Hi,
Any and all comments welcome. I picked up this darling 7 inch pot, 8 string, 18 fret banjo mandolin on ebay. Her little skin is torn and she has some split lines on the fingerboard and her tailpiece has been wired on. I can not tell if the neck is bowed with only 3 strings it does not seem it. She has all of her bracket shoes and nuts. I will add more photos of her bridge and nut which both look like they are made out of wood.
Now, I know, I have read lots of discouraging things about the banjo-mandolin but I am going to make her playable. if she sounds terrible, I am going to hang her on the wall and use her as a learning experience. There are some decent youtube videos of the banjo mandolin that are encouraging. First Note - Beginner!!
Issues:
1. needs a new skin, a tiny one. Goat or calf? Where to buy? I need a banjo key to remove the skin. Do you think the one called the Gibson style on stew mac would fit or should I spring for the 3 size in one at Elderly. I found a sight from reading on the list that is called - save the banjos with a pictorial that I think I can follow and I am also armed with the Larry Sandburg book, called the Complete Banjo Repair.
2. fretboard splits. Should I follow the recent advice on this forum that suggested using the black stewmac epoxy?
3. missing part of her tailpiece which is wired on. Any suggestions? what and where can I buy to remedy this.
4. inside the pot at the top of the rim stick she is missing one of the 2 wedges. I hope this makes sense; by the top of the pot I mean where the rim stick goes through into the neck. They look like small wedges of wood that sit between the inside of the pot held in place by a triangle shaped metal bracket that screws on and hugs the rim stick with two arms. Is walnut wood strong enough to make a replacement? One is still there to use as a pattern. I will post photos of this situation in a follow up email.
5. The decorative heel plate is broken and mostly missing. Walnut again, I hope because I happen to have it.
6. The tuners seem fine, but what about strings? Any suggestions?
7. I think the bridge seems okay.. maybe okay to deal with at a later date. The nut appears to be wood and looks a tad lower in the center but once again I would like to give it a try before replacing it.
Thank-you all so much for this valuable forum.
Yvette