I am trying to bend a banjo hoop in my shop. I have no space/time/money/expertise/heat source to make a proper steaming box, and I had read that it is possible...
Hi Brian, I like your idea for bending for infrequent bending projects because it doesn't seem to require as much preparations. I have shared your frustrations...
Wayne, Thanks for the information. I could probably put a bracket on my jig and see how that works instead of using the bolt. Thanks for the idea. I expected...
I see it's been about 4 years since I last posted. But that doesn't mean I have quit reading the posts to this forum--they have been sent to me all along. Of...
I thought Wayne's suggestion were good. I've found quartered wood to be stiffer, but maybe in the steaming process it evens out. Here's my 2 cents: I have the...
Hiyo, Bill. What part of Indiana are you in? I'm in Greenfield. I'm still reading on banjo-making, and I've yet to attempt anything, yet. Doug Pfaff ...
... Hi Doug, I'm close to the south side of Indianapolis. About 30 miles from Greenfield. My shop is "under renovations", but I've been regularly attending...
I think that the heat gun made it flexible enough that it didn't splinter as I wrapped it around the form, but not hot enough to set the bend. So it was sprung...
Wayne, Where did you get your metal strap? I am not sure where I would begin looking for something like that. Brian (_)=='=~ If only the best bird sang, the...
Brian, I was fortunate to find some stainless steel sheets (maybe 025"thick) in five foot lengths at a metal surplus place. A friend was able to use his...
Thanks for the info. I will have to get creative to find a strap. I don't have connections to machine shops. Working stainless steel is not something that I...
Brian, My steam box is about 52" long so I cut my wood to fit within that length. When I bend the wood there is irregular shaping on both ends of the wood...
OK. I ended up with the irregular ends on my fractured piece as well.... I mean other than the fractured wood. The part I had bolted down really wasn't bent,...
Brian, you can use galvanized steel for bending straps. Stainless is best, but galvanized is easily available from a big box store. Or better yet from a...
I have two different mold sizes, one 11" and one 12". When I bend wood for a rim other than these two sizes, I spread the wood to a larger or smaller size...
The heat gun does not have the power to heat the entire piece. I was concentrating it at exactly the place that was bending. Then, I gradually moved that point...
Thanks for the info. When I wrapped that board around the form I ended up with a seriously ugly bump where the board overlapped the end that was already on the...
Trying to remember what books I've read, actually...They're ones I've downloaded, I can tell you I read the article in one of the Foxfire books about ...
Cool, I am an aircraft mechanic since 1984! Make my instruments at work between flights. Mike ... From: Doug Pfaff <justicekrieger@...> Subject: Re:...
... I read that article you mentioned in Foxfire--Foxfire 4, I believe. I think it really made an impression on me. I had a course in welding and a course in...
This all sounds pretty confessional: Forgive me, banjomakers, it's been four years since my last post. I think the penance for that is, definitely, make a...
... Yeah, the other thread name sounded "pretty confessional" so I replaced it with a name I liked better (traditional song, I like played by Dock Boggs, and...
I tried toothpicks. Didn't like them. Played around with staples. Didn't like them either. Good luck. AG ... [Non-text portions of this message have been...
... I have decided to make a few goudies with faux frets. I'm not sure what Faux frets are? If you mean inlaid or flush, perhaps something as simple as...
Hi , sounds like a marquetry job, you could include dots or anything else you fancy. Marquetry was very popular in the 19thC and some banjos were decorated...
Sorry I should have introduced myself, Dick from Essex in the UK, just finished rebuilding an old William Temlett Zither banjo and got the bug. Just bought a...
One of my favorite banjos with faux frets is an old Fairbanks fretless with stepped MOP markers on the neck. At some point I would like to make a banjo with...
