Walter528

That is a fascinating fixture and I look forward to comments from the few folks that may have seen it in action.

I do recommend you post the pictures directly to this forum. Though they are on your media page, making them easily accessible on this page will get you more replies.

When you (and only you) view this page, you can scroll down to an attachments box that has your media photos. click on each one and they will appear in "your attachments" box. Then click post reply.

Very simple and much more convenient for us that have sucky internet connections.

Bob Smakula

Thank you. Might take a couple tries.

Maybe it's a jig to apply pressure around the curved wood on the sides of a resonator.

Electrodes for plating tone rings?

I wonder who made that tone ring, and for how long it's been sitting there...?

The guy who owns it has had dementia for a pretty long time. No telling how long this has been stored. There are a couple banjos he said he made but I'm pretty sure they were custom made by someone else likely in the Chapel Hill NC area.I am back in that house next week. Anything I should look for? Is it worth saving this?

I've asked Greg Rich on Facebook if he knows anything about it.

I watched two vintage Gibson factory video tours, 1956 and 1967 with the hopes I could glimpse that tool in the background, but no luck.

I think Doug Hutchens did banjo work at the Gibson factory about the time that machine was decommissioned. Hopefully he can comment.

Bob Smakula

Here's a guess.

Suppose that Gibson was having a quality issue with tone rings, in which the skirts of the rings were sufficiently out-of-round that the rings couldn't be assembled with a rim. This might have been an assembly fixture that clamped the tone ring skirt so that it was round enough to allow easy assembly of the tone ring and the rim.

I was researching one of the banjos and learned (from this sites archives no less) that this machine and the banjos belonged to this fellow's dad. Harry 'Clyde' Snavely of North Carolina.
He built and possibly patented 'Clyde' banjos.
He was an engineer prior before retiring and building banjos. We have 2 of his banjos to research. So this machine and the instruments had belonged to my client's father.
It's starting to come together now.

quote:

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Originally posted by Walter528

I'm helping someone do a clean out. He has a few banjos and this machine he says is a banjo builder machine and the handwritten label says it was removed from Gibson factory in the 80's. He is quite old and
no longer communicates well.

I'm told folks here will know what this is (or isn't).
Any info is very appreciated.

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Actually.....the "handwritten label" (which is laying next to the inner diameter of the tone ring), says: Gibson, removed from 002, 11/9/86, wt =1734 grams = 3.82 lb = 3 lb 13oz,  which, to me, sounds more like a description of the tone ring that is sitting there (or some other tone ring), not a record of that "machine" being removed from the Gibson factory......though it still doesn't help us figure out what that thing is !

Gentlemen (and ladies), I believe what we have here is the much-sought-after, borderline mystical device, the Hoyt Clagwell tone ring verifier!!!!!! HALLELUJAH it is FOUND!