I had an 06 that I measured and knew it would not fit. Returned it.
I put an R30 neck straight on to a 1927 TB-1, same hole spacing as a Kalamazoo. Using the RK co-rod too. Standard threads. Sold the pot to a buddy.
I have an R25 that looks like it would fit as well.
I took a neck off of an RK -OT25 and it fit my Kalamazoo perfectly. The threads on the lags were metric though, so I'm using that RK co-rod as well. So, if you find a stand alone OT25 neck, you'll need to either change the lags or track down a metric co-rod. M5x0.8, according to my notes, which is almost but not quite the standard 10-32.
I have a second RK-OT25 waiting to be taken apart for a second Kalamazoo that I stumbled into. At some point I will have two RK-OT25 pots for sale, if I get ambitious. For a while there was a guy on ebay selling a whole string of B-stock and store return OT25's for reasonable money. I think those are all gone now though.
When I say "fits perfectly", I mean close enough that you can take a drill and skootch a hole just one blonde hair up, down, right, left, or bigger, as needed.
One the two that I've done, the TB-1 and the Kalamazoo, the action came out perfect, no problems, so you know that heel angle is right on the RK necks as well.
Edited by - Eric A on 03/23/2023 12:05:51
Full disclosure, on the TB-1 with the R30 neck I did have to deepen the resonator notch just a little, maybe 1/8", and widen a hair too. Put new felt in there, it looks good. I didn't mind making that modification, since it will be of no concern to anyone until after I'm dead!
No such problem with the OT25 neck on the Kalamazoo.
Be advised, the OT25 is scooped, which may not be to everyone's taste. I think it goes well with a Kalamazoo though. The K'zoo is not really meant to be a bluegrass paint peeler anyway. It's more of an old time banjo, but with a resonator!
KC, I believe I've used all 3 necks you referenced to convert K-zoo's and TB 1's, at one time or another.
I've had to remove neck lag bolts from the heel, dowel-up and redrill new holes for lag bolts on a couple of necks, but that's not as intimidating as it sounds.
I usually end up replacing the RK plastic nuts and 5th string "pips" with bone....then they're purty good conversion necks!
This is very helpful thanks. Might try my hand with the doweling and redrilling.
quote:
Originally posted by KCJonesThis is very helpful thanks. Might try my hand with the doweling and redrilling.
If you can do the doweling and redrilling (which I have not had the skills or courage to attempt as of yet), then a whole world of potential necks opens up for you. #1 on my list would be 70's Japanese banjos. They sometimes can be had for a song, and often have very attractive "gibson-ish" looking necks. Many are tube and plate, which also works fine on shoe/bracket banjos (witness my R30 tube and plate neck on my shoe/bracket TB-1). And who knows, they might even be an exact fit. They were "masterclones" after all.
This option is on my future "oh, maybe someday if the right opportunity comes along" list. And if I can hide another couple of banjos/parts from da wife!
Edited by - Eric A on 03/24/2023 05:12:57
KCJones Great thread, many people will benefit. What's everybody doing with the old RK's hardware and rims?
mahogany is the most frequent user of Maple and Oak doweling.
The RK's use the smaller lags for the Gibson style rim rods so I suggest always using as large a dowel as you can get: 3/8"/ 7/16"/ 1/2"
Too small a dowel causes studs to pull (again).
These are sequential sentences.
Clamp the neck vertically to the side of a table.
Mark the centerline of the heel with white pencil, against the heel.
lay the neck on a flat surface. Use a small square up against the heel. See the 3 degree heel angle? Wedge the neck back up to ninety degrees from 87 deg.
Clamp the neck to the flat surface and drill straight into the heel, not too deep. Hand drilling and eyeballing is just fine. Use a jig you build if you need to, but it's easy and accurate by hand.
Then flip the neck back over and you will have the proper 3 degree studs. Fun huh? Many people bend the studs to keep them from pulling out, that's no.
Edited by - Helix on 03/24/2023 17:07:14
I apologize if I didn’t answer your original question
Buying banjos for the necks is new to me
RK brought 6M dpi to produce their tone ring, so even the Dirty 30’s maintain higher quality specs
quote:
Originally posted by Helix
Buying banjos for the necks is new to me
I think this is a byproduct of the current situation with the well known neck makers. I think there have been some threads on that lately. North of $1500, plus shipping back and forth for most of us, plus a year of backlog. I don't begrudge them. They raise prices and the backlogs continue to grow. Supply and Demand. Econ 101. But it's not for me. If I can get an old tenor banjo up and running quickly with a perfectly acceptable neck for maybe $300, maybe $500, net cost after reselling the leftover pot, why not? Less than that if I can dowel and redrill the lags. I can always drop the pretty penny later on if I want to, but in the here and now I'm pickin' and grinnin'.
And to answer your other question, in my case I'm using the one main co-rod that came with the neck on the project banjo. The second co-rod is orphaned. The R30 pot I sold to a buddy, and if I get ambitious maybe I can sell the RK-OT25 pot somewhere as well. Even if that rim is not a big deal, there's nothing wrong with a full set of good hooks, nuts, tension hoop, etc, at a package price.
Edited by - Eric A on 03/24/2023 23:38:39
Eric A Thank you
