His skill levels run pretty high in a variety of individual crafts running the gamete from woodworking to silversmith/jewelry and a whole range of crafts in between. Wyatt's dowel stick ferrule required a fair amount of planning, at least it would for me. This is a Vega Style N 17 fret banjo neck and dowel stick off a 1926 Vega banjo. I used a graver to start the grooves that allow it to be folded where you want it to fold, but a scribe will work ... just keep scribing along a straight edge until you have a deep enough line for the file to grab. Thanks for looking and best of luck! Once everything was lined up and center was found, we then moved the banjo neck up, so that the fretboard would be flush with the banjo head. The Banjo Challenge; Find a Teacher. Weekly newsletter includes free lessons, favorite member content, banjo news and more. I didn't have much of a way to hold the ferrule while filing the creases, double faced tape works OK ... but it does want to rotate some, so you have to be careful and take your time. Take your playing to the next level with the help of a local or online banjo teacher. The hardware is beautiful but the ferrule is way too large to use on the neck stick. Banjo Dowel Ferrule, nickel plated brass, 9/16" square internally and 5/8" square externally, it is made to slide on to the dowel, helps to prevent damage to the dowel while enhancing the look of your banjo by making tidy join between the dowel and rim. Payments expected within 48 hours Returns accepted if item is not as described Vintage Bacon Banjo Dowel Stick Brace Banjo Dowel Hardware. I have a 12 volt dremel type rotary tool that's low RPM and it works great for polishing. I bought these parts for a "1926 Vega mandolin banjo". If you've done it right, it should look like this.. Friom this point you just need to dress the surfaces flat and polish them. ... All Forums Other Banjo-Related Topics Shopping Advice: ARCHIVED TOPIC: vega style dowel stick ferrule. This was done with a piece of metal, a jeweler's saw, a 3 corner file, a hammer, a 5/8" cold chisel that I used as a mandrel, and sanding sticks ...my home made version of an emery board. The dowel stick hole can be drilled either before or after the neck has had its radius cut. This part took the longest, only because we wanted to make sure we go it right. Actually, the part I forgot to describe is how ... you basically fold it over the dowel stick initially, then use the mandrel to get the corners nice  and square. Is it just decorative, or does it prevent splitting or what? Maple Fretboard - 26 3/16 scale - 22 fret. The level of craftsmanship evident here on the hangout never ceases to amaze me and how these talented folks were attracted to banjos is another wonder. The maple dowel stick held up just fine. I just had a similar "little" project making stainless steel brackets to invisibly hold a wooden armrest on a new banjo, I had a lot more leeway in that they didn't show (there's some pics of the armrest on my home page). Shaped, inlaid, fretted and finished—feels and plays great! Thanks... Dave. So there was a bunch of trials on other pieces of wood, before we drill the holes for the dowel stick. Ball End for use at end of Dowel Stick USD $ 4.50 – USD $ 4.55 View Product Details. One question, how to avoid bashing up the dowel stick when using the dead blow hammer to "fold" that metal around the stick? The 3/4″ sides will face the front and back of the banjo. If you continue, we will assume that you agree to our privacy policy which includes details of cookie usage. £48.50 Add to Cart. I got to the backside of this thing and had to saw little triangular pieces off of each side to even it up. The dowel stick brings the banjo neck and the banjo rim together. I turned the dowel end on a maple 1 x 1 and glued it into the neck drilled dowel hole. I could have used some instructions on the neck brace, but I managed. Finish Type: Nickel Plated, Raw Brass. Hide these Google ads: join the … Block Maple 11-inch Rim - Stained brown I have to finish John's banjo tonight but I wanted to share this. Grooved tension hoop. For old-time "dowel-stick" neck-to-rim attachment. The pattern could use tweaking. Once you have the last 2 surfaces folded, the ones on the underside, yopu can stake them in place with a center punch. Square, nickel plated sleeve for the tailpiece end of an openback banjo dowel stick. If you continue without changing your settings, you're agreeing to receive all cookies on the StewMac website. (Thanks to Frank Ford of Gryphon Music for that tip). I was surprised how reasonably you can get a good enough beginner open back banjo from Amazon. The completed "crease" should be half the thickness of the material. Weekly newsletter includes free lessons, favorite member content, banjo news and more. All Forums The Old Timer - Posted - 04/25/2011:  07:52:09. I started out by locating a piece of my german silver and the pattern, which I'll scan and make available in my photo albums for anybody who wants to try this. Handcrafted Dowel Stick Hardwoods 1/2-inch copper ferrule 5/8-inch dowel Custom Neck Brace Exotic wood Steel pin reinforced Other hardwoods or laminates available I made this one as a friendly gesture for a customer whose banjo stayed here way too long. I've a few banjo projects in the works and one required making a new dowel stick for a banjo neck. Take your playing to the next level with the help of a local or online banjo teacher. Handmade Cherry neck, rim and dowel stick. The only problem I had was that I wrung off the screw of the endbolt during installation and had the rim stick permanently attached with no way to adjust string height. Again, just scribe the line right off the dowel stick you'll be using. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. I needed a dowel stick ferrule for my friend's Cole's butterfly neck, and wanted to use the early style. I'll do that later. I have an openback with dowel stick and would like to shim it as the action is too high. The neck is starting to take it's… Banjo Lovers Online. Thanks for showing all the stuff lately. Mar 2, 2015 - The banjo dowel stick brings the rim and the neck together. It also adds a nice dressed appearance for the inside of your new banjo rim. This week, Don MacRostie invents a new technique for an old technology: he shows how to accurately install a banjo dowel stick.  ARCHIVED TOPIC: make your own Fairbanks style "long" dowel stick ferrule, Please note this is an archived topic, so it is locked and unable to be replied to. Scribe around the pattern and cut it out with the jeweler's saw. We use cookies on our website to make sure you get the best experience. Bonuscup98 - Posted - 04/26/2011:  07:46:16. If you continue, we will assume that you agree to our privacy policy which includes details of cookie usage. Ferrule – Dowel Stick. Many banjos feature a steel rod that serves as a dowel stick. wfawley - Posted - 04/25/2011:  19:02:34. Also, the neck should cover the place where the outermost lamination of the rim meets itself, so try to center the hole on that joint. Peghead Nation Instructor Evie Ladin sku: BA53. Additional information. This material was probably about .015 thick, and the grooves were half that deep, so it folds right over. Perfect scale for this banjolele project. What would be a ballpark price to have another one like that crafted? All hardware is unplated brass. Your hardware finished the job and made a nice tight neck on my banjolin. DVD-quality lessons (including tabs/sheet music) available for immediate viewing on any device. This is an unique style of banjo mute. Dec 25, 2017 - August 16.2019 As I'd mentioned before, the Vega that I'm working on had fret slots that were no longer holding the frets in. 5/16″ Hex Open Ball End Tension Nut USD $ … I think. That metal looks fairly thick... Wyatt makes stuff like this look way easier than it really is. All Rights Reserved. The ledge that is cut into the end of the neck is the tension hoop rabbet. The End Pin Screw holds the other end of the dowel stick firmly against the inside of the rim. No issues with the dowel stick. Nice job Wyatt! Dowel Stick Banjos Banjos with dowel sticks are more difficult to adjust than those with coordinator rods because the dowel itself isn’t adjustable.