DIY Network

Old-Time Banjo, Part 9: Decorative Inlay and Engraving From "Handmade Music" episode DHMM-209

	The engraved inlay in the banjo's ebony peg-board.
	The mother-of-pearl inlay gives an opalescent sheen.

NOTE: Images on this page may be enlarged for enhanced viewing simply by clicking on them.

This third installment of DIY's three-part Handmade Music series focusing on the old-time banjo explores the final steps in building this traditional instrument. Dave Ball is the luthier in this three-part series, and his reputation for building beautiful instruments comes in part from the stunning examples of fingerboard and peg head inlay.

In this episode he demonstrates the painstaking process of selecting patterns, cutting abalone shell, embedding cutouts into the ebony, and engraving each piece while looking through a microscope.

After adding frets to the fingerboard, Dave returns to the rim to prepare for joining the neck and rim. First he clamps the banjo head in place with hardware to create a "drum." Then he combines neck, a rim, and dowel stick -- all elements made in the preceding two episodes -- to complete the banjo. Like many of our luthiers on Handmade Music, Dave prefers French polish to finish his instruments and he demonstrates how the techniques works beautifully on a natural oil finish. After strings are added, Dave's band "The Mumbillies" join him in a demonstration of traditional old-time music.

This first segment covers Dave's meticulous and exacting techniques for installing and engraving the the inlays.

advertisement

Matthew Ball, son of banjo builder and musician Dave Ball, breaks in the newly made old-time banjo with some traditional style playing.

Recap

In the two preceding episodes, viewers discovered Dave's technique for cutting and carving a maple neck for the banjo. The neck also required veneer and ebony added to the fingerboard and peg head, and we've watched as Dave completed those projects. He then crafted a banjo rim.

After sizing a maple cylinder, Dave added a tone ring made from an African hardwood called padauk and then added an internal resonator to the rim.

The next phase focuses on enhancing the style and appearance of the banjo's ebony fingerboard with fret inlay (figure A). "It's one of those things that's traditional on banjos," Dave says, "but it's one of the things that really separates one maker's work from another."

The first step for Dave is to select and lay out templates (figure B). In this case he works basically from a template based on one of his earlier inlay creations.

Figure A

Figure B

Inlay an Engraving

There's also room for changes and additions withinin each new design. This particular banjo will incorporate a custom design of a gargoyle pattern in crescent-moon shape (figures C and D) that will be built into the peg-head.

Figure C

Figure D

Once the design is chosen, Dave selects the material from a range of pieces of mother-of-pearl (figure E), looking for pieces of the right size as well as matching color and angle of refraction. After careful selection, Dave shapes the pearl to match the templates. He first scribes each pattern onto its matching piece (figure F).

Figure E

Figure F

Next he cuts along the outlines with a jeweler's saw (figures G and H). Once the patterns are cut, he places each shell on the fingerboard at its predetermined location, and he temporarily glues them into place.

Figure G

Figure H

Next he scribes around the pearl pattern to create an outline directly onto the ebony fingerboard (figure I). He then rubs chalk into the resulting etched lines. His next step is to create cavities to embed the pearl in the ebony using a very small router and 1/16" router bit (figure J).

Figure I

Figure J

To route out each cavity, he makes two passes. The first is just, as Dave says, to "hog-out" the bulk (figure K). The second pass trims much closer to the chalk outlines (figure L). Each inlay should fit precisely into its cavity -- not so tight that it risks breaking the pearl, but not overly loose.

Figure K

Figure L

He then glues the pearl in place with blackened epoxy (figure M and N). The blackened epoxy serves two purposes. It holds the pearl in the cavity and fills in the miniscule space between the outside edge of the inlay and the inside edge of the cavity . Once the area is sanded, the blackened epoxy will closely match the color of the ebony, and should not be visible.

Figure M

Figure N

Figure O

Once the glue has hardened, Dave sands the fingerboard flush (figure O). When he's done, he wants the pearl to be as shiny as glass. Preparing the pearl this way also lays the groundwork for the next step, which is engraving the inlay.

Engraving requires three things: the proper tools, a lot of time, and an amazing mix of artistry and skill. A microscope allows Dave to create subtle detail in the pearl inlay (figures P and Q).

Figure P

Figure Q

Normally engravers use a tool termed a "pushgraver," but Dave uses a custom tool known as an airgraver with pneumatic assistance(figures R and S).

Figure R

Figure S

Figure T

The enhancements are revealed after rubbing a lacquer-stick across each pattern (figure T). The black lacquer settles into the nooks and crannies, and it marks the successful completion of painstaking custom-inlay work.

	Host Jeff Wilson plays an old-time banjo at the Museum of Appalachia.

Not all banjo makers bother to engrave their inlay, but given Dave' passion for detail, he feels that the results are worth the extra effort.

In the segment that follows, the frets are installed on the banjo neck and the banjo rim is completed.

RESOURCES :

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

Woodturning Projects: A Workshop Guide to Shapes
Author: Mark Baker
Publisher: Guild of Master Craftsman (2004)
ISBN: 1861083912
To order this book from Amazon.com, click here.

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.

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

GUESTS :

Dave Ball
Luthier
Knoxville, TN