Draw guidelines on the blank to yield the correct completed contour.
Go to page 1...Rim construction, glue-up and forming basic rim.
Go to Page 2...preliminary mounting of the head.
Go to Page 3...Making the neck.
This is Page 4...Making the neck, continued.
Go to Page 5...Installing frets.
Go to Page 6...Bringing it all together.
Go to Page 7...Outer rim band and miscellaneous details.
Go to Page 8...Finishing and final assembly.
Go to Page 9...Basic banjo drawings and notes.
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Click on images below for larger views.
Draw guidelines on the blank to yield the correct completed contour.
The neck is shown after roughing out with the 2" drum sander and smoothing irregularities with a sanding
block and 80 grit sandpaper.
Go over the neck with 80 grit until you're happy with the finished neck.
Continue sanding with 150 grit until all of the previous sanding marks are removed.
After marking the proper finished length of the fingerboard at the heel end of the neck,
trim off any excess. Leave an extra 1/4" to form the proper angle and contour.
Clamp a straight board to the fingerboard with a reference mark drawn at 25-1/2" from the nut.
This is where the bridge will be positioned.
Hold the neck as shown and adjust it until the gap between the head to the marked position is 1/2".
This should yield a finished bridge height of 5/8"-3/4".
Mark the heel angle needed carefully on the heel.
Also mark the amount to trim from the heel to allow the addition of a heel cap after the dowel stick
is glued in place. Proceed to the cutting and forming of the neck heel.
This photograph was taken after these steps when double-checking the first cuts.
The neck is held in the jig used below to plane the heel to it's proper height and angle.
This is a simple jig comprised of two pieces of 3/4" plywood and 2 clamps to hold the neck upside down.
The clamps are made by inserting threaded 1/4"X20 rod in tee nuts which have been installed from
the bottom side of the top board.
The bottom piece is slightly larger than the top piece to allow it to be clamped to the drill press table.
The two pieces are joined together with a short section of 3/4" dowel which permits the top section
to pivot as shown.
When the neck is clamped to the top section with spacers,
the correct heel angle can be formed with a spindle-mounted drum sander.
I use a 2" diameter drum with 80 grit sanding sleeve installed.
The final distance between pivot point of the jig and the sanding face of the drum is slightly less than 1/2 of the rim diameter. Innitially set the distance to remove a minimum amount of wood and reposition the jig in small increments until the finished profile is achieved. The spindle height will need to be raised and lowered as needed to sand the entire surface. Make certain the centerline of the neck lines up with a hypothetical line which runs from the pivot point through the centerline of the sanding drum, otherwise the centerline of the neck would not line up with the centerline of the rim when fastened into place.
Drill shallow 3/16" holes to house corresponding position markers at the proper locations.
These markers were set into the recesses after filling them with a small amount of Titebond darkened
with a few drops of water-based dye. Sand them flush with 150 grit sandpaper after they have dried.
The rim is drilled at the correct location with a 3/4" Forstner drill bit.
The rim is held in position against a board clamped to the drill press table.
The top of this support is rounded to match the rim's inside curve.
The rim and neck are clamped in the correct position and a 1/2" hole is drilled at the tailpiece location
to permit a extra-long 3/4" paddle bit shank to be inserted from the inside of the rim.
The hole may have to be angled up slightly, but don't worry...it will be covered.
The bit is then chucked in the drill and the dowel hole drilled into the heel to the correct depth.
After the dowel stick hole is drilled the 1/2" hole is counter-bored from the outside to a depth of
1/4" with a 3/4" Forstner bit and a short 3/4" plug glued in place.
A smaller hole is then drilled into the plug's center for the end bracket lag screw to be inserted through.
Cut a section of 3/4" dowel a few inches longer than needed.
Test fit the dowel in the hole and make a reference mark at the area where it meets the heel
to be certain it is inserted all the way when it is glued.
Spread glue in the heel hole and on the dowel stick and insert to the proper depth.
After it has dried, cross-drill directly through the dowel stick at the heel location to permanantly
lock the dowel stick in place. Glue the cross-dowel into place and trim off flush when dry.
Cut a piece of contrasting wood of your choice to serve as a heel cap.
Wrap tape around the top of the heel to simplify cleaning up the glue squeezeout.
Apply glue to both surfaces, sprinkle on A FEW GRAINS of salt to prevent the pieces from shifting positions
when clamped. The salt shaker shown here occupies a prominant position in my shop for just such uses.