DIY Network

Handmade Gourd-Banjo, Part 4: Pegs, Tail-Piece and Strings From "Handmade Music" episode DHMM-206

The gourd banjo, first played in Africa more than five centuries ago, traditionally has no frets on the neck. "With a fretless instrument," says this banjo's creator Matt Morelock, "you have a quite a bit more leeway because you can slide up to the note or down to the note if you're just a little bit off. It gives a bit more room for expression -- for 'bending around the notes.'" When he's not building gourd banjos, Matt is a musician, music teacher and the host of The Happy Camper program on the world-renowned roots-based radio station WDVX.

Luthier Matt Morelock creates a gourd banjo -- an early version of the instrument that originated in Africa five centuries ago. In this final segment, he installs the pegs, tail-piece and strings so that this new instrument -- with ancient origins -- may be heard for the first time.

Materials used in this episode:

Large dried gourd
Calfskin or goatskin
Quarter-sawn mahogany stock
Ebony for the nut
White pine for bridge
Rawhide strip
Wooden dowel
Wooden blocks
Gut string
Violin pegs
Peg reamer
Band saw
Cordless drill and bits
Bit-aligning tool
Hand saw
Scraper
Files and rasps
Sharp chisel
Sandpaper
Hole punch
Poster board
Woodworker's glue
Clamps
Gunstock finish
Carpenter's pencil

Safety Alert: Always wear eye protection and follow proper safety precautions when using power tools.

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Though there are no frets on this particular banjo, there will of course be strings. That means Matt has to install a nut to guide them. First he carves away a slot -- or channel -- to hold the nut in the neck (figure A).

Banjo nuts can be made from several materials, but Matt likes ebony. For now he glues the ebony into the channel (figure B).

While the glue dries, he applies a little finish to the neck. He uses a gunstock finish to bring out a natural luster in the mahogany. The look is enhanced with two or three coats applied with a rag.

While the last coat of finish dries, Matt moves back to working on the gourd.

Figure A

Figure B

If a banjo can be thought of as basically a drum with a stick through it and some strings stretched over it, we now need a head for our "drum." A contemporary banjo maker will use a plastic pre-made but, since we are making a traditional type of banjo we want a traditional material -- either calfskin or goatskin. The large piece will need to be cut down to the right size.

Matt determines the size by adding about three and a half inches to the circumference of the gourd's hole. In this case he needs a head almost thirteen inches in diameter (figure C).

The calfskin is cut to size using a template as a guide. The template also breaks up the head into 16 equal "slices." Each segment gets two holes added using an ordinary hole punch (figure D). These holes will eventually guide the leather strips that hold down the head.

Figure C

Figure D

	Figure E
	Figure F

The calfskin is quite stiff and hard to manipulate but it becomes more pliable by soaking it in warm water for ten minutes. It's important not to over-soak the skin head as this could cause it to become slick, hard to handle and prone to ripping. When it's finished soaking, Matt pulls the head tight over the hole. The leather strip is threaded through the holes and around the pegs to hold down the calfskin..

Wooden beads around the edge of the head here are installed -- not just for decoration -- but also to adjust the tension of the head over time. These beads were cut on a band saw but they can also be purchased from craft supply stores. Matt raises the beads just far enough to give just a little bit of resistance to the head (figure E). The head will shrink some as it dries.

With the head secure and tight, Matt can place a bridge on it and begin stringing up the banjo. Using an existing bridge as a template he draws a pattern on white pine. A rasp cuts away wood until a bridge like this one emerges. Matt cuts five string-grooves into the bridge with a file.

Next he cuts only four groves into the nut (figure F).

Matt eases the violin pegs into the peg head (figure G) and adds the fifth one on the neck (figure H).

Figure G

Figure H

For the final time, he slides the spike through the gourd to join the two components. The painstaking effort was worth it, and the fit is perfect (figure I).

The leather tailpiece holds the strings opposite the peg head (figure J). The spike holds it in place by piercing one end of the leather. Five tiny holes cut into the leather hold the strings at the other end.

Figure I

Figure J

Figure K

A contemporary banjo would use steel or nylon strings, but since we're building a traditional instrument we're going to go traditional all the way and use gut strings. Matt ties the end of each string to the tailpiece and then wraps them all around their respective pegs. Then, with a flip of the bridge (figure K) the banjo comes alive. Some adjustments are needed particularly in the bridge height (or the "action"), but Matt still thinks this one sounds pretty good right off the bench.

Once the skin completely dried, it made for a nice, resonant sound. The beads around the perimeter can be used to tighten the head as needed later on. Matt also spent a good bit of time custom fitting the spike into the gourd. The overall result is a solid but very light construction and a stringed instrument with a haunting and beautiful sound.

The complete banjo project, start to finish, took Matt about 20 hours to complete.

RESOURCES :

African Banjo Echoes in Appalachia: A Study of Folk Traditions
(Publications of the American Folklore Society New Series)
Author: Cecelia Conway
ISBN: 0870498932
Publisher: University of Tennessee Press (1995)
To order this book from Amazon.com, click here.

That Half-Barbaric Twang: The Banjo in American Popular Culture
(Music in American Life)
Author: Karen Linn
Publisher: University of Illinois Press; Illini Books ed edition (August 1994)
ISBN: 025206433X
To order this book from Amazon.com, click here.

America's Instrument: The Banjo in the Ninteenth Century
Authors: Philip F. Gura, James F. Bollman
Publisher: University of North Carolina Press (September, 1999)
ISBN: 0807824844
To order this book from Amazon.com, click here.

Ring the Banjar
Authors: Robert L. Webb, Margaret Hutchinson
Publisher: Centerstream Publications (2nd edition, 1996)
ISBN: 1574240161
To order this book from Amazon.com, click here.

The How and the Tao of Old Time Banjo
Author: Patrick Costello
Publisher: Pik-Ware Publishing (September, 2003)
ISBN: 0974419001
To order this book from Amazon.com, click here.

Jubilee Community Arts is a regional, community cultural center dedicated to preserving and presenting the traditional arts of the Southern Appalachians. The organization's stated mission is "to promote, preserve and present the performing arts of the Southern region and to nurture the cultural milieu responsible for the birth and evolution of these and related art forms." The organization owns and operates the Laurel Theater, a 19th century converted church located in the Fort Sanders community of Knoxville. The building now houses an acoustically and visually excellent concert hall and archives of concert and field recordings.
Web site: www.jubileearts.org

WDVX
WDVX is a regionally focused, public-supported grass-roots radio station broadcasting from East Tennessee. Emphasis is on old-time and traditional mountain music, bluegrass, Americana, classic country, folk and other traditional and roots-based musical styles.
Web-site and worldwide online-streaming: www.wdvx.com

Welburn Gourd Farm
Organically grown hard-shell gourds.
Fallbrook, CA
The Welburn Gourd Farm is the largest supplier of quality, organic hard-shell gourds in the USA, producing over 375,000 gourds each year. They also host the annual International Gourd Art Festival.
Web site: www.welburngourdfarm.com/

The Museum of Appalachia
The Museum of Appalachia
Website: www.museumofappalachia.com

Pick 'n' Grin
Knoxville, TN
Web site: www.pickngrin.com

GUESTS :

Matt Morelock, luthier, banjoist, music teacher, happy camper.
On the web: http://www.wdvx.com/DJS/MattM.htm