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  • Another interesting project

    From Snag@21:1/5 to All on Wed May 17 17:12:05 2023
    I got a call the other day from a guy that builds banjos ... yes ,
    he's a banjo builder . Anyway , he builds up the body band with 3 layers
    of wood , apparently steamed wood to get it to bend that tightly . The
    end result of our conversations is that I'm going to build him some
    compression bands to pull the bent wood tightly to a core form . I'll be
    using stainless steel since most wood glues leave an ugly black stain in
    the wood if they come in contact with mild steel . And I'll get to hone
    my rudimentary SS welding skills . TIG on , men !

    --
    Snag
    "You can lead a dummy to facts
    but you can't make him think."

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From David Billington@21:1/5 to Snag on Wed May 17 23:38:45 2023
    On 17/05/2023 23:12, Snag wrote:
      I got a call the other day from a guy that builds banjos ... yes ,
    he's a banjo builder . Anyway , he builds up the body band with 3
    layers of wood , apparently steamed wood to get it to bend that
    tightly . The end result of our conversations is that I'm going to
    build him some compression bands to pull the bent wood tightly to a
    core form . I'll be using stainless steel since most wood glues leave
    an ugly black stain in the wood if they come in contact with mild
    steel . And I'll get to hone my rudimentary SS welding skills . TIG on
    , men !

    I was watching a program about the UK guitar maker Atkin https://atkinguitars.com/story/ recently and it showed them forming the
    sides of the guitar and that was done using a heat band to heat and
    soften the wood so it could be pressed and bent to the side contours.
    They mentioned that it was not heated too long or it could start to burn
    or discolour the wood, just enough to get the bend done, looks more
    extreme than a banjo. IIRC the heat softens the lignin allowing it to
    become more pliable probably the same as steaming.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Snag@21:1/5 to David Billington on Wed May 17 18:55:01 2023
    On 5/17/2023 5:38 PM, David Billington wrote:
    On 17/05/2023 23:12, Snag wrote:
      I got a call the other day from a guy that builds banjos ... yes ,
    he's a banjo builder . Anyway , he builds up the body band with 3
    layers of wood , apparently steamed wood to get it to bend that
    tightly . The end result of our conversations is that I'm going to
    build him some compression bands to pull the bent wood tightly to a
    core form . I'll be using stainless steel since most wood glues leave
    an ugly black stain in the wood if they come in contact with mild
    steel . And I'll get to hone my rudimentary SS welding skills . TIG on
    , men !

    I was watching a program about the UK guitar maker Atkin https://atkinguitars.com/story/ recently and it showed them forming the
    sides of the guitar and that was done using a heat band to heat and
    soften the wood so it could be pressed and bent to the side contours.
    They mentioned that it was not heated too long or it could start to burn
    or discolour the wood, just enough to get the bend done, looks more
    extreme than a banjo. IIRC the heat softens the lignin allowing it to
    become more pliable probably the same as steaming.


    I have little experience with steaming or heating wood to bend it .
    The little I did turned out OK but nothing special enough to write home
    to mother about . This young feller has a couple of national pickin'
    trophies on his shelf . Decided to start making them instead of playing
    them and is apparently quite successful . Anybody want to guess how much
    a handmade banjo sells for ? I really have no idea , but I'm guessin'
    it's well into 4 figures . This guy's work is exquisite , and I say that
    from a background of building high end custom commercial millwork .
    --
    Snag
    "You can lead a dummy to facts
    but you can't make him think."

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)