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I ordered a gourd banjo kit as soon as it went back up on the website and got an early Father’s Day gift of a detail sander so I can customize the neck shape to my liking and maybe round or bevel the gourd circumference prior to skinning it. Also thinking about trying my hand at some inlay on the minstrel peghead. Very excited to get the kit and begin the project.
Hey, fellow DIY gourd heads out there. My kit arrived 1 week ago and I was impressed by the quality of the black walnut neck and dowel stock as well as the aesthetic and simple elegance of the overall design. I chose a minstrel style peghead and have been busy sanding the neck/dowel and vanishing the inside of the gourd for added strength and maybe enhanced sound projection. Also planning some simple inlay to customize this banjo. It looks like Brian has sold at least a dozen gourd kits recently so how about some of you posting about your experience. Stay tuned.
Hey folks. I’m half way through putting my gourd banjo together (my first banjo) and am really impressed with the quality so far! I think I made a mistake though by sanding down the notch on the neck that I think is supposed to hold the G string? That wasn’t on the video tutorial so I thought it was a defect. Do I need to order a replacement or will it not be a problem?.
Also what’s the square block, that says “Gourd side” for?
Hey Franklin, good thing that wood is pretty forgiving. I suggest you just redo the notch you sanded down using an exacto or utility knife. You can use your photo as a guide for the position. Just don’t score too deeply into the wood, you can always adjust the notch even after the 5th string is in place. The square piece is part of the tailpiece. It should have 2 holes in the top, and you will screw the leather piece into it with the 5 holes for the strings on the top side. “Gourd side” means that side of the wood will face the gourd. Hope that helps.
Thanks @Martin this worked out great and looks terrific. Hats off.
Your build looks great! I also have a minstrel peghead, only my neck is fretless. I’ll be posting photos of my build progress once it’s all finished. Stay tuned.
Some photos of my build process/results, hopefully in some chronological order:
• varnishing the inside of the gourd
• carving the base of neck to inlay a pin
(back cut off flush) donated by my wife
• epoxying another pin in peghead before
finishing using tung oil
• brewing black tea for dyeing the goatskin(continues on a separate post)
Well it looks like my posting/file uploading skills are pretty limited since I couldn’t seem to resize any photos which were within max size allowed.
So here’s a photo of my completed banjo build which hopefully is within the allowable limit.In any case, the banjo was lots of fun to build and I’m having a great time learning to play on a fretless fingerboard. The gourd tone sounds great too.
Attachments:
Thanks for the kind words. I see that Brian has expanded allowable upload file size so I’m attaching the photos from my July 8 post which were too large to be seen. Maybe you’ll want to check these out.
A few more build details:
• dyeing the goatskin
• skin tacked onto gourd
• dyeing tuning pegs taking care not to dyeing the shaft
that goes through the peghead holes
• the completed banjo with a nontipped maple bridge in
place of the plastic bridgeThanks for the additional pics Martin – instrument turned out amazing, congrats mate! Can you share any tips around the dyeing/staining process? I was googling this yesterday and found various opinions about tea/coffee/alcohol/oil based stains and where I got to was to probably just try using some strong cold tea. Your work looks great. I’m really digging the inlay too, I’ve never done one before so I probably wouldn’t attempt it on an instrument until I’d had some practice but your results are inspiring.
I was quite satisfied with the results of dyeing with tea. I brewed a strong batch of loose black tea (use plenty) in boiling water, let it cool, put skin in a large bowl and let it soak for 20-30 minutes. I believe I read that the tannins in tea help retain the color and may be preferable to coffee. I decided not to mess with alcohol or oil based substances. The resulting color seemed to complement the natural gourd color nicely. As for the inlay, I confess this was my first attempt and my 1st cut into the neck was done with some trepidation, but it all worked out using only exacto blades and a 1/2 inch chisel. We are mushroom hunters and my wife donated 2 of her decorative pins for the inlay. May I suggest that you consider some woodburning design for your gourd if possible. I think it would look awesome. Cheers.
Thanks Martin! I will do mate 🙂 I appreciate the words of encouragement and your advice around staining. I reckon I’ll use tea as well – yours has a lovely colour to it.
The mushroom inlays look fantastic! I’m a big Paul Stamets fan and hearing the connection for your inlays make your banjo even more special.
Hey man, glad that you appreciate the mushroom connection and especially to know that you’re a Paul Stamets fan. We here on the left coast of the Pacific in California think of him as a visionary. Are you new to banjo? If so I hope you’ll get into clawhammer style which seems particularly well suited for these kits. Maybe at some point you will order a gourd kit as well. I love the tonal quality and resonance unique to the gourd. Happy building and picking.
I’m super new to banjo. I found one in a thrift store last week and have been trying to teach myself from YouTube. Clawhammer is my fav at least listening to it. I got some ways to go still haha!
Hey, now that I’m sort of officially your mate maybe you would share your name with me. IMO clawhammer is definitely the way to go and a Carver kit is well suited and good quality for playing that style. May I suggest considering taking an online course to jumpstart your banjo journey. I highly recommend checking out a clawhammer banjo course from Cathy Fink through Truefire.com. She offers 4 courses, 2 beginner and 2 intermediate. I’ve taken all 4. You have to pay but it’s not expensive, 1 time fee only rather than monthly commitment, and you can sign up for just the 1st 1 as a start. She’s a great instructor not to mention an amazing musician. You won’t be disappointed.
My name’s Jack 🙂
I really appreciate your advice Martin. I’ll definitely check out Cathy Fink’s courses – That’s a great tip mate and actually sounds perfect for me. Once I receive, burn and build the mountain banjo I’ll be sure to sign up.
Hey Jack, Glad to know that you are interested in taking 1 of Cathy Fink’s courses. You can probably find some YouTube videos of course samples and her playing. And if you want to listen to some of her music in more depth check out her album from about 30 years ago called Banjo Haiku. It really showcases her mastery. Should be available on any streaming service. Your choice of a mountain banjo kit is a good one and will transport you musically right into Appalachia.
I promise not to bombard you with constant banjo trivia but I did want to share this short YouTube link which really caught my attention when I 1st saw it. I’m guessing you may not be familiar with flatfooting. Check it out and I’m curious your reaction. Hope you can open this.
Oh wow – that video is beautiful man. It kinda reminds me of whirling dervish music listening to it, almost sacred in it’s beauty. That space is amazing too, all the raw brickwork. Love that gourd sound as well – what a bop! Thanks for this one Martin.
Franklin & Martin, those both look excellent! I hope mine turns out that good when I finally get to work on it.
Bravo to both of you!
Anyone have a video demo (sound/size) of the newer short scale gourd banjos for sale in the link below?
My short scale gourd build. I am very pleased with the kit and how it turned out 🙂
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