Thanks very much! I'd say it's on the high side since I made the rim fairly thick, but the real fancy banjos have giant cast bronze tone rings which weigh a ton. A big part of why I like the banjo is that they feel very solid.
Nothing but admiration for you that was a incredible build mate and loved your response to every problem that you faced during the build and the sheer determination displayed when a lesser person would have given up.
Hands down one of the best RU-vid videos I've ever seen in effort, skill, creativity, quality of tutorial, editing, jokes, personality and end result. Totally killed it.
You could have saved some time not reinventing the wheel but using techniques from drum building. At start, that's what you were making, a segmented drum shell.
I am so impressed with tour skills! From woodworking to metal work! I would extremely proud to show this fine instrument off! Thanks for showing us your process.
Fantastic project, enjoyed every part, including fabricating your own tools. You're a very talented man & kudos to you for seeing it through. I've made a few rudimentary mountain banjos but nothing as complex as this. Hope you have many hours of enjoyment, I couldn't be without playing mine most days. Geof
Wow. That wasn't a build as much as it was a journey. I found it tremendously interesting. The banjo looks and sounds absolutely great. My hat is off to you, sir.
I admit I am envious. The making of the banjo. The making of the tools for it. The 8-bit graphics for the video... not to mention having learned to play the damn thing and here I am feeling having accomplished something after cleaning my desk... Where do you people take the motivation and energy?
I think a problem with videos like this is that it looks like I built the thing in no time at all, with it all condensed into a single video. But it took me a good while to do all this! I half cleaned my desk a few days ago and felt i'd accomplished something too, but it's already back to being a mess...
Simon Heslop Well, that does mollify me a bit. Still, you have my respect. I have a saxophone hanging on the wall that I am going to learn some day. At least I keep telling myself that.
This is the archetype of "I don´t have this specific tool i need so i am going to build it really fast." but then it devolves into a project all by itself. :D But great work man.
Snazzy! Super! Great job! Everytime I have to hide some wonky angle of a smash-mark I did, I remember an old carpenter saying: "Putty and paint, makes me the carpenter I ain't!". Your covering those happy mistakes made it awesome-er.
7 Great craftmanship, and ingenuity. I didn't know about the offset on the neck for the truss rod. I thought the making of the hardware was really ingenious, although I would have thought the tail piece would have been made out of brass sheet. I have made a four string, split tail backpacker guitar, and a wood top banjo, with piezo pick-up. The pickup will pick up conversations, like a mic. The wood top was from an old drawer bottom from a scrap piece of furniture, that had been thrown out for heavy hauling.
Hooray, you're back, and you still include the fuck-ups you make along the way in the videos. Entertaining and educational at the same time. Thanks! Also, neat title cards.
You did an amazing job. I love watching people use the "wrong" tools and getting such great results. Bloody nice work! Thanks for the inspiration and wonderful ideas.
wow fantastic i wish i had your tools ive made a few banjos but not the the hooks n lugs to though. Its intresting that you found the hex method of neck shaping the best too ive always used on banjos. guitars.dulcimers. and so on. a pleasur to watch and what a lovely sound
A major great job! You work like I do. A bit quickly and sometimes mistakes happen. But, you learn to be creative and fix it all up. Its a lot of fun problem solving. It all looks good in the end! Also, your bench looked to be a wee bit messy! Just like mine! Congratulations on a job very well done! Tim
It really is great to see perseverance, I thought the fret board and the burl head plate are awesome. the tail piece is a bit on the heavy side and you can make a new tension ring (somtime) but it still sounded like a great instrument. :-)
Amazing work! There are very few people left on this planet that actually make everything on their own and create jigs, tools and hardware. Well done :)
Fantastic video Simon! I especially appreciate how you showed what worked and what didn't. I'd love to be able to make a banjo like you've done. Thanks for taking the time and putting in the effort to share your experience.
Taking the term 'building a banjo' to the extreme. Excellent stuff. As a guitar builder I wouldn't even dream of doing things like making my own rasps so good on you. Very clever stuff
This was seriously the most amazing video I've seen in a long time. I wasn't expecting you to make every single bit of hardware on your own and I am simply stunned. Keep it up!!!
LOL You are indeed an amazing guy my friend ! I was thinking of building a banjo my self and found your video. I have to laugh because your actual amazing skill seems to lie in making machines , clamps , holders and the like to facilitate making each piece. An unbelievable machinist , I,d say. I am the opposite... more artist than mechanical..... but I certainly did learn a fantastic amount from you ! Thanks for bothering to film your creation . ( I,m happy to see there are guys like you in this world !..... and beautiful instrument too ! )
Brilliant work! It came out stunning! I wish I could say you made it look easy... looks like quite the project, but worth it nonetheless! Thank you for showing it off, as much as anything I loved the interim graphics!
Hat's off to you Sir! What a great project and video. I particularly appreciate your candid commentary. Thank you so much for sharing, and keep up the clawhammer too - it sounds nice :-)
LOVE IT! This is how a video would look if I made one ... "I made this thing. I kinda mucked it up but it'll work"! Shame you dont post videos anymore.
