ksdaddy - Posted - 08/31/2022:  07:06:18

I have an old 5 string that I picked up on ebay maybe 5-6 years ago. I bought it as junk. I can guarantee it was less than $50. I had no delusions about making it into something it was not, but my intent was to make it functional. It had Kluson guitar tuners on it, which I think I sold for more than I paid for the banjo. I put a set of Grover friction pegs on it, probably more suited to a uke. It had a wooden nut so I made a bone one (I think I was half asleep, now that I look at it). It has about a 25-1/2" scale length. I think I made the bridge from scrap maple, I can't honestly remember. I almost think this was the banjo I rigged up Suzuki violin fine tuners at the tailpiece. Not sure why I un-did that, as they actually worked. I must have needed them for a violin. The head was torn and with the attitude of "nothing to lose" I super glued a goatskin scrap to it. I don't know if it would have survived fitting a skin head to it so I opted to patch the old one and endure the ridicule of my peers. I don't have much tension on the head; it's kinda like a hammock. But it sounds fine to me. It's a plunky old "You are my Sunshine" banjo with a pleasing tone, just not much lungs. The rim is warped horribly and the hooks/nuts are a mishmash of whatever I pulled out of the tupperware banjo part box. There are extra holes in the rim where a previous owner had installed an "X" of 1/4" steel rod, threaded on the ends, in the vain hopes of strengthening the rim. All they did was add weight. And make it look like a bodhran.



I know this banjo is worth about four dollars with new strings. I know what a good banjo is and this one is not. However, it likes me, I like it. It has a home. It was hanging on the wall of my office for the last five years but I retired last Friday and brought it home. I plunked on it for a while and remembered how much I liked it.



I also know these generic old banjos are difficult to assign a maker and date to. I'm hoping someone might have a guess as to the maker and time frame based on the headstock and heel shape. I've always figured it was a store brand, probably 1900 or so.



Any guesses?

deestexas - Posted - 08/31/2022:  08:15:43

maybe Buckbee

Noah Cline - Posted - 08/31/2022:  11:40:26

Yeah, most likely Buckbee or Rhettburg and Lange, who bought Buckbee out.

Nothing wrong with the patch -- I've seen others patch pinholes and splits in a similar manner, using patches from old heads and hide glue. It could be like a friend of mine who has their grandfather's banjo hanging on the wall with part of the head ducttaped . 

notty pine - Posted - 08/31/2022:  11:45:17

Dig the braided strap holder/ wall mount .

Edited by - notty pine on 08/31/2022 11:46:16

mjt0229 - Posted - 08/31/2022:  11:47:58

I kinda dig it.

kyleb - Posted - 08/31/2022:  12:13:40

its a buckbee, with some replaced hardware and tailpiece, i dont think lange made a full spun over rim like that.

wrench13 - Posted - 08/31/2022:  12:17:15

Talk abut authentic funkiness!

G Edward Porgie - Posted - 08/31/2022:  13:13:06

Typical catalog cheapie, which may or may not be Buckbee. Buckbee did often attach necks with two screws, but so did others.

I think this might actually be pre-1900 what with the 17 fret neck.

Don't worry over remarks about the patched head. It seems to work for you. However, if you wanted to replace it, there would be no real danger of the banjo biting the dust. maybe a hook could break, but they are mismatched, anyway, and you may have others in your Tupperware box.

The tailpiece is way newer than the banjo, and does not look like one that could easily have violin fine tuners attached. Also, those steel strings are not helping the warped rim.

ksdaddy - Posted - 08/31/2022:  14:00:06

Thanks for all the quick replies!

I probably used the tailpiece from a 70s Korean bottle cap banjo. I can almost remember there being a bent piece of brass used for a tailpiece but it was hanging by a thread. I probably intended to put a no-knot style on there but never got to it.

The fine tuners I used were Suzuki, which are built differently than regular ones. I tucked the back end of the plate under the front edge of the Korean tailpiece. My memory is getting shot, but I remember the concept working....not great, mind you. 

Here is what the wall of my office looked like before last Friday afternoon. There's an old violin, a basket case tater bug, an old Giannini, the banjo, and a Tremoloa.

I've thought about taking the steel strings off. I do have a set of Aquilas and a few sets of LaBella Classics. Probably the only thing stoopping me is knowing I will have to widen the nut and bridge slots.

Suppose the nylons will be easier to tune? I know they'll stretch a long time, but my experience with gut guitar strings is not to pass judgement for about 3 months. The older they are, the better I like them. My Seresta classical ($9.99 on ebay in 2005) has had the same D'Addario Pro Artes since 2014....

TreyDBanjoKS - Posted - 08/31/2022:  19:45:23

I dig it! I've seen much worse nuts made by people who were fully awake, don't be so hard on yourself ;)
-TD

Andy FitzGibbon - Posted - 09/01/2022:  03:59:21

quote:

---

Originally posted by kyleb

i dont think lange made a full spun over rim like that.

---

They did, many thousands of them. Supertone banjos, for example.

kyleb - Posted - 09/01/2022:  06:47:52

quote:

---

Originally posted by Andy FitzGibbon

quote:

---

Originally posted by kyleb

i dont think lange made a full spun over rim like that.

---

They did, many thousands of them. Supertone banjos, for example.

---

Thanks !