Monthly Archives: November 2014

Laura Davidson's Banjo

Laura Davidson’s Banjo

Laura was one of my pupils at Royal High.  She built this banjo from November 2011 to May 2012, working for around an hour and a half after school each week.  She did it as a portfolio piece, not related to a particular course.  Laura was in year S6.

I marked out and rough cut the neck and instrument stand at the band saw, but Laura did almost all the rest.

The rim (pot) was turned on the wood lathe from twenty-four segments of a tropical hardwood. The neck was formed from a tropical hardwood.  The peg head veneer is walnut.

Calf skin was soaked in coffee, to accentuate its natural colour variations, then stretched over a brass tone ring and fixed to the rim with furniture tacks. The brass tone ring was formed in school from 6mm round bar, bent using a ring roller. Its ends were soldered together at the brazing hearth.

Guitar fret wire has been used instead of banjo wire, as it’s easier to press in place than banjo fret wire. The neck was fixed to the rim using cast aluminium brackets (cast in-house) and hardwood wedges. Steel strings were fitted.

The instrument stand is made from 4mm birch plywood.  Its components are a friction fit, and easily dismantle for transportation in an instrument bag. Bicycle rubber inner tube has been glued to the plywood, to prevent the banjo being marked by the stand.

High Resolution photos of the finished banjo, along with construction images, are available at Royal HIgh CDT’s Flickr account:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cdtlog/sets/72157631087675564/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cdtlog/sets/72157628065793709/

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Morgan Barr's Banjolele

Morgan Barr’s Banjolele

A banjolele is a ukulele size banjo.

Morgan was one of my pupils at Royal High.  This banjolele was his final piece on SQA’s Standard Grade Craft and Design course.  He built it between September 2012 and March 2013.   Morgan was in year S4.

I marked out and rough cut the neck and instrument stand at the band saw, and cut out the decorative veneers for the peg head. Morgan did almost all the rest.

The rim (pot) was turned on the wood lathe from twenty-four hardwood segments of a tropical hardwood. The neck was formed from 5mm layers of pine, laminated together, with a walnut finger board.  The peg head veneer is pine. It was cut with a fret saw and the edges of the individual pieces were rounded.  They were then stained and put back together again.  They depict a road running over a hill, with a sky with sun and clouds.

Calf skin was soaked in coffee, to accentuate its natural colour variations, then stretched over the rim and fixed in place with furniture tacks.  A brass tone ring was not incorporated.

Guitar fret wire has been used instead of banjo wire, as it’s easier to press in place than banjo fret wire. The neck was fixed to the rim using hardwood wedges. Nylon (Nylgut) strings were fitted.

The instrument stand is made from 4mm birch plywood.  Its components are a friction fit, and easily dismantle for transportation in an instrument bag. Bicycle rubber inner tube has been glued to the plywood, to prevent the banjo being marked by the stand.

High Resolution photos of the finished banjolele, along with construction images, are available at Royal HIgh CDT’s Flickr account:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cdtlog/sets/72157633200597428/

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Stuart Clark's Banjo

Stuart Clark’s Banjo

Stuart was one of my pupils at Royal High.  While in sixth year he worked on this banjo as part of the ’16 Plus’ initiative. Between November 2011 and March 2012, he spent an hour working on it, one afternoon a week.  He got about two thirds of the way through the build before leaving school.  Months later, when he hadn’t popped in to the department to finish it, I completed it. That was in 2013.  I now have the banjo at home and it’s one of my favourites to play.

The neck is a tropical hardwood with a contrasting tropical hardwood peg head veneer.  The rim is block built, from twenty-four segments glued together and turned at the wood lathe.  It is mostly made from ash and walnut.  A brass tone ring, rolled and soldered at school, sits below the stretched calf skin.  The skin is held in place with furniture tacks: a tack head arrangement.

Aluminium brackets, cast at school, combine with hardwood wedges to hold the neck to the rim.

The instrument stand is made from 4mm birch plywood.  Its components are a friction fit, and easily dismantle for transportation in an instrument bag. Bicycle rubber inner tube has been glued to the plywood, to prevent the banjo being marked by the stand.

High resolution versions of the photos are available at Royal High’s Flickr account:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cdtlog/sets/72157633115744027/

Michael Hackett's Banjo

Michael Hackett’s Banjo

Michael was one of my pupils at Royal High.  He almost completed this banjo in a single week, in May / June 2012, when the school’s usual teaching timetable was suspended and pupils were offered a selection of alternative activities.  Michael was in year S2.

I marked out and rough cut the neck and instrument stand at the band saw, but Rob did almost all the rest.

The rim (pot) was turned on the wood lathe from twenty-four hardwood segments of a tropical hardwood. The neck was formed from a tropical hardwood.  The peg head veneer is walnut.

Calf skin was soaked in coffee, to accentuate its natural colour variations, then stretched over a brass tone ring and fixed to the rim with furniture tacks. The brass tone ring was formed in school from 6mm round bar, bent using a ring roller. Its ends were soldered together at the brazing hearth.

Guitar fret wire has been used instead of banjo wire, as it’s easier to press in place than banjo fret wire. The neck was fixed to the rim using cast aluminium brackets (cast in-house) and hardwood wedges. Steel strings were fitted.

The instrument stand is made from 4mm birch plywood.  Its components are a friction fit, and easily dismantle for transportation in an instrument bag. Bicycle rubber inner tube has been glued to the plywood, to prevent the banjo being marked by the stand.

High Resolution photos of the finished banjo, along with construction images, are available at Royal HIgh CDT’s Flickr account:

 https://www.flickr.com/photos/cdtlog/sets/72157630095463722/

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Rob Baird's Banjo

Rob Baird’s Banjo

Rob was one of my pupils at Royal High.  He built this banjo in a single week, in May / June 2012, when the school’s usual teaching timetable was suspended and pupils were offered a selection of alternative activities.  Rob was in year S2.

I marked out and rough cut the neck and instrument stand at the band saw, but Rob did almost all the rest.

The rim (pot) was turned on the wood lathe from twenty-four hardwood segments of a tropical hardwood. The neck was formed from a tropical hardwood.  The peg head veneer is walnut.

Goat skin was soaked in coffee, to accentuate its natural colour variations, then stretched over a brass tone ring and fixed to the rim with furniture tacks. The brass tone ring was formed in school from 6mm round bar, bent using a ring roller. Its ends were soldered together at the brazing hearth.

Guitar fret wire has been used instead of banjo wire, as it’s easier to press in place than banjo fret wire. The neck was fixed to the rim using cast aluminium brackets (cast in-house) and hardwood wedges. Steel strings were fitted.

The instrument stand is made from 4mm birch plywood.  Its components are a friction fit, and easily dismantle for transportation in an instrument bag. Bicycle rubber inner tube has been glued to the plywood, to prevent the banjo being marked by the stand.

High Resolution photos of the finished banjo, along with construction images, are available at Royal HIgh CDT’s Flickr account:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cdtlog/sets/72157629606863796/

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marcus_watt_banjo_6267b

Marcus Watt’s Banjo

Marcus was one of my pupils at Royal High.  He built most of this banjo in a single week, in May / June 2012, when the school’s usual teaching timetable was suspended and pupils were offered a selection of alternative activities.  Marcus was in year S2.

I marked out and rough cut the neck and instrument stand at the band saw, but Marcus did almost all the rest.

The rim (pot) was turned on the wood lathe from twenty-four hardwood segments of a tropical hardwood. The neck was formed from a tropical hardwood.  Marcus didn’t get round to adding a decorative peg head veneer.

Calf skin was soaked in coffee, to accentuate its natural colour variations, then stretched over a brass tone ring and fixed to the rim with furniture tacks. The brass tone ring was formed in school from 6mm round bar, bent using a ring roller. Its ends were soldered together at the brazing hearth.

Guitar fret wire has been used instead of banjo wire, as it’s easier to press in place than banjo fret wire. The neck was fixed to the rim using cast aluminium brackets (cast in-house) and hardwood wedges. Steel strings were fitted.

The instrument stand is made from 4mm birch plywood.  Its components are a friction fit, and easily dismantle for transportation in an instrument bag. Bicycle rubber inner tube has been glued to the plywood, to prevent the banjo being marked by the stand.

High Resolution photos of the finished banjo, along with construction images, are available at Royal HIgh CDT’s Flickr account:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cdtlog/sets/72157629927329335/

Unfortunately, at the time I was making video recordings of pupil banjos, Marcus had already taken his home, so there isn’t one.

Robert Ody Turning His Banjo's Rim

Robert Ody’s Banjo

Robert was one of my pupils at Royal High.  He built most of this banjo in a single week, in May / June 2012, when the school’s usual teaching timetable was suspended and pupils were offered a selection of alternative activities.  Robert was in year S2.

I marked out and rough cut the neck and instrument stand at the band saw, but Robert did almost all the rest.

The rim (pot) was turned on the wood lathe from twenty-four hardwood segments of a tropical hardwood. The neck was formed from a tropical hardwood and a walnut finger board.  The peg head veneer is also walnut.

Robert Ody's Banjo

Robert Ody’s Banjo

Calf skin was soaked in coffee, to accentuate its natural colour variations, then stretched over a brass tone ring and fixed to the rim with furniture tacks. The brass tone ring was formed in school from 6mm round bar, bent using a ring roller. Its ends were soldered together at the brazing hearth.  You can see from the photo above that the tone ring wasn’t completely circular.  All the same, the instrument sounded fine.

Guitar fret wire has been used instead of banjo wire, as it’s easier to press in place than banjo fret wire. The neck was fixed to the rim using cast aluminium brackets (cast in-house) and hardwood wedges. Steel strings were fitted.

The instrument stand is made from 4mm birch plywood.  Its components are a friction fit, and easily dismantle for transportation in an instrument bag. Bicycle rubber inner tube has been glued to the plywood, to prevent the banjo being marked by the stand.

High Resolution photos of the finished banjo, along with construction images, are available at Royal HIgh CDT’s Flickr account:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cdtlog/sets/72157629971233977/

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Felix Allan's Banjo

Felix Allan’s Banjo

Felix was one of my pupils at Royal High.  He built this banjo in a single week, in May / June 2012, when the school’s usual teaching timetable was suspended and pupils were offered a selection of alternative activities.  Felix was in year S2.

I marked out and rough cut the neck and instrument stand at the band saw, but Felix did almost all the rest.

The rim (pot) was turned on the wood lathe from twenty-four hardwood segments of a tropical hardwood. The neck was formed from a tropical hardwood and a walnut finger board.  The peg head veneers are purple heart.

Calf skin was soaked in coffee, to accentuate its natural colour variations, then stretched over a brass tone ring and fixed to the rim with furniture tacks. The brass tone ring was formed in school from 6mm round bar, bent using a ring roller. Its ends were soldered together at the brazing hearth.

Guitar fret wire has been used instead of banjo wire, as it’s easier to press in place than banjo fret wire. The neck was fixed to the rim using cast aluminium brackets (cast in-house) and hardwood wedges. Steel strings were fitted.

The instrument stand is made from 4mm birch plywood.  Its components are a friction fit, and easily dismantle for transportation in an instrument bag. Bicycle rubber inner tube has been glued to the plywood, to prevent the banjo being marked by the stand.

High Resolution photos of the finished banjo, along with construction images, are available at Royal HIgh CDT’s Flickr account:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cdtlog/sets/72157629927322527/

Juliette Goddard's Banjo

Juliette Goddard’s Banjo

juliette was one of my pupils at Royal High.  She built this banjo in a single week, in May / June 2012, when the school’s usual teaching timetable was suspended and pupils were offered a selection of alternative activities.  Juliette was in year S2.

I marked out and rough cut the neck and instrument stand at the band saw, but Juliette did almost all the rest.

The rim (pot) was turned on the wood lathe from twenty-four hardwood segments of a tropical hardwood. The neck was formed from elm; there isn’t a separate finger board.  The peg head veneers are burr elm.

Calf skin was soaked in coffee, to accentuate the natural colour variations, then stretched over a brass tone ring and fixed to the rim with furniture tacks. The brass tone ring was formed in school from 6mm round bar, bent using a ring roller. Its ends were soldered together at the brazing hearth.

Guitar fret wire has been used instead of banjo wire, as it’s easier to press in place than banjo fret wire. The neck was fixed to the rim using cast aluminium brackets (cast in-house) and hardwood wedges. Steel strings were fitted.

The instrument stand is made from 4mm birch plywood.  Its components are a friction fit, and easily dismantle for transportation in an instrument bag. Bicycle rubber inner tube has been glued to the plywood, to prevent the banjo being marked by the stand.

High Resolution photos of the banjo are available at Royal HIgh CDT’s Flickr account:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cdtlog/sets/72157630033284569/

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Stefan McGee's Banjo

Stefan McGee’s Banjo

Stefan was one of my pupils at Royal High.  He built this banjo in a single week, in May / June 2012, when the school’s usual teaching timetable was suspended and pupils were offered a selection of alternative activities.  Stefan was in year S2.

I marked out and rough cut the neck and instrument stand components at the band saw, but Stefan did almost all the rest.

The rim (pot) was turned on the wood lathe from twenty-four hardwood segments of a tropical hardwood. The neck was formed from two different tropical hardwood; there isn’t a separate finger board.  The peg head veneer is oak.

Calf skin was soaked in coffee, to accentuate the natural colour variations, then stretched over a brass tone ring and fixed to the rim with furniture tacks. The brass tone ring was formed in school from 6mm round bar, bent using a ring roller. Its ends were soldered together at the brazing hearth.

Guitar fret wire has been used instead of banjo wire, as it’s easier to press in place than banjo fret wire. The neck was fixed to the rim using cast aluminium brackets (cast in-house) and hardwood wedges. Nylon (Nylgut) strings were  fitted.

The instrument stand is made from 4mm birch plywood.  Its components are a friction fit, and easily dismantle for transportation in an instrument bag. Bicycle rubber inner tube has been glued to the plywood, to prevent the banjo being marked by the stand.

High Resolution photos of the banjo are available at Royal HIgh CDT’s Flickr account:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cdtlog/sets/72157629606765300/

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