft,

WELCOME ABOARD!!!!

Folks I've got to let you know about this fella Kenny. He is one of my very best friends, knows more about me than the law should allow. if he didn't have a different mother & father I'd swore we are brothers.

I'm so glad to see you here!

Edited by - Dan Knowles on 03/13/2015 05:23:35

DEmery - Posted - 03/13/2015:  05:42:37

Dan now that the painting is done it is time to do another dot inlay banjo to keep you busy. Fascinating piece of art. Good looking guitar top. Whoever gets that piece sure will be a fortunate fellow.   David E.

 

kvdkieft - Posted - 03/13/2015:  08:27:57

We ARE brothers! The family we choose is often more powerful than the one we are born to!

Dave1climber - Posted - 03/13/2015:  13:59:32

quote:

---

Originally posted by kvdkieft

We ARE brothers! The family we choose is often more powerful than the one we are born to!

 

---

We are all Brothers and Sisters around banjo music

Edited by - Dave1climber on 03/13/2015 14:00:04

rubicon - Posted - 03/13/2015:  21:21:05

Dan coming up on 250,000 views !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edited by - rubicon on 03/13/2015 21:21:37

Dan Knowles - Posted - 03/14/2015:  02:58:02

Kenny,

Boy is there ever truth in that one!

Dave,

I'll buy into that one too!

Rubicon,

Yep I just looked and  it's headin' that way quickly!

Dan Knowles - Posted - 03/14/2015:  04:07:28

FRIDAY

BIG NEWS

JUST IN

Holdin' down 3rd in the TENNESSEE STATE OLD TIME BAND contest in Clarksville, TYLER ANDEL & his buddies The Country Mountain Creepers! — with Joel Whittinghill, Eli Bishop, Will MacLean and Justin Branum.

Question Tyler, did ya use that new banjer?

CONGRATULATIONS TYLER & CO!

Last night I got home near 9 PM from a very productive board meeting at the Lee Academy For The Arts. We were working on future plans for the Academy. Oh but the ideas flew! Not only did ideas bubble up, but projects were committed to by all of the members! Yes, yes!

Anyway as I was saying, I came in from the meeting and the grandsons are in! More fun than a barrel of monkeys! Seams like in the dim parts of my memory I remember a musical group...

Anyway, meanwhile back at the ranch...

Braden had somehow broken his glasses. So we loaded up in the van and went down to the shop. We walked into the workroom and he found my granddads old eggbeater drill. I found a piece of MDF board he could drill in and got to figurin'. Since it was my granddads that makes it his Great-Great Granddads drill. What a connection! I remember using it when I was a boy back when dinosaurs were new!

Back to the glasses... I put a couple of dobbs of epoxy off into a little medicine cup and Braden went to mixing...

Checkin' out the glasses bow with the damaged hinge....

In with the epoxy. Should be good when I get into the shop to teach this morning...

I have several guitars in the que to build. Of course Daved Emery's white oak guitar and another couple including this interesting 000 for fingerstyle player Ryan Kovan. This will be a kind of yin-yang instrument. The top will be sitka spruce & old growth redwood, with the redwood on the bass side. the backs and sides will alternate between maple and walnut. 

Here I'm starting the layout...

The top is jointed, glued together, roughly cut out and now the brace pattern is being laid out...

Dave mentioned something about my old jack plane and today I spotted these next photos in my achieves. So I figured that I'd just post them. One, I like the pictures and two the tools are cool also.

Pictured is a spokeshave that I use for neck carving. In the background is an old transitional plane that I purchased in Vineland, Ontario, a Ibex violin makers plane and a Ibex purfling cutter.  

Three Ibex violin makers planes, a 100 year old Japanese radius chisel and a rosewood Chinese box plane given me by my friend Bill Parker. 

MORE SOON!!!

Dave1climber - Posted - 03/14/2015:  06:31:41

Dan

Thanks for posting the photos of the tools, very nice.

A reminder for those that that may have forgotten, today is PI day,   3.14.15 9:26:53  a once in a century event.

guitarman8491 - Posted - 03/14/2015:  12:02:19

Dan..I have the brother to that Bailey..Old model 29..it was my grandads and yep it is still a good working and beautiful tool.

Dan Knowles - Posted - 03/14/2015:  18:08:58

Dave,

You are welcome. I may post more down the road as I find them.

Doug,

Ain't nothing like working with good old tools!

Dan Knowles - Posted - 03/14/2015:  18:26:08

SATURDAY

Tennessee State Old Time Banjo Champion ships, Two friends with two of my banjo works placed:

Tyler Andel with his Knowles Scarecrow & the shipwreak banjo, 1st. place. Regina Lindsey with her Vega-Knowles (neck & fancy inlay) 6th. place.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

This morning back at the shop with the guitar builders...

Zeb prepares his guitar body for its back. First (and here) he planed the top of the ribs so the back would fit and match the radius of the back. Then he cut the mortises to receive the brace ends..

Dan acts like an instructor explaning hand cutting a necks mortise and tenon...

Thomas joints his guitar back. Although you can't see it because of my neglectful photography, his back jointing is in our traditional way. Planing then sanding...

Kevin watches Dan cut a tenon with a dovetail heel cut...

Zeb's box all glued up! We may break the clamps tomorrow just to hear how it sounds...

MORE SOON!!!

DEmery - Posted - 03/14/2015:  18:43:19

Dan what is used for the back and sides on Zeb's guitar? David E.

Edited by - DEmery on 03/14/2015 18:44:07

Dave1climber - Posted - 03/14/2015:  20:53:01

I would like to add my congratulations to Dan's about Tyler's and Regina's recent win's using Knowles banjo's.

Its also very nice to see all the progress in the shop.

Dan Knowles - Posted - 03/15/2015:  07:45:47

David,

 The back and sides are paulownia  laminated to sitka spruce. 

Dave,

I'll say thanks for Tyler & Regina!

steveh_2o - Posted - 03/15/2015:  08:23:07

There was something familiar looking about Regina's backup guitar player.

tylerandal - Posted - 03/15/2015:  22:20:31

I'm pretty sure dan makes some of the luckiest banjos there are too.  It's been more than once that I've won the tn state banjo contest on a knowles banjo now.  Really... This may have been what I was wanting it for the most and I know dan has only won the contest a mere 7 times on his knowles banjo now...  I just want to be like you when I grow up dan!  Glad I could have it to show off all this weekend for sure!  

TN state banjo

 

60spicker - Posted - 03/16/2015:  06:13:20

Sorry to come off as uninformed here, but can somebody steer me to Regina's profile and music? While our friend, the back-up guy, doubtless played a role, I'd love to listen/watch her pick. Tyler's all over the place, but I have his last name. Not the case with Regina. Thanks.

kwl - Posted - 03/16/2015:  10:05:29

Terry, her name is Regina Lindsey. She sings in Dan's Auld Lang Syne video. I don't think she is a member here.

Dan Knowles - Posted - 03/16/2015:  18:04:48

Tyler,

So how many times have you won this contest? You keep going and by the time you get to be my age you'll have made such a record no one will ever break it!

Terry,

Kenneth has it all correct. I know there was a video shot of the performance. We should see it tomorrow. If Regina doesn't mind....

Dan Knowles - Posted - 03/16/2015:  18:42:26

MONDAY

This will be an exciting week. Besides all of the usual stuff, banjo & guitar building, fixin', teaching and all of the other crazy stuff that I do, my step-brother Allen and his wife Delphine are coming down from Ontario to visit for a few days. In addition to being great folks & family Allen is a great musician and instrument builder. We should have a lot to share (we always do!). They are to be here on Wednesday...yes, yes!

If you will remember the skin head that I scraped a few weeks ago, today I had a chance to really try it out. But before I stuck it on the banjo I had one more thing to try.

I recently read that oxalic acid  would whiten or bleach rawhide or leather. I use the stuff to occasionally bleach some woods. So having a container of the crystals  I mixed some up with warm water.

Then in went the head...

After nearly one hour of soaking it was rinsed. Interestingly the head felt greasy and slimy befor I rinsed it. Afterwards it felt like any wet skin head...

Laying it on the drum...

All tucked and stretched, ready to dry...

Zeb dropped by and removed his guitar body from the mold, thumped it, listened and was tickled! Then he went to work sanding off the excess top and back...

My good friend and BHO member Bob Tyler brought by his Knowles "Old Duffer" banjo by for a cleaning and set up. This is an interesting banjo with a cocobolo rim (like Tyler's ). It has a 12" rim with no tone ring but a great big clear voice. Here I'm pulling off the old strings...

And giving it its first cleaning...

Here I'm buffing and polishing the frets...

And putting Dan's Not-So-Secret-Elixir on the fingerboard. I should finish the set up and string this one in the morning...

MORE SOON!!!