Banjo hardware and parts can be specialized or rather commonplace depending on the build style of the instrument. When it comes to vintage and hand crafted banjos there is a good deal of variety. Most modern bracket-style banjo hardware cannot be found in a typical hardware store and must be ordered. But there tends to be plenty of usable stuff at the hardware store for builders of tack head and gourd banjos. As a part of build planning, becoming familiar with the hardware intended to be used on a banjo before beginning to build is helpful and can insure success. Find the dimensions of any hardware that will be fit directly to the wood parts of the banjo. Knowing hardware dimensions will help make the wood parts correctly. Purchasing the hardware before beginning the build is recommended and is a sure way to learn exact dimensions. This also gives the builder opportunities for test fitting in addition to measuring. Following is a list of hardware that may be available through online suppliers.
Tuning Machines
In ages past the banjo often featured friction pegs. These can still be found on violins and some banjos today. With the industrial revolution wooden friction pegs gave way to machined friction pegs, the friction in this case being created by a screw. Later, machined friction pegs gave way to the modern geared machine tuner. Most modern banjos feature geared tuning machines that, unlike guitar tuners, protrude straight back from the peghead. There are a few different makers of modern tuners. There are also tuners available which have the look of a friction peg but are actually geared tuners. The fifth peg tuner also deserves mention here. It is a special tuner that is pressed into the side of the neck at the place where the fifth string begins. Most of them are geared, but I have seen some that were of the friction type.
End Pin Screw
The End Pin Screw holds the other end of the dowel stick firmly against the inside of the rim. One end of the screw has wood threads and the other has machine threads (sometimes called hanger bolts) and a little brass ball that screws onto it. The little ball has a hole in it that allows a tailpiece to fasten to it.
Hooks
Hooks are threaded on one end and feature a hook on the other, they hold the drum part of the banjo together and commonly come in two varieties, round and flat. This distinction refers to the shape of the hook part of the hook. The round hook is used with a notched tension hoop, and the flat hook is used with the grooved tension hoop. It is of course possible to use one for the other but the results may not be as good.
Hook Nuts
The hooks are one half of a working fixture, the other half is the nut which threads onto the hook and holds it onto the shoe and allows for tightening the head. Nuts are available in a variety of sizes and shapes. There are open end nuts and closed end nuts. They play a role in planning because it is nice if the ends of the threaded hooks do not protrude out the back of the nut. A banjo will be more comfortable if the hook nut does not protrude past the back edge of the rim.
Shoes
The shoe (sometimes called L-shoe brackets) bolts to the rim, and the hook to the shoe. Most modern shoes have a 12-24 thread size. Some older banjos feature a round shoe, some even feature die-cast shoes in the shapes of animals or other decorative elements.
There are considerations to be made when choosing the placement of the shoe on the rim. If the shoe is placed without enough space between its top edge and the bottom of the tension hoop the head will not be able to be fully tightened.
Shoe Bolts
The bolts that fit the shoes are often 12-24 thread size as well, in any case they must match the shoe that they hold on.
Neck Brace
The neck brace facilitates the use of a wooden dowel. The brace pulls the heel of the neck snugly against the rim. It can be tightened as the instrument settles. The neck brace consists of four parts, the brace, the screw, a plate, and a pin. The pin mounts into the dowel stick through a small hole drilled just for it, called the pin hole. The pin hole need not be an overly tight fit, snug is good. The location of the pin hole is essential to the operation of the brace. The brace itself straddles the dowel and uses the pin as a fulcrum by which it can pivot and apply pressure. The brace also has a threaded hole for the screw. The screw is tightened to pull the neck heel snug against the rim. The plate sits on top of the brace, between the screw and the rim and gives the blunt end of the screw and the legs of the brace something solid to bear against, preventing it from marring the inside of the rim.
