Buzzard Mountain Blog

I've gotten quite a bit of interest in my gourd banjo project so I thought I would update everyone on my progress. Since my last post I have shaped the heel of the neck and added the dowel stick. With the dowel in place I was able to attach the neck to the gourd. This step is really a difficult one, more so then it probably appears. The difficulty lies in getting the angle of neck to the head at the proper angle so the action will be good. After trying several methods to line in up right, I finally decided that I would just have to make an educated guess and hope it works! I believe what I have now will work, but I won't know for sure until the head, fretboard and strings are installed.




There is still quite a bit of work to go on this but I will try to keep up with the pictures and progress reports as I go along.

I got into a conversation with a fella that attends the same jam session as I do about gourd banjos this last week. He wants to build one himself because he can't see paying $600+ for a pre-made one, the more I work on this thing, the more I realize why builders charge that much for one! I predict that he will think the same thing once he gets into his project as well!

I commend anyone who undertakes the task of building a musical instrument as it isn't as easy as it can seem from posts like this. My hope is that these post will help him and others who are interested in building such an animal.

For those of you who haven't found this wonderful site Down Home Radio Show it's time you did!

This site has an awesome collection of new and old radio shows focused on folk music.

This one post in particular is outstanding, it is a 1940 recording of a radio show hosted by Leadbelly (Huddie Ledbetter) with special guest Woody Guthrie, singing songs of "outlaw ballads and how criminals are transformed into popular heroes".


Leadbelly & Woody Guthrie Live! On WNYC 1940
It truly is spectacular to here these two folk musicians together and well worth the 40 mins or so to listen to it!

Last time we had gotten to the point where the overlays had been glued up, now it's time to finish this thing!

The next step is to shape the heel overlay to match the carved heel.



Now that the heal is shaped I move on to the headstock.

First, I use a sanding block and flatten out the back side of the headstock.


Then Using my template, I trace the outline of the Somerset headstock.



Then after a trip through the band saw to rough cut the profile I have this.


Once it is roughed out I take it to my oscillating sander and true the headstock up to the lines.


Now I can finish shaping the transition between neck and headstock, again using varies rasps and files.


Using a similar jig set up as I did to dress the heel to the right height and angle, I now attach an 11" diameter sanding disk to profile the heel to fit the rim.



Next I locate the tuner holes and drill those with my drill press.


Once I have reached this point I do the finish sanding of the neck down to 120 grit, leaving the final sanding and finishing to Chris & Lowell.


Well this neck is nearly complete, it just needs the signature 3 dots installed to officially become a Somerset neck.

First, I locate and drill the holes for the dots.


Then, with a little help of the old glue, I place the dots in the overlay.




The last step is to sand the overlay and dots down flush.


That's it folks! This blank is destined to be a Somerset S-2, it is on it's way to Chris where it will be fitted with the fretboard and attached to the rim. Chris has said that he will document his process as well so the journey continues.

Last time on "The Making of a Somerset".

The necks where cut to a basic squared neck shape, and the slot for the truss rod had been cut.


In this episode we will begin to shape up the neck to its finished form, and we will get the headstock and heel overlays attached.

The next step is too strap a blank into my hand built Copy Carver. The Copy Carver will remove about 85% of the remaining excess wood. It is set up to leave the neck +1/16in larger then the master neck, this allows me to hand finish each neck and make any adjustments during the final processes.
Here is a short video of the part of the process, thanks to Doc Boggs for the background music!





This process still leaves the neck in rough shape.




For the next few steps I clamp the neck into my Parrot Vise to secure it while I continue to carve it using a draw knife, rasps and files.
First I true up the neck from the top side, carving the neck down to just outside my template lines:


Next I flip the neck over and finish rough carving most of the back:


I then set up one of my jigs to plane the heel to the proper depth and the correct angle. This jig allows me to slide the neck towards the cutter head while keeping it at a set angle. The cutter is the Wagner Safety Planer, which I'm using here in not the safest way.


Now using my templates I trace on the heel shapes and carve the necks back to the lines. The templates are just guides that help me maintain consistency with the necks, however each piece of wood is different and must be adjusted accordingly.



The neck is now ready to glue up the overlays for the headstock and heel. A little bit of PVA wood glue and some clamping will do the job. The glue I use only needs to be clamped for about 30 mins, but I usually leave it clamped up overnight just to be safe. On the heel I use blue painters tape as it doesn't require a great deal of pressure to set correctly. It might be important to note that you do not want to clamp things to tight as this will "Starve" the joint and the glue will not set properly.



That's all for now folks!

I thought I'd post a few pics of another project I am currently working on. This one is going to be a fret-less gourd banjo and I have just about finished up carving the neck. The neck is out of Brazilian Mahogany with Cocobolo Rosewood overlays on both the front and back of the headstock.

The gourd came from a neighbor of my brothers, he was a 98 year old man who enjoyed woodworking for many many years. I'm not 100% sure what his real name was but everyone called him "Snooks" including his daughter who lives next door. While at his shop one day chatting about a chair he was building I noticed all these gourds up in the rafters. I asked him about them and he said that they had been up there for at least 30 years, I ask if I could have one to make a banjo out of and he said take as many as you want. So I now have a small supply for projects like this.

Unfortunately, Snooks passed away a few weeks ago, before I could finish the banjo to show him. So I take on this project in his memory and hope that he would have been happy with the outcome.

Pics: "Psst, you can click on the thumbs for a larger view"
Gourd with rough neck blank:


Gourd with nearly finished neck:


My brother runs a small greenhouse operation and has quite the green thumb, so this next year we are saving seeds from these heirloom gourds and are going to grow some more. Hopefully after 30 years or so the seeds are still viable, my brother seems to think they will be as he mutters something about archeology and finding gourd seeds in Egyptian tombs that sprouted after thousands of years. I have my fingers crossed!

Part 2:

The next step was to use the old jointer and true up the fretboard side and the headstock. Using the jointer to make sure these surfaces are dead flat and at the correct angle to each other.


Now that the top is flat and perpendicular to the sides, I run the blank through the table saw to cut the groove that will hold the truss rod. Make sure you run it through in both directions to insure that the groove is centered! Then I take the blank to my oscillating spindle sander and true up the back side of the headstock, the rest of the back is still over sized but I will take care of this later. I also draw in the fret board shape with my templates at this time to prepare for the next step.


Now I take the blanks back to the band saw and cut off the excess, being careful to stay +1/16 or so outside the lines. This gives me a rough blank that is starting to look like a neck!


Thats it for now, stay tunned for the next episode of "The Making of a Somerset"! Will neck blank #1 finally find true love? Will neck blank #5 tell the group it's big secret? Will neck blank #2 be kicked out of the shop? You'll just have to tune in next time to find out!

I thought I would document the building process I use for making the Somerset necks with this next batch I am currently working on. I will do this as I progress over the next week or so. The process I use is a combination of experience, research and trial and error, if you are looking to build your own necks you should be able to use many of my techniques, however some are specific to doing multiple necks at a time.

Part 1
I start with a large piece of wood, for this group it is a section of a FAS quality Hard Maple board that was 16/4s (4 inches) by 11 inches by 8 feet long which I cut down into thirds. These are rough sawn boards that have been air tried a minimum on 2 years.


I take this beast and run it through my thickness planer and jointer to square up the edges and expose the grain.


I then cut the log down to a manageable size and remove the excess depth. I usually purchase 12/4 (3 inch) stock, but the last time I went to my hardwood supplier all they had was the thicker 16/4 (4 inch) stock.


Once I can see the grain I can begin to layout how many necks I can get out of it, being careful to avoid any imperfections in the wood. I use a laser cut acrylic template I had made specifically to my design for the Somerset necks. If you are making a neck yourself, you will want to use a template. Prior to having the acrylic templates I used a print out pasted to a piece of hardboard and then cut to size, this method works just fine for one off design, but consistency is important in a production model.


Next, I run these blanks through the band saw being careful to stay 1/8 inch or so outside of my lines. This allows me a little wiggle room as I move forward.


This process leaves me with a rough blank.


If you are interested in carving your own neck and would like a blank at this stage just contact me for a price.

Well I have spent a good portion of the weekend working on my site. I finally have up some images and options under the open back banjo section. I am always trying to improve the way the site looks and is navigated. If you have any troubles please let me know so I can fix them.

I primarily use Firefox for my browser and it works good with that, but there may be some issues in IE.

Also, if you email me with a question I will usually respond very quickly, if you haven't recieved a response from me within 24hrs please check your spam/junk mail folder and make sure you allow mail from buzzard@buzzardmountain.com.

Thanks!

I wanted to show everyone a Tin Banjo I made early last fall. Occasionally I find something that inspires me to build an instrument around. This time is was a Martha White Flower tin found in an antique store I was browsing around in.

For those who may not know, Martha White sponsored the Grand Ole Opry and Flat & Scruggs use to play the jingle during their shows.

mwsong.mp3

The tin even has the Jingle right on the side!


Here are the rest of the images:


I will post a sound file of this thing too when I get the chance. Also, this banjo is not really for sale, however if you see it and think "I really need that!" then drop me a line and we can discuss it.

Well I have been meaning to start this thing for a long time, Patrick over at Tangier Sound tells me that people are interested in what I have been doing with myself.

Well I can tell you this I have been really busy building banjos and necks for the Somerset County Banjos, I am very proud to be a part of this Team! Working with Lowell and Chris has been a great learning experience for me. Each one of us has a unique view and approach to banjo building and it's been great sharing ideas and information.

I am going to start posting more information about my building process and projects as the new year progresses so stay tuned for that!

Also, I am still working out the bugs on my website, so keep an eye out as things are a changin'.