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Starting a 5 string banjo

Posted by Kevin Wiley on August 18, 2017 at 5:06pm in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

For anyone interested I'm thinking with or without cigar box, not sure at this point, but likely with the cigar box. I need a quiet practice instrument to play on the couch next to my wife who is watching her shows, so I decided on an electric solid body but then thought hey, why not a cigar box? So I've begun this week with a piece of walnut 1x3" by 30" long and started cutting this past week, sand and sand  some more and I have a neck shaped thing. The 5th string will be tunneled into the neck and a truss rod will be installed, I have chosen a piece of birch or something that color for the fret board and some used tuners and that's it so far, see pictures.

kevin

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Replies

  • Taffy Evans August 21, 2017 at 5:41pm
    I recon you could use a standard banjo bridge. I did this with a solid body fiddle I built, and used a standard violin bridge.
    I routed a slot in the body at the bridge location to take a strip piezo guitar pickup, then covered it with a cover strip flush with the top and the standard bridge stands on top.
    Cheers Taff.
  • Kevin Wiley August 21, 2017 at 9:12am
    Very nice work on your banjo Taff, I figured if it had a solid body it would be no louder than an electric guitar yeah maybe I'm dreaming. Still working out details on a bridge. Thanks for your encouragement.kevin
  • Taffy Evans August 21, 2017 at 3:43am

    306632954?profile=originalHi Kevin, very neat work so far, is there such a thing as a quiet banjo? I built this banjo  some years ago, wood top, but it ain't quiet. I would still have to mute it to play in the same room as my wife. Ha ha.

    Cheers Taff

  • Kevin Wiley August 18, 2017 at 5:18pm

    more pics

    20170818_161000.jpg

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