I recently purchased a 1981 Golden Eagle (4102) Plectrum. It was in Florida for quite some time I believe, much to my surprise after taking it apart, corrosion, gunk and rust. The flange is twisted and warped to the extent of being about 2" of separation of height where the ends meet. Any ideas on OEM or aftermarket flange replacements. Thank-you. Jerry in Nashville, Tennessee.
If the flange is made of bronze or brass I would think it could be straightened.
If it is zamac,probably not.
Thanks. I do not know metals. But a magnet will not stick to it. As popular as Richelieu was, very little information on his banjos out there. I am very leary of putting it back on because of the side to side warping in places.
non-magnetic = non-ferrous
Other folks smarter than me, who definitely know about its component parts presumably could properly advise you better about its metallurgy - but generally speaking, brass or bronze - may be 'cast' or 'rolled'.
If cast then the molecular structure is 'crystalline' in nature that does not 'flow' well under force.
If you were to find a hidden, unobvious, or discreet location somewhere on the flange then you could do a scratch test to identify if the material is 'zamac' (also referred to as zinc die casting or white metal). If the scratch test (with an awl or nail point) shows shiney silver then you've got a zinc alloy.
Now, what to do?
As said, a crystalline structure does not like deformation - but with patience and proper clamping you might be able to slowly nudge the flange back to some sort of trueness or whatever degree of OK-ness you can accept.
Years ago I straightened a Stelling flange that suffered from obvious over tightening. The trick was to devise a re-trueing method that could help to regulate (i.e., control) the application of even circumferential clamping force. And, you must be mindful that if the flange has 'sound hole' cutouts (most do) that the axis of the cutouts will aid in being a 'break line' that could actually cause you irreversible damage.
So, you may need to design-up and fabricate a holding/clamping core that allows you to focus the clamping force accordingly (..hard to describe).
Now, the next 2 ingredients in the straightening process is, a) a complete surround of clamps, and b), plenty of patience. Start with almost no clamping force...several days later just tweak the tightness then leave alone for a week. In doing this, understand that 'rolled' metal can be quite 'plastic' but cast metal does not appreciate what you're attempting to do - you may be successful or maybe not.
Continue to tweak tighten and pause repeatedly for an indefinite time period until you check for observable positive movement or experience a SpaceX 8 type of disappointment.
And oh, did I emphasize patience ?
The Stelling flange was manipulated over 3 months and ultimately checked out spec-wise with other new ones on hand.
...good luck, but whatever happens I would be very interested to read your final report.
.
I straightened a flange by mounting it upside down on a rim and gently tightening it for about 6 months.
Once a week I added a quarter turn once around on the nuts.
Edited by - steve davis on 03/10/2025 16:50:10
Thanks everyone.
This time I believe I am the bug. Before purchase I opened up the hood (took off the resonator) and all looked OK, the banjo played nicely. Though I could see a bit of rough handling in adjustments. The only reason I took the banjo apart was to clean it. But once in in it, the rust corrosion and amounts of salt/hard water deposits was something I have never seen before, along with the rough hardware adjustments. All binding is loose, of course that does not affect the sound, but I will glue it down best I can.
I will continue this journey and try to gently straighten the flange...it is a zinc material. I may have to cut my losses down the road, but for now, stay the course. Patience.
Sorry, the scratch test was silver.
quote:
Originally posted by banjoT1non-magnetic = non-ferrous
Other folks smarter than me, who definitely know about its component parts presumably could properly advise you better about its metallurgy - but generally speaking, brass or bronze - may be 'cast' or 'rolled'.
If cast then the molecular structure is 'crystalline' in nature that does not 'flow' well under force.
If you were to find a hidden, unobvious, or discreet location somewhere on the flange then you could do a scratch test to identify if the material is 'zamac' (also referred to as zinc die casting or white metal). If the scratch test (with an awl or nail point) shows shiney silver then you've got a zinc alloy.
Now, what to do?
As said, a crystalline structure does not like deformation - but with patience and proper clamping you might be able to slowly nudge the flange back to some sort of trueness or whatever degree of OK-ness you can accept.
Years ago I straightened a Stelling flange that suffered from obvious over tightening. The trick was to devise a re-trueing method that could help to regulate (i.e., control) the application of even circumferential clamping force. And, you must be mindful that if the flange has 'sound hole' cutouts (most do) that the axis of the cutouts will aid in being a 'break line' that could actually cause you irreversible damage.
So, you may need to design-up and fabricate a holding/clamping core that allows you to focus the clamping force accordingly (..hard to describe).
Now, the next 2 ingredients in the straightening process is, a) a complete surround of clamps, and b), plenty of patience. Start with almost no clamping force...several days later just tweak the tightness then leave alone for a week. In doing this, understand that 'rolled' metal can be quite 'plastic' but cast metal does not appreciate what you're attempting to do - you may be successful or maybe not.
Continue to tweak tighten and pause repeatedly for an indefinite time period until you check for observable positive movement or experience a SpaceX 8 type of disappointment.
And oh, did I emphasize patience ?
The Stelling flange was manipulated over 3 months and ultimately checked out spec-wise with other new ones on hand.
...good luck, but whatever happens I would be very interested to read your final report.
.
This worked out fine. I did turn the flange upside down, attached it to the resonator. After some time, it did take a few bends out. The lucky part was the hooks are actually held by the brackets on the side of the rim. The flange does not have much to do with it. Perhaps the flange found its old own way back. Everything fits fine. It appears the rim is not out of round. The banjo is solid, sounds as it should.
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