Banjo Bob's
Building a travel Banjo
Construction
Material
Tools
Time
Hints
In January of 1996 I read an article in
BanjoNewsletter on building a banjo using a nut can lid for
the head. Not having any idea what I was doing I
decided to build one for myself.
The first thing I needed was a wood lathe to
turn the rim. So I built one using an old 1/3 hp wash
machine motor and a set of pillow block bearing. It was
a crude contraption but did the job. I unknowingly used
oak for the built up rim although I don't think it would have
made any difference. Instead of a nut can lid I used a burner
cover for a electric range. It was a little larger than
a nut can lid and I figured it would sound better. Another
thing I did out of the ordinary was to run the 5th string
through a small brass tube under the fret board to the peg
head. I used regular guitar turners on all five
strings. This banjo was built two frets short of a full
load. I tuned it to open A. The same as putting a
capo on the second fret of a full size banjo. The sound that
came out of this instrument was similar to two cats
fighting while sliding down a tin roof of a Mobil home."
Painful to say the least !!"
Click on the link to see
this banjo. Burner Top Banjo
My second banjo was
similar to the first only in that I put all five turners on
the peg head
and it was two frets shorter than a regular
banjo. I used cherry for the rim and maple for the
neck. Instead of a metal top I used an
8" Ludwig practice tambourine head. The rim was built
using twenty four semi pie shaped pieces glued
up in four layers. Later banjos used only eighteen pieces and
three layers. Banjo No. 2
Since my beginning in 1996 I have built eighteen travel banjos using this design. To see one click on this link. Purple Heart & Maple Banjo This is probably one of the prettiest banjo I have built.
If you are interested in
building a travel banjo or are just curious in how I built
mine follow the links below. If you are going to build
a banjo like mine be sure to read the tools section first.
I do sell these banjos on a limited basis, if
you are interested please email me at
Banjo Bob's
Material
Construction
Time and Hints