Good day to ya all. Because of situations i find myself in, i am not able to make my own rim and am not able to pay top dollar either. The closest i could find to what i was looking for was a drum snare rim, but the sides are only 6mm thick as in 1/4 inch. Being this thin means the chance of the rim changing its shape a little under compression. Then i came across someone who adds a 1 inch flange to bottom edge to the rim to help prevent compression issues. I just wanted to ask the members if they think this would work for thin walled rims. On a previous subject on rim diameter, wall thickness and depth of rim and the effects on tone i got some good feedback. Now id also like to ask the members if it is really quantifiable the effect that glue has on dampening the sound. Is there any difference between the amount of glue used in a laminated rim verses a hexagonal block rim that is then turned round on a lathe. Is this all semantics ? when your rim is 13 - 14 inch in diameter and has a rim depth of 5 inches with a wall thickness of a 1/4 inch ? Thank you for your time.
I don't personally think that a block rim with a 1/4" wall thickness would be very strong. I don't know from experience but it just doesn't seem right.
I will probably be bending a batch of single ply rims from white oak this summer. My form allows me to make them in 12 1/2" diameter, if that will do for you. PM me for details.
As far as reinforcement goes, a dowel stick or (my favorite) a neck extension from the heel will be adequate for a thin rim. The rim, whatever construction, will distort from string tension over time. I had a 3/4" block rim (my first banjo build) do that over the course of a year or two. I had to reinforce/undistort it with a piece of steel tube and a threaded rod to bring the action down to playable.
You can increase the thickness with another shell of matching size. Cut the second one and fit it inside the first then glue it in place. If that's not thick enough, repeat the process. I've done this several times with 22 and 24 inch diameter drum shells.
The Snare drum supplier offers a 14 inch rim that is 5 inches deep with a wall thickness of 6mm, laminated using different combinations of wood type to create different tones. Anything thicker or smaller than the typical size of drum shells pushes the prices up because it becomes a custom piece. The price is $79 USD plus shipping and exchange rate to Canadian dollars comes to about $140 CAD. Ive seen rims being sold specifically for banjo's reaching between $250 - $350 USD. This is probably because they dont mass produce them and therefore the build process is more labor intensive.
The dowel that is in line with the neck and goes through the rim to the outside will certainly help with compression from this direction but not from the other direction. From what i think i have learned. In Smaller diameter rims, the thickness of the rim can deaden the sound but in rims 13, 14 inch in diameter, because of the much larger amount of air being vibrated the rim thickness plays less of a roll in sound deadening. However you dont want a 1 inch thick rim either because of the weight. As for wood type. Well it seems that the tone that a wood brings to the overall sound is much more present in thinner rims.
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Originally posted by Captain bucknballGood day to ya all. Because of situations i find myself in, i am not able to make my own rim and am not able to pay top dollar either. The closest i could find to what i was looking for was a drum snare rim, but the sides are only 6mm thick as in 1/4 inch. Being this thin means the chance of the rim changing its shape a little under compression. Then i came across someone who adds a 1 inch flange to bottom edge to the rim to help prevent compression issues. I just wanted to ask the members if they think this would work for thin walled rims.
Thickening flanges will work well to stiffen thin rims—stiffness is what you want in a banjo rim because it supports the head, which is what produces the sound.
On a previous subject on rim diameter, wall thickness and depth of rim and the effects on tone i got some good feedback. Now id also like to ask the members if it is really quantifiable the effect that glue has on dampening the sound. Is there any difference between the amount of glue used in a laminated rim verses a hexagonal block rim that is then turned round on a lathe.
There is much more glue surface area in laminated rims than in block rims, and inasmuch as laminated rims are the norm in banjos, the glue has little if any affect on the sound, and may actually help laminated rims structurally because it can make them stiffer.
Is this all semantics ? when your rim is 13 - 14 inch in diameter and has a rim depth of 5 inches with a wall thickness of a 1/4 inch ? Thank you for your time.
The right kind of glue for laminated rims is laminating glue, for block rims, probably Titebond 1
when your rim is 13 - 14 inch in diameter and has a rim depth of 5 inches with a wall thickness of a 1/4 inch ? Thank you for your time.
That’s a huge rim and will produce a particular kind of sound I can’t anticipate.
mbanza Thank you Vern, you have the proper experience and perspective in my opinion. That Thumper is a real banjo, very nice.
I have built some 12's and ONE 16" rim, a Cherry snare.
I disagree about the efficacy of a hexagonal rim, a "brick" rim.
If you take a look, the Octagonal rim is proportional from 6",8",10",11",12",13",14" and 16". The 24's would benefit, too. But it would require more jig and set up to get the additional musical benefit.
Ken Levan and Mr. Pollitzer claim there is no sound from the banjo rim and hardware other than the head. That is so disputable, but nobody comes forth with any other visual data like a voice print, which would show there.
You are on a budgeted path. Good luck with various opinions.
