In process banjos laying on a table

Banjo building is an excellent entry point to stringed instrument making. The banjo’s elegant simplicity and flexibility are unmatched. There are gourd banjos, tackhead banjos, open-back banjos, and resonator banjos, among others. If you haven’t already, find some recorded music that you like that prominently features the banjo and findContinue Reading

Labeled image of gourd banjo.

The Peghead of a gourd banjo gives the strings something to anchor to. It needs to be big enough and sturdy enough to accommodate the working of the tuning pegs. The Tuning Pegs I use with gourd banjos are friction pegs much like those found on the violin. The frictionContinue Reading

Many banjos have a neck heel that fits to the shape of the outside of the rim. Then, the neck is fastened onto the rim using a dowel stick, a neck brace, and an endpin. Like this: Fitting the Rim to the Stick Several years ago, while researching gourd banjos,Continue Reading

The tension hoop holds the head on and gives the tension hooks something to grab onto. Most tension hoops are made from brass. Nickel plating is a common feature. Ring rolling, precision layout, brazing and other metal working skills are necessary for do-it-yourself tension hoops. For the most part, metalContinue Reading

Banjo rims cut from drum shells

If you are just getting into building stringed instruments, it’s a good idea to start with a small budget and a small project. By taking on a small project the beginner can learn a lot about the physics of stringed instruments, build planning, and wood working tools. I can’t thinkContinue Reading

Banjo Neck Side Profile Pattern

This pattern can be made from thin material, like plexi-glass, thin plywood, or even cardboard. More durable materials will provide a longer useful life. This pattern is intended to be used with a traditional dowel stick design. Step By Step Instructions Mark a straight line that is the intended lengthContinue Reading

The back side of a banjo peghead with the friction pegs removed.

Banjo friction pegs were used to tune the instrument in its earlier days. As steel strings became more popular and machining techniques improved, friction pegs gave way to machine tuners. Today we still see friction pegs used on violins and cellos. The high tension of steel banjo strings make theContinue Reading

Superficially attaching the head to the gourd.

Gourd banjo heads are typically made from natural animal hides. Goat and calf hides are the most favored and easiest to come by. Mounting a natural hide head is fairly simple, but does require some time and hand strength. The head will be stretched as it is mounted. Then, asContinue Reading

Scale length can make a real difference in the way that a banjo plays, feels, and responds. Scale length is the active length of the string. That is the length of the string from the nut to the bridge saddle. If we have two strings of the same diameter butContinue Reading