So, after this week's project, my husband and I have a new-found respect for all the fine luthiers out there. We're still tweaking a few things on this cookie tin tenor banjo, but I thought I'd go ahead and post a clip of the work in progress. For those who like specs, the tin is 12", the neck is red oak, the tuners and fretboard were canableized from a broken down baritone yuke, and the strings are from an octave mandolin set. All in all, it's been a fun challenge, and it's certainly not the worst $25 I've spent.
Pretty cool!
you really did a great job with that!!! the instrument and the tune! thanx for posting, look for4ward to more. m
Woo-hoo!
Nice tin!
Exceptional sustain - looks like something Gyro Gearloose would invent - also reminds me of the many multipurpose musical gadgets I once built, including a resonator mandolin (wooden banjo resonator with a stainless steel buffet platter, neck of a banjolin) with a harp extension and a heavy metal harp (aluminum sheets and many many screws). It is sure fun to do build this stuff and play it!
Thanks everyone, Bertram, You're right about the sustain. Sometimes, I can't make it shut up. I'd like to see that resonator mandolin contraption. Do you still have it? My husband and I grow gourds and have made quite a few percussion instruments, but this is the first string instrument we've attempted. Last year's gourd harvest was pretty skimpy, but I did get the perfect canteen gourd. We split it down the middle, my husband claiming one half for a banjo yuke and myself the other for a bowl-back mandolin. I'm invisioning a beautiful cedar-top oval hole with fretless cherry neck, but we'll see what happens when the drilling and sawing is said and done. By the way, this is prime gourd planting season for anyone who wants to try it out. It beats vegetable and flower gardening hands down.
By the way, who ate the cookies?
Sorry Marcelyn, those beasts I no longer have. However, there are two homegrown instruments out of that era to see in this video I posted in an earlier thread here.
Hey Jim, whoever ate the cookies did it over forty years ago. It's a vintage tin which I think accounts for the banjo's exceptional tone. hahaha. Actually, I rescued it from life as a plant holder. That's a great video Bertram. I'll have to go look at the whole thread. A bass dulcimer, who'd have thought? Did you make the design up? Your violin made me laugh, but I'm betting it has the last laugh when you revive it one of these days.
Nice one, Marcelyn. I have just come out of the workshop after gluing the back braces to the back on my latest mandolin assagnment and tuned in to the Cafe and found this banjo of yours. I love the idea of recycling stuff as you have done, and it reminds me of those oil-can guitars which come out of Africa among other places. I take it the bottom of the tin becomes the banjo head, thus obviating the need for lots of clamping fixtures around the rim - ingenious! Maybe you even put the lid back on of you want to play quietly? A playing colleague of mine always insists that the best way to improve the tone of my banjo is to pour in a bag of quick-drying cement and let it set; but then he plays the accordion! I liked your playing of Redwing too.
Did you make the design up? Yes, and it was the second bass dulcimer I have tried (the first one looked like the Titanic, but without the stacks). but I'm betting it has the last laugh when you revive it one of these days. Should I ever play it again, that video will probably make half the YouTube community die of internal haemorrhaging, and the CIA will confiscate it (and the violin) as weapons of mass destruction.
Hey John, the lid is on. With its painted tulips and ivy, it happens to be the most elegant part of the instrument. And oddly enough, the banjo seems louder when closed. I just googled you and found J. K. mandolins. I didn't know you were a luthier. How interesting. I might be writing you with some questions when I start on this gourd mandolin. I'm going to show that bass dulcimer to my husband, Bertram. He'll love it. I bet he starts working on one himself.
Marcelyn, what variety of gourds are you growing? my wife grew some luffah (sp?) gourds a few years ago that were trouble-free. i'd like to try a gourd Uke. thanx for a great idea!!! michael
Hey Michael, The one that grew to the right size was either a canteen, giant kettle, or water jug. My seeds got a little mixed up by the time they made it into the garden. They are fun though, what other plant can go from seed to fifty foot vine in under sixty days? For inspiration on your ukulele, you should check out the Richmond Indigenous Gourd Orchestra. They grow everything they play.
Thanx for the site, Marcelyn. Our planting season starts this week (chicago area) and i'll be putting some in. gotta get that book, too. thx again. m
Great, I put a few in the ground last week. I'm not sure what will happen, because the seeds were from gourds that probably cross pollinated last year. Keep me posted and we'll have a contest for most mandolin/ukulele shaped gourd of the season.
I checked out that orchestra site and some of those instruments are just..um.. ..gourd-gious?? sorry
I planted a mandolin yesterday. I'm hoping it will grow into a Bouzouki...
That is way cool Marcelyn. Nice work. The lid would look nice on the top instead of back! But I guess it looks more like a banjo this away.
Eddie, if you planted the Dearstone, I might have to come dig that up. Thanks Martin, I was a little disappointed about that too. My luthiery crash course led me to discover that the neck had to attach to the flat part of the inside and not the lip if that makes sence. Function over form. It would be fun to figure out a way to get the lid on the outside though. I'm invisioning a troop of Christmas carolers all armed with Christmas cookie tin banjos.
Yes, I figured it was something like that. Still looks pretty cool though. I guess you could hand paint it. I'm surprised we don't see more banjo heads with various decor on them. I guess people prefer a traditional look.
Marcelyn, Well done and very creative. Eric
Contest is ON, Marcelyn. just planted some gourds of varied sizes in my veggie garden and hope to grow some ukes with my cukes (but no bouzuks. soon i'll be sampling my wifes cucumber salsa as i strum my gourd-back ukulele. Life is Good. michael ovation doesn't have a patent on that, do they?
Excellent, now all you need is a hammock. In the interest of fair play, I'll share a few tips I learned the hard way. You'll want to let the gourds stay on the vine until the vine looks completely dead. Picking them too early will cause them to rot rather than dry out. Also, no matter how your ukulele is calling you, resist the temptation to cut into the gourds until they are completely dry. I just left mine outside all winter in a dry spot off the ground. The garage or a shed is a good place, but they can get a little stinky. And don't worry about mold growing on the outside, that's just because of the water escaping through the shell. When the gourd is dry, that ugly skin scrubs right off. When you hear the seeds rattle, the gourd is ready for surgery.
Thanx for the gourd tips. I have an old Grizzly kit uke i built that i will donate to the project. will just have to figure how to brace the top and glue on the vegetable. how green is That?? michael
