DIY Network

Old-Time Banjo, Part 8: Dowel-Stick, Logo and Banjo Technique From "Handmade Music" episode DHMM-208

	The Mumbillies are an old-time string band that, for nearly thirty years, have been playing together in the traditional style of the Southern Appalachians. Here, they perform at The Laurel Theater in Knoxville, Tennessee.

This episode of DIY's Handmade Music is the first of two installments on the creation of an old-time banjo. In this final segment of the episode 1, luthier Dave Ball finishes the banjo's dowel-stick and adds a special finishing touch to it.

Materials and tools used in this project:

Maple stock
Padauk stock
Ebony stock
Kerfed lining
Table saw
Band saw
Lathe
Drum sander
Drill press
Hand-held router
Pantograph router
Hand saw
Files and rasps
Epoxy glue
Woodworker's glue
Clamps
Clothespins
Sandpaper and sanding blocks

Safety Alert: Always wear safety goggles or safety glasses when
working with wood, power-tools, saws, drills, routers, etc.

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Dowel-Stick Completion

With the rim assembly basically done, and the dowel stick shaped to size, Dave moves on to finishing the dowel stick. Because this banjo is an "open-back" instrument (figure A), most of the dowel stick is visible, so Dave likes to give it a isual flair. It’s the perfect place to insert identifying information like the luthier's name and the instrument’s serial number (figure B).

Figure A

Figure B

The pantograph is the perfect way to guide a small router to perfectly carve numbers and letters (figure C). To make them stand out, Dave adds a little color with some red-pigment tempra paint in the routed figures (figure D).

Figure C

Figure D

Figure E

To prepare for finishing, Dave sands the dry paint level with the dowel stick surface. He doesn’t need much in terms of finish. The natural look is preferred so he sticks to an oil-based wiping-varnish. Ultimately he applies five coats to this one, but his gauge is based on appearance (figure E). When the dowel stick looks saturated he stops to let each coat dry. Once the dowel stick maintains a "sheen" when it’s, the finish is done. This provides a satiny finish that is easily applied, is durable and highlights the figure of the wood. Dave is careful to not put the finish on too thick. Oil finishes can get "gummy" if they’re applied too liberally.

Figure F

Before finishing the rest of the rim, Dave addresses some of the finer points of its look. He uses a 1/8"-radius round-over bit at the router to radious a smooth, rounded edge. After the router does its job the lathe is used once again for some easy sanding and polishing. Dave simply wants to refine the edge of the internal resonator. At this point it’s ready for finish, but Dave prefers a look that keeps the rim looking natural (figure F). The term "finish" is a little deceptive. The finish Dave uses does not alterthe color. He sticks to an oil-based wiping varnish to enhance the rim’s maple and padauk. The oil also creates a satisfying look for the synthetic resonator. Dave will add the rim’s hardware later, after the finish is dry.

	Figure G
	Figure H

Banjo Playing: Clawhammer Style vs. Three-Finger Style

Though the two styles share a lot of the same instruments, old-time music has a sound that is distinct from its more modern "cousin," bluegrass music. Not only is old-time typically played with a different style of banjo, the style of playing -- or "picking" -- is different as well. Banjo-builder and musician Dave Ball demonstrates the different techniques.

Clawhammer style banjo playing, which is characteristic of old-time music, is played with the back of the fingertips stroking downward on the strings (figure G). Three-finger style, the style more familiar to bluegrass fans, is played by plucking upward on the strings (figure H), frequently using fingerpicks.

In the third and final episode of the old-time banjo series, Dave will assemble the rim and the neck and set up the banjo to make it ready for play.

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

Clawhammer Style Banjo
Author: Ken Perlman
Publisher: Centerstream Publications (1989)
ISBN: 0931759331
To order this book from Amazon.com, click here.

How to Play the 5-String Banjo
Author: Pete Seeger
Publisher: Music Sales Corporation (3rd edition, June, 1969)
ISBN: 0825600243
To order this book from Amazon.com, click here.