I’ve been learning clawhammer on a 11” goodtime for about 6 months and wanted to play around with bridge weights and materials to get different sounds out of my banjo. I could see ordering a bunch would get awfully expensive, so I made some! It was an intimidating process at first, but after I made a couple crappy ones, some good ones surfaced. Here’s my favorite! It’s maple with a harder wood for the cap. It comes in at about 2.2 grams. It’s been a fun way to “own” the sound of my banjo and has given me a sense of control over what I’m hearing.
Looks great!! I've been wanting to try my hand at a two leg maple bridge.
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Originally posted by TheLastWordLooks great!! I've been wanting to try my hand at a two leg maple bridge.
Thanks! You should give it a go. The hardest part is cutting the string slots. I just used a mini tri-corner file and it worked pretty well.
You done good.
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Originally posted by adamINmnquote:
Originally posted by TheLastWordLooks great!! I've been wanting to try my hand at a two leg maple bridge.
Thanks! You should give it a go. The hardest part is cutting the string slots. I just used a mini tri-corner file and it worked pretty well.
You can use welding tip cleaners for a more accurate slot size. You can get them cheap at most hardware stores.
Nice work on the bridge(s), it is great to know how the different weights and woods can change the tone of the banjo.
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Originally posted by DSmokequote:
Originally posted by adamINmnquote:
Originally posted by TheLastWordLooks great!! I've been wanting to try my hand at a two leg maple bridge.
Thanks! You should give it a go. The hardest part is cutting the string slots. I just used a mini tri-corner file and it worked pretty well.
You can use welding tip cleaners for a more accurate slot size. You can get them cheap at most hardware stores.
Nice work on the bridge(s), it is great to know how the different weights and woods can change the tone of the banjo.
Hi Dan! Yeah, I bought one of those but the tip cleaners don't seem very sharp? I run one through the bottoms of the slots but I don't know if it's actually doing anything. Feels like I'm just dragging a slightly textured wire across wood. I guess even if it's just burnishing the slot it's beneficial. Is there a brand of tip cleaner that is better than the others?
I also had the idea to buy a set of feeler guages, then rounding the edge and cutting small teeth on the appropriate blades to make my own slotting files. I haven't had the time to try it out yet.
I've been using Stew Mac slotting saws for many years.
I really like simply grabbing the appropriate sizes for all banjo and guitar nuts and bridges.
I've never regretted the price of them for the instant convenience.
>>> Is there a brand of tip cleaner that is better than the others?
Yup, Wypo brand holds their sharp edge for a long time.
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Originally posted by Bart Veerman>>> Is there a brand of tip cleaner that is better than the others?
Yup, Wypo brand holds their sharp edge for a long time.
Thanks, Bart!
That looks good!
