Restoring a Mandolin Banjo Questions

[bmwwxman]

I recently obtained what appears to be a Stromberg mandolin banjo (I can find no markings but it looks identical to the Strombergs) and am trying to put it back into good enough condition to play. I've ordered a fingerboard, fret wire, inlays, nut and tuners but am coming up short on finding a suitable tailpiece. The distance of 1.5 inches from the lip of the tension hoop to the center of the end pin hole is too great to use a standard mandolin tailpiece. Does anyone know where I can find either an original mandolin banjo tailpiece or someone who can manufacture one to my specifications?

Also, I need to replace the head. Not sure where to measure the diameter dimension. The inside of the tension hoop measures exactly 10 inches so I'm guessing that is the correct size head to order?

Thanks in advance for any help....

Cheers!!
Jim

[MikeEdgerton]

I'd try one of these (http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailpieces/Banjo_tailpieces/1/No-knot_Banjo_Tailpiece/Pictures.html#details) if you can't find anything else and double up the strings. That middle post is just extra. I've had a few come through where they modified a Waverly Cloud tailpiece to fit (originally). It looked a little funky actually.

[mandroid]

Some like Vega K used the base of like the Waverly ones , and riveted them to the tension ring.

For My Vega 'little wonder' [a model up from K ] I used a replica of the Wav cloud and bent
the base to use the screw thru the 'diver's helmet ' so I didn't have to stack strings,
and took off sideways forces that had influenced a split the wood between the 2 E strings, because the 8 hooks were wider than the 5 pins,

the 'divers helmet' is a wood screw into the rim stick, that is screwed in with the hole thru it, that subsequently receives the bolt that holds the tailpiece.

head measurement is the rim of the banjo where the head is pulled over the edge of the tone ring, or the outside diameter of the wooden rim itself, if no metal ring attached to the rim , as the rims ovalize, measure across it in several places , and use an average.
that is different from the tension ring, but ID of that ring should be close

[bmwwxman]

Thanks for the info... Apparently I will have to rig something up rather than find a vintage tailpiece. I knew I could do that, but wanted to see if someone might point me in the right direction to acquire a vintage one.

Cheers!!
Jim

[mandroid]

may happen , but not within a couple days, if Doubling up on the same hooks is OK, you may also
be able to adopt a Banjo tailpiece . back in the day they didn't have dedicated BM parts either ..

see what you can learn from the Banjo Hangout website too, banjo folks, well, hang out there..
:popcorn:

[allenhopkins]

Are you sure it has an end pin? Often there was a round bracket shoe -- what Mandroid describes as a "diver's helmet," with a globular end pierced with a hole through which a bracket, similar to the ones that put tension on the tension hoop, was fitted. This bracket often had a "T" end, rather than a hook, which fit through a slot in a fairly standard period mandolin tailpiece. The other end of the bracket was threaded, similar to the "tensioning" brackets, and had a similar nut. You'll find this type of set-up on most five-string and tenor banjos; few have end pins. (I do have a 19th-century five-string with an end pin, but in that case, the bone tailpiece is just held on with a length of brass wire; things were pretty informal, sometimes, in the old days.)

As Mandroid points out, other banjo-mandolins had the tailpiece permanently attached to the tension hoop -- soldered or riveted. That's an alternative. I'd see if I could find a vintage instrument dealer with a drawer full of old banjo parts; Stutzmans's Guitar Center here in Rochester NY has often dug up a tailpiece, bracket nut etc. from a long-ago disassembled instrument for me.

[8ch(pl)]

Look for banjo parts at both Stewart MacDonald and Elderley Instruments. They have a couple of low priced banjo tailpieces that are small enough. Stewart macDonald also has the "Diver's Helmet" that screws into the end of the dowel stick.

[8ch(pl)]

Here are the Stewart MacDonald part numbers:

0917 No-Knot Banjo Tailpiece (Mike Edgerton has already linked to this)

0651 Nashville Banjo Tailpiece

3690 Banjo Endbolt