If the bridge is dishing into the head and the strings buzz no matter where you play, the head is too loose - tighten it following the star pattern you used before. Once the head is completely dry, you can attach the neck and string the banjo back up to see how it sounds and feels. Then start the pattern again at the hook next to 12 o'clock, etc., until all of the nuts have been seated. Follow a "star" pattern in tightening: start tightening at the neck area which is the 12 o'clock position, then tighten at 6, 3, and 9 o'clock. Tighten the headĪfter a final check of the alignment of the tension hoop to the brackets and hooks, tighten the head down. At this point you should still be able to stretch the skin a bit, although it's becoming more difficult. ![]() Once you're satisfied with the position of the tension hoop, attach the rest of the hooks and make all the nuts finger-tight. ![]() If necessary, you can remove the skin, re-wet it, and reinstall it. If it's too loose, the tension hoop will bottom out before fully tightening, and the skin won't have enough tension for playability.Įvery piece of skin is different and all are affected by the weather and humidity, so follow your instincts. If it's too tight when wet, it won't pull down far enough under tension and could break as it dries. Keep in mind that the skin will shrink as it dries, making it tighter. You'll need to determine your preferences through this experience. Some prefer to stretch it nearly as tight as possible, while others prefer snug but not tight. How much to stretch it depends on how tight you want the head to be when it dries. As you work, remove all of the wrinkles around the flesh hoop and the top edge of the rim. Once these are in place, you should still be able to stretch the skin tighter by tightening the bracket hooks. Keep an eye on the skin as it pulls under and through the tension hoop, pulling it through equally all the way around. Install two hooks at the neck joint end, two at the tailpiece end, and one or two on each side (at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions). This is the hard part! You need to get 6 or 8 bracket hooks over the tension hoop with just enough tension to hold the assembly together - but not so much that you pinch the skin. Fasten this to a chunk of wood, and clamp it to your workbench. To make the installation easy, fasten a temporary dowel-stick of scrap wood inside the rim. (Many traditional banjos have no tone ring in these, the top of the rim is the tone ring.) Make a support standĪt this point you have a headless rim with bracket hooks and hex nuts jangling from the L-shoe brackets. Lift off the tension hoop and remove the head, exposing the tone ring. ![]() Next, loosen the bracket hook nuts enough to remove the tension hoop, but don't remove the nuts completely - they will be needed to install the skin head. Remove the tailpiece from the rim (noting how to put it back on later). Tighten the L-Shoe bracketsĬheck that all the L-Shoe brackets are tight, and their bracket holes are squarely aligned. ![]() This will mean removing the metal rim rods or the dowel stick that support the neck. Twenty or thirty minutes is enough to soften the skin disassemble the banjo while you wait. If it floats, weigh it down using jars of water. One dozen clothes pins (wooden pins are preferable).Wrenches or screwdriver for the bracket lugs.Screwdriver for removing the dowel stick.Nail that fits the hole in the rim rods.Wrenches for the tailpiece and rim rods.View All WOODSTAX - Shop Tonewood by the Piece.View All All Hardware + Parts by Instrument.
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