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  • ChickenboneJohn March 30, 2014 at 10:02am

    The body is going to be determined by what sort of head and tone ring set-up you are using, unless you making a 'tack head", when you can make it  pretty much any size you want. If you are using any sort of ready-made head or tone ring, get the hardware first and go from there.  6" is pretty much the smallest you'd want to go...like this Appalachian style 5 string I made.306270292?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024 

  • jim March 30, 2014 at 4:49am

    and how dat turn out?  http://youtu.be/dqoNRhH9Jvk

  • Uncle Fred March 28, 2014 at 7:08pm

    Two weeks ago, I just tried to turn a banjo like ring to finish dimensions out of sweet gum. I basically cored the middle out and got the thickness I wanted before I cut the ring off. It ended up warping a lot and I may not use it. Next time I will turn it to a thickness of 10% of the diameter just like we turn a bowl and let it dry. When dry, I would glue it to a plywood faceplate, very carefully aligning it. Then turn to the final dimensions and part off. We have been force drying our bowl blanks in our dishwasher dryers. The guys in the club said I should have used one of the carbide ring cutters instead of a bowl gouge.

    I was going to use a spruce sound board on mine and the log would let me get a 12" diameter. I was going to use the technique to make a 3 string guitar instead of a banjo.

    Be safe,

    Fred

    • Doyle Powell > Uncle Fred March 28, 2014 at 7:28pm

      I appreciate the reply, I am using black walnut that I have cured for about 3 years and it seems to be dry. I plan on making it about 11" diameter. I have never turned any sweet gum and lord know I got plenty of them in the woods around my house. Maybe I will give it a try.

      Thanks, Doyle

      • Uncle Fred > Doyle Powell March 28, 2014 at 10:16pm

        I didn't really turn it just like a bowl. The grain of the tree was orientated differently that most bowls are turned. I cut a 5" slice off the log and mounted it on the lathe with the center of the tree aligned with the center of the headstock. This would have made the tree rings run around the diameter of the ring, making it a very strong ring. it was green. I will try the method I outlined above again with a piece of apple wood, rough it and let it dry. Letting it dry is the hard part . . . no instant gratification. My ring ended up being 12" diameter and 3" tall with about 1/4" wall thickness. I was going to glue a back and top on it.

        Another strong method would be to glue up a segmented piece and turn it round. This is something I want to do too. A friend makes pet urns with this method, very quickly.

        I have been looking for a fresh cut walnut tree. It would make a gorgeous body.

        Fred

  • Scott aka Farmer Ted March 28, 2014 at 6:58pm

    A 10-14 inch round is a good start. Ample area for resonance. Maybe 2.75" or more, depending on comfort. What scale length are you looking to use?

    • Doyle Powell > Scott aka Farmer Ted March 28, 2014 at 7:23pm

      I appreciate the reply and the info. Just what I needed to know

      Thanks, Doyle

  • Mike Breen March 28, 2014 at 6:56pm

    Doyle:

    Have a look at this

    http://www.angelfire.com/music2/construct/page1A.html

    Mike

    • Doyle Powell > Mike Breen March 28, 2014 at 7:20pm

      Thanks very much for the link.

      Doyle

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