| Project by darkhollow | posted 324 days ago | 923 views | 1 time favorited | 8 comments |  |
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Well, I’d been wantin’ a banjo that was light enough and sturdy enough to take on backpacking trips for a while now, and when I came across this bright red, teflon-coated thin steel pan in a thrift store, the solution came to me! It is pretty simple. the neck is from some scrap oak, and the nut and saddle are from maple. I added the tensioning wedge and wire band later, to account for any bending of the post while under pressure. The whole thing is just 26” long, about ten inches shorter thank my others. This is so that I can strap it onto the back of my pack and not have it stick up or down past the pack, where it might snag on brush. At this point it is not really finished, as I will scrape it and maybe embellish it a bit on my next few hikes with it. I do plan on leaving some hatchet and drawknife marks on it, to show the mark of the hand. The hardware was mostly scavenged stuff, with the exception of whatever the thing is that the strings attach to at the base of the instrument, which I fashioned out of a scrap of brass. I think it sounds pretty good, but i may be biased… The dog doesn’t leave the room when I play it at least!
-- You say Luddite like it's a bad thing ...
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8 comments so far
Ken90712
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12660 posts in 1354 days
#1 posted 324 days ago
Ahhh the things people think up! Nice work and very cool.
-- Ken, "Everyday above ground is a good day!"
murch
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#2 posted 324 days ago
That’s a conversation starter if ever I saw one. Well done.
-- A family man has photos in his wallet where his money used to be.
Roger
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#3 posted 324 days ago
I’m hearing the Beverly Hillbillys theme song in my head. I luv that show. This looks to be quite the panjo. Nicely done.
-- Roger from KY. Work/Play/Travel Safe. Kentuk55@bellsouth.net
Dave Rutan
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#4 posted 324 days ago
I love it! It looks so easy to make.
-- Beware the flying swarf!
LittlePaw
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#5 posted 324 days ago
A metal and wood Banjo – sorry, panjo! What does it sound like?
-- Paul - The sweetest sound in my shop, next to Mozart, is what a hand plane makes slicing a ribbon.
darkhollow
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53 posts in 682 days
#6 posted 324 days ago
@Littlepaw – A little tinny, Bwa ha ha ha ha ha! Sorry, couldn’t pass it up. It sounds more banjo-like that the aluminum one i posted a little while ago, though it is quieter than the one I made a long time ago and recently posted, which has a skin head. Being so short, it also seems to sound best when I have it tuned higher, closer to my mandolin tuning.
@Dave Rutan – It was pretty easy to make, for the others i have made, I used the plans and drawings found in the 3rd Foxfire book for all three that I have made…this one less so than the others, but that book has given me better understanding, which applied to this piece to.
-- You say Luddite like it's a bad thing ...
carguy460
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646 posts in 501 days
#7 posted 324 days ago
Thats awesome!
-- Jason K
tamboti
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#8 posted 323 days ago
Brilliant Do enjoy your backpacking and have fun leaving only foot prints. Regards Roger
-- Africa is not for sissies
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