I did it! After 3 heart attacks, 1 stroke and 4 pairs of trousers I now have railroad spikes on my banjo! My tip for anyone who is brave/stupid enough to take a drill to their instrument is don’t underestimate the need for the feeler gauge, would have definitely saved me from 2 of the heart attacks the stroke and saved a pair of trousers. I used an old credit card, which nearly became a permanent feature of the banjo.
Thanks, I have to do this today when I get to the shop. Been repairing guitars for many years but never did this job before. Feeling pretty confident thanks to your video.
1/32" = 0.03125", in case your drill set is marked in thousandths. Great vid, I'll be using it to install some spikes that arrive with my Twanger, which is out for delivery as I type! Spikes will go on a couple of my other banjos.
Thanks for posting this video! You did a fantastic job of explaining what you were doing, as well as telling us why you did it. This video will be great to show someone wanting spikes to help them understand what will be happening to their baby when I install them. Excellent!
So, it would be helpful to list the things you need first so we can gather all that stuff before watching: So 1. Pencil 2. hammer 3. finish nail 4. dremel with 1/32" bit 5. railroad spike 6. file 7. punch 8. 12 thousandth gauge (what?) or credit card. Otherwise, very helpful.
Thanks for this. Isn't it "dangerous" to place the opening of the spike downwards? I learned that it should be upwards so the the string cannot slip out due to "intense" playing ;-) ?
Is it the same to aim them up or down? I feel that downwards, with the force of the thumb, the string could come out of place. Thank you! excellent work
I have one banjo where the top of the spikes point one way, a second where they point the other way. I did one, a luthier did the other. Both approaches work equally well for me.
I’ve been looking for this information for ages! Living in Brazil, it’s kinda hard to come by this kind of content, since I didn’t even knew what words to use when searching on google! Do the spikes interfere with your “normal” playing in any way? Is it hard to press on a fret with the spike installed near it?
This is great, thank you Ben. A quick question, I have a spike for my 5th string, not a bone or nylon version and has worked its way loose. My closest Luthier is 100,s of miles away, do you or your followers have a solution. Many Thanks Chris (Oxford UK)
Super glue in the hole then put the spike back quickly. It should stay. Or get wood dust the same color as the fret board. Mix it with titebond wood glue. Then fill the hole and allow to dry. Redrill
Now, what happens should your drill breaks? How do you take it out? and please explain the depth of the drill hole. Is it drilled the full length of the spike or just a little bit to start the spike
@@Phoenixhunter157 I pulled my spike out and put some loctite super glue in the hole and put the spike back in the hole. It’s still holding six months later. You might have to tap the spike a little bit with a hammer and nail set. The glue came from Walmart. It was under three dollars. I hope this helps.
Followed the instructions per your RU-vid video and installed spikes at the 7th and 9th frets. When I got it back in tune the 5th string was muted. The string was hitting the spike at the 9th fret. I used the proper feeler gauge when I installed the spikes. What now?? Where did I go wrong?