This was a pretty exciting moment for me when I put the neck and hoop together. I wasn't sure how to make the neck fast to the hoop so I drilled pilots for two brass screws. (BTW - have  you noticed how hard it is to get slotted screws today? Everything is going to philips head ...)  Not long after I found some images of other banjos and see that a mortise and wedge would have been the way to go. Since then I have done just that. I also painted the inside a bright japan red. I had read that some period banjos were painted either green or red on the inside and I thought that was pretty flashy!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

  Putting on the head was a bit of a challenge mostly because I had NO idea what I was doing. I decided to tack the head on to the hoop for this one for that early home-made look. (I've already figured out how to make shoes, tensioners and a hoop for banjo #2.) I soaked the goat-skin in the bathtub for about 20 minutes. According to Bob Flesher in his "Learning Minstrel Banjo" this won't weaken the hide. I tacked it on to one side of the hoop then went to the opposite side, hand stretched it slightly and tacked that side. (I supported the hoop on the end of one of my tinsmithing stakes when I did the hammering.) Then I went 90 degrees to the other side and proceeded to finish tacking the head on the same way you tighten a wheel rim back on to a car hub. I used tiny #2 upholstery tacks that did not stick through the 1/4 inch thick hoop. I wasn't very even because I was planning on covering the steel tacks with a strip of scalloped red morocco leather held in place with brass-headed tacks but it turned out I didn't like the look of that. Luckily (?) I got the opportunity to put on a second head...
 
 
 
 

  I didn't know how tight to pull the head. When it was still wet it gave a low and stately "boonk!" and when it dried overnight it rang out with a really satisfying "poing!" Unfortunately, after I finished the banjo I took it to school where I think the quick change from the cold of my car to the dry heat inside was too much for the hide. It pulled away through a couple of the tacks. Good news was - I made it so I could FIX it! More good news was I had ordered 2 heads from Yendor, just in case this happened. But as long as this pic is up I'll point out the tail piece and bridge - both made from rock maple. I've since stained the tailpiece nearly black to look like ebony and I am planning on making a different bridge. The tail piece is held in place with sinew I use for making my atlatls and darts. I figured out that by twisting the sinew after I looped it over the end of the stick I could tighten it so that it would not lay against the head. When I put on the second head I put the tacks a little lower and did not trim the extra hide so close to them.
 
 
 
 

Well - here it is ... The tailpiece is darker now but this is pretty much it. At first tuning it didn't seem quite right. For one thing it is tuned lower than a modern banjo with steel strings. For another thing - no frets made it tough for me to be sure where to tune the strings in relation to each other until I went to a keyboard and figured the A F# D A progression was the same four notes that began "Bicycle Built for Two." Then the fifth string was D an octave higher than the 3rd string so that was just the same interval as the first two notes for "Over the Rainbow." (Can you tell I'm not a trained musician and I do most of my music by ear?)

BANJO MATERIALS:
ash board for hoop:         $8.00 ( enough for about 2 dozen hoops)
poplar for neck:               $15.00 (enough for 2 more necks)
5 violin pegs:                   $20.00*
2 goat skin heads:           $25.00+ (including shipping)
strings + extra:                 $10.00

*I would suggest going to Elderly Music for their "good" quality pegs at $1.50 each, instead. They also offer an interesting range of banjo parts including heads, bridges, hooks, shoes and nuts that might make your project go easier.)

INCIDENTALS:
reamer for peg holes        $35.00 (including shipping)
1 how to play book          $15.00
1 history of minstrelcy     $8.00
1 Doc Horsehair CD        $14.00
 
 
 
 

Now it's time to sit down with Bob Flesher's instruction book. Hope you enjoyed the visit. Wish me luck!