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| Monty finishes his brackets using the oscillating drum sander |
Wow! What a great Presidents Day we had. We all made lots of progress and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. Clint and I met for breakfast at Hardee's in Meridianville at 8:21 (he treated!) and then we headed back to Banjo Boy Central. We got Winston out of the shop and moved the table saw and belt sander outside where it's easier to clean up the sawdust. Monty arrived shortly thereafter.
Monty had started making his "brackets" out of raw brass stock. This was after he had found a Web site describing a way to do this. The brackets fasten to the outside of the "pot" that in our case is the Dynaflow transmission turbine wheel. Monty had drilled and cut sections of the brass bar stock and was ready to begin sanding them to smooth them out prior to polishing. The hole that faces the pot is where a small screw will hold each of the twenty-four brackets in place. He had tapped that hole to make threads, and he also had made a small wooden handle with a screw extending from it. This way he could hold the tiny brass pieces as he finished them. Here's a before and after:
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| Before |
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| After |
While Monty got started working on his brackets, Clint and I cut the back of his neck to the profile he needs to begin shaping it. I had been able to get a new 1/8" bandsaw blade on Sunday when Mary Ann and I went to Nashville (There's a Woodcraft store in Franklin!). So I installed the new blade and we made quick work of getting Clint's profile cut.
The next order of business was of high priority. I had left the table saw set up for the shaping of the heel-to-pot surface. I wanted to complete that operation on both Monty's and Clint's necks so we could put it behind us and use the table saw for other purposes. We set up the jig and performed successful surgery on both necks.
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| Clint sets up his neck for the heel carving operation |
While Clint began shaping his neck with gouges and rasps, I began making the brass brackets that Monty had already done. This involves cutting through brass using the bandsaw. I needed to make 16 brackets. Things went well until bracket number 11. Then, "Pop!!" I broke my brand new saw blade. I think I let it overheat. So I will have to hold off on the remainder until I can replace the blade.
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| The shaped heel |
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| Clint shapes his neck |
For lunch, we tried the Firehouse Barbeque in Parks City, right down the road. It was a good lunch, but not a great lunch. I believe that Whitt's Barbeque in Fayetteville is still the Banjo Boys' favorite.
I decided to start on my dowel rod that has a 5/8" round dowel at one end and a tapered square cross-section extending about 11-1/2" on the other. I was going to use the scrap that I cut from the back of the neck. I put the 1/4" blade on the bandsaw, drew the outline on the wood, and made my cuts. Then, I sanded each flat side smooth to get rid of the saw marks. The next step would be to mount the piece in the lathe (ShopSmith) and turn the round dowel section.
When I went to mount the piece in the lathe, it split. I glued and clamped the split section and decided to use a miniature belt sander to shape the dowel portion. After about an hour, I had it shaped within a couple of thousandths of an inch.
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| Clint's peghead being shaped |
Clint spent hours shaping his neck and it looks incredible. Monty finished up his brackets and must now polish them, but they look great even before polishing. I'm happy with my progress, having re-sanded my entire neck to eliminate some scratches, and re-stained it.
It was a very productive Banjo Boy day.
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