Del45 - Posted - 12/27/2016:  10:45:10

As I agonized about what to use for a flesh hoop on my newly homemade open back (the first banjo I've built), I came across this old thread and thought I'd pass on my experience. I gambled and grabbed some thick gaged galvanized wire from my garage I used a few years back for a grape trellis. I cut it to the proper length for my 12" pot just by first wrapping it around the rim and marking it with a sharpie. Then I used masking tape to join the ends thinking not a lot of outward pressure would be placed on the hoop, stressing the butt joint. Next I mounted the new goat skin head following all the normal steps then removed the head to dry off of the rim, without tension for a few days. I then mounted head and it has worked great for a month so far! I think that letting it dry without tension was key to avoid the slipping sometimes associated with round flesh hoops. 

banjonz - Posted - 12/27/2016:  10:55:35

Hi Del, welcome to the hangout. Yours is one way to do it although I have had problems with the masking tape breaking because of the outward pressure. What I have done is used grey 1/8" PVC welding rod. It can be heated on the ends to be melt joined and if done properly it won't come apart. 

Dave1climber - Posted - 12/27/2016:  11:10:19

I replaced a rusted steel flesh hoop and tone ring, 3/16 steel, with stainless rod and stainless flat stock that I was able to bend by hand to the correct diameter then trimmed the ends to the correct circumference.  Hard but doable.

Bart Veerman - Posted - 12/27/2016:  11:21:33

 I've bent 1/8 inch thick coat hangers by hand that end up round enough to be used as a flesh hoop and sanded the ends to remove the whatever coating. I brought a piece of the coat hanger wire to a local hobby shop and rummaged through their pieces of brass tubing (used for model airplane fuel lines or something) to find one that slipped over it snugly.

I cut off a 1 inch piece of the tubing and slipped both ends into it and soldered it using regular 50/50 solder. The solder joints turned out to be strong enough to withstand the pressure and have not come apart. The one inch piece being a smidgen thicker than the rest of the hoop did not present any problems either. You can rotate the flesh hoop to hide the thicker connection under the tail piece or where the neck meets the pot, whichever works best.

rudy - Posted - 12/27/2016:  11:46:23

1/8" square brass rod stock is available (cheap if you're ordering enough stuff to lower the shipping) from Onlinemetals.com .  The ends can be joined by sanding to a long taper and soldering them together.  I believe it was stated by Brooks Masten that square rod was the secret ingredient for head beads that don't slip.

By the time you pay for shipping (if buying only a few pieces) it's probably more cost-effective to just buy a pre-made one from Bob Smakula, etc.

Flesh hoop requests seem to come up every few weeks:

12/17/2016 5:55 PM

quote: Originally posted by RJClubb410 Seems to me that Banjoseen is having some problems. Is there anywhere else to purchase flesh hoops that anyone might know of?  Scroll to the bottom of Bob Smakula's website for 1/8" square brass flesh hoops: http://www.smakula.com/BanjoHeads.html

Edited by - rudy on 12/27/2016 11:54:22

jbalch - Posted - 12/27/2016:  12:32:18

Lots of materials work for flesh hoops.  In many cases, round stock works fine.   That is especially true if there is not too much space between the tension hoop and the rim.  If the rim fits tight enough to the rim, the two layers of hide will bond to themselves and form a strong crown.  But - if the gap between the tension hoop and rim is too great, the bond will be weak and the hide will likely slip over time.  Materials that wont rust are best ... for obvious reasons.

1/8" square brass stock is a great choice.  But buying the stock in small quantities is expensive (shipping cost is high).  Plus - rolling brass to a round shape is difficult unless you have a planetary ring roller.

I keep 1/8" brass stock on hand all the time.  I can custom roll it to match the diameter of your tension hoop.  I supply flesh hoops unfinished (meaning they are rolled to the measurement you provide - but not cut & joined).  That way you can make sure of the fit & finish them yourself. Just match it to the diameter of your tension hoop, cut with a hack saw, and join the ends with tape. I prefer this method of join the ends with clear packing tape.  The clear plastic tape is plenty strong enough to hold the ends while the hide is mounted and drying.  Once the hide is cured - it doesn't matter if the ends are joined or not - they aren't' going anywhere.  The clear tape wont bleed through the hide so it is practically invisible. I have mounted hundreds of heads using taped flesh hoops - none has failed yet.

I charge $10 plus postage for custom-rolled, semi-finished, square brass stock flesh hoops. 

Happy New Year!

Edited by - jbalch on 12/27/2016 12:33:44