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MOUNTAIN BANJO KIT
Assembly Instructions
C
HARDWARE
1 Textured Plastic Skin Head
1 Wood Tone Ring
1 Set of 5 Banjo Strings, Loop-end
7 Pearl Marking Dots, 1/4" dia.
48" Fretwire
4 Planetary Banjo Tuners (straight)
1 Tuner for 5th String
1 Blackwood Nut
1 Needle File
1 Bridge, 5/8"
1 Slotted Screw for 5th String
5 Escutcheon Tail Pins
3 Drill bits, 1/16", 1/4", & 3/8"
Updated April 2019
D
A
B
Musicmakers
14525 61st ST CT N
Stillwater, MN 55082
3 Tiny Nails
1 Leather Scrap, 3/4" X 1-1/2"
9 Wood Screws, #8 X 1-1/2"
7 Hex Drive Cap Screws, #10-24 X 3/4"
1 Hex Drive Cap Screw, #10-24 X 1-1/4"
1 Washer, #8
8 T-Nuts, #10-24 (installed in Back Ring)
1 Allen Wrench, 5/32"
1 Hardwood Driving Block
1 Double-Action Truss Rod, 18"
1 Truss Rod Cover w/3 screws
1 Assembly Instructions
WOOD PARTS
a) Main Body
b) Back Ring
c) Neck w/peghead
d) Fretboard
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Related Manuals for Musicmakers MOUNTAIN BANJO KIT
Summary of Contents for Musicmakers MOUNTAIN BANJO KIT
- Page 1 MOUNTAIN BANJO KIT Assembly Instructions Updated April 2019 WOOD PARTS a) Main Body b) Back Ring c) Neck w/peghead d) Fretboard HARDWARE 1 Textured Plastic Skin Head 3 Tiny Nails 1 Wood Tone Ring 1 Leather Scrap, 3/4” X 1-1/2”...
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Page 2: Before You Begin
BEFORE YOU BEGIN 651-439-9120 _____A. Inventory and inspect all your parts careful. If anything is miss- ing or defective, please call or email right away. INFO@HARPKIT.COM _____B. It is a good idea to read through the entire assembly instructions before you start, just to get an overview of the project. - Page 3 ____2. Use 5-minute epoxy or medium Superglue to glue the pearl dots into the wood. Press them down until flush if the hole is deep enough. If not, you can sand them flush after the glue dries. Start with 100 grit sandpaper, and finish off with about 180 grit, using a flat sanding block to keep the playing surface flat.
- Page 4 INSTALL THE TRUSS ROD FIG. 6 ____5. Install the double-action truss rod into the slot of the neck, as shown. (fig. 6) Be sure to orient the barrel nut toward the peghead, and down against the bottom of the slot! Press the truss rod into the slot until it is firmly seated.
- Page 5 ____8. Gather a few clamps, a flat scrapwood clamping block, and some padding material. (fig. 11) The type of clamp doesn’t matter so much (spring clamps, c-clamps, cam clamps, etc.) Just don’t rely on weights to do the job because you cannot adjust pressure where you need it with weights.
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Page 6: Final Sanding
The wide end of your fretboard is square, and it may extend a little beyond the supporting part of the neck. This is fine, as it will not interfere with the body, but you may sand a curve to match the end of the neck if you wish. You may also scallop the topside to give more strum- ming space under the strings at that end. - Page 7 OIL or WAX -- Oil finishes will give your wood a low luster appearance, bringing out the nat- ural color of the grain, but it tends to soak into the wood and appear dry and “thirsty” after awhile. Some people are fond of a beeswax finish for a natural look, but it can show water spots if it gets wet, so you may end up needing to re-wax or touch up the surface in the future.
- Page 8 extra holes ____14. Now you can assemble the body with the skin head FIG. 16 and tone ring as shown at right, using the nine wood screws provided (No glue). IMPORTANT: Take care to orient the parts correctly! (fig. 16) The two extra holes in one part of the back ring should be centered over the large slot in the main body.
- Page 9 FIG. 19 Remove the white button and nylon washer from the tuner so you can slide the hardwood driving block over the shaft. (fig. 19) Tip the neck on edge and move to the corner of your work table so you can tap the 5th gear down into the hole. Be sure to pad the underside of the neck -- the small leather scrap included with the kit works well for that.
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Page 10: Install The Strings
INSTALL THE NECK ____20. Now you can install the neck into the body. It should be a tight fit. There are 2 cap screws left in your kit -- one longer FIG. 24 than the other. The long one needs the washer. Screw that one into the hole closest to the top edge of the body and into the hole in the tang. - Page 11 ____23. We include a leather scrap to protect the body of the banjo FIG. 27 from being scratched by the strings as they pass over the bot- tom edge. Use masking tape to hold the leather in place as you install the strings.
- Page 12 INSTALL THE STRINGS (CONT.) ____27. Once the first four strings are installed, you can FIG. 30 plan the placement of the 5th string. It will be cra- dled in the groove of a tiny slotted screw provided in the kit, as shown in this drawing. (fig. 30) 5th fret Use an awl to punch-mark the location for the slot- ted screw, as shown below.
- Page 13 FINE ADJUSTMENTS FIG. 32 Now we recommend doing some fine adjust- ments on your banjo. This instrument allows complete adjustment of the neck, the skin head, and the string action. Here are some sugges- tions: NECK ANGLE The entire neck can be adjusted (tilted) forward or backward with two capscrews in back of the body, where the tang enters the body (see arrows on pho- to).
- Page 14 TRUSS ROD: The truss rod is used for achieving a relatively flat playing surface on the fret- board. We don’t want it perfectly flat, however, because that can cause some string buzzing. Remember that the truss rod works in two different directions, you can use it to put a slight hump in the middle of the neck or to put a slight dish in the middle.
- Page 15 PEGHEAD TEMPLATES Here are a few peghead templates. You can cut these out and trace the shape on your peghead. Follow whichever curved lines you like best. Note that some will be easier to cut and sand than others. If you aspire to be a banjo player, best to develop a sense of humor now! Why do banjo tunes have names? So you can tell them apart.
- Page 16 Musicmakers 14525 61st ST CT N Stillwater, MN 55082...