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Musicmakers MOUNTAIN BANJO KIT, Assembly Instructions Manual

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Musicmakers MOUNTAIN BANJO KIT Assembly Instructions Manual Download Page 13

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13 

FINE ADJUSTMENTS

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).  

Whenever you adjust the neck, you need to loosen the 
upper cap screw first to allow the angle to be changed 
by the lower cap screw.  The lower screw determines 
the playing “action” or height of the strings off the 
fretboard when they are not pressed against a fret.  
Use the 5/32” Allen wrench for these adjustments.
We like to set the strings so they have a gap of about 
3/16” at the last fret (near the body).  Then tighten the 
upper screw again to hold the neck firmly in place. 

NUT GROOVES

Check the height of the strings at the 1st fret too.  We 
like a gap of about 1/32” under the strings at the 1st 
fret (that’s about the thickness of a credit card).  You 
can file the grooves in the nut a little deeper to lower 
the strings at this end, as needed.  This will make the 
strings easier to press down to the frets.

SKIN HEAD TENSION

Skin head tension is a matter of preference.  Basically, 
a tighter head will produce a brighter tone with lon-
ger sustained ring, and a looser head will produce a 
more muted tone with shorter sustained ring.  Use 
the 5/32” Allen wrench to adjust the 7 capscrews indi-
cated on the photo for tightening or loosening the 
skin head.

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:

Loosen neck

Adjust neck angle

Loosen/Tighten 
skinhead

FIG. 32

Summary of Contents for MOUNTAIN BANJO KIT

Page 1: ...5th String 5 Escutcheon Tail Pins 3 Drill bits 1 16 1 4 3 8 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 HARDWARE a Main Body b Back ...

Page 2: ... pressure is applied Too little glue may cause the parts to separate later whereas too much glue makes things messy Always keep a damp rag handy for quick cleanup as necessary It is especially helpful to keep your fingers clean while gluing because gluey fingerprints have the embarrassing tendency to appear on the finished product in prominent places ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS INSTALL MARKING DOTS OPTI...

Page 3: ...ots fig 3 Use a hammer to lightly tap the fretwire into the slot until the crown of the fret contacts the wood sur face Your fretwire may be slightly curved but it will straighten as you tap it in FIG 4 Clip off the excess wire close to the edges Then use a flat mill file to file the ends flush and smooth with the wood A belt sander also works well for smoothing the ends of the fretwire it is soft...

Page 4: ...e blackwood nut to stand on the flat surface just before the taper of the peghead as shown here The fretboard will butt up against the nut and the purpose of the nut will be to hold the strings at the correct spacing and height above the frets Use a pencil to mark where the fretboard should end next to the nut fig 7 Before gluing the fretboard in place it really helps to install a couple of tiny b...

Page 5: ...top of the neck and place the fretboard on it mak ing sure the burrs fall into the div ots made earlier Clamp the whole length of the fretboard making sure a little glue squeezes out along the entire length on both sides You don t want to have any gaps between the fretboard and neck Use a wet towel to clean up excess glue before it dries fig 12 ____10 ____9 FIG 12 FIG 13 FIG 14 When the fretboard ...

Page 6: ...to 180 grit for finer smoothing This will prepare the instrument for finishing A random orbital sander will hasten this process dramatically NOTE It is smart to keep the back ring screwed to the main body while sanding so you smooth and shape the outside of those parts equally OPTIONAL If you want to decorate the body of your banjo this would be a good time to do that work Some people enjoy carvin...

Page 7: ...acquer for their finish The most readily available lacquer is called Deft Clear Wood Finish It is best to purchase a can of liquid to brush on as a sealer coat first and then use an aerosol can of the same product to spray on the final coats The advantage of this finish is its quick drying time but the disadvantage is the strong odor of the toxic lacquer fumes FINAL ASSEMBLY AND STRINGING When the...

Page 8: ...sh it down about 1 8 or so Fit the blackwood nut against the narrow end of the fret board and shape it down to match the illustration here fig 17 It should stand at least 1 16 above the surface of the fretboard and the top can be sloped downward toward the peghead for easier filing of string notches This wood sands very nicely if you lay your sandpaper on the table and rub the wood across the pape...

Page 9: ... 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 Install the truss rod cover with the small black screws pro vided Use a 1 16 drill bit to dril...

Page 10: ...s will be off center in the middle of the fretboard but that s OK We are allowing room for the short 5th string Lay a long straight edge between these two center points and down to the bottom of the body Mark where the line ends at the bottom and extend it over the edge and down an inch or so on the side of the body Use a ruler to draw a perpendicular line on the side of the body and to mark 5 poi...

Page 11: ...nter of the peghead fig 28 You will probably need to make some adjustments at the back of the banjo to get this first string to hang properly above the fretboard Use the 5 32 Allen wrench to loosen the long screw at the top of the body in back by just one turn or so Then switch the wrench to the screw below it and tighten that screw as you watch how the neck moves The goal is to push the peg head ...

Page 12: ...h of about 1 4 and insert the slotted screw so it will hold the string in its slot Then you can install the 5th string having it wrap around the tuning peg fig 30 FIG 30 5th fret Banjos use what is called re entrant tuning This means that the top string string 5 is tuned higher than the next string down string 4 M I D D L E C4 A3 F3 B3 D3 E3 G3 F2 B2 C3 G2 A2 E4 F4 E5 D5 C5 D4 A4 G4 B4 String 5 St...

Page 13: ... of the strings at the 1st fret too We like a gap of about 1 32 under the strings at the 1st fret that s about the thickness of a credit card You can file the grooves in the nut a little deeper to lower the strings at this end as needed This will make the strings easier to press down to the frets SKIN HEAD TENSION Skin head tension is a matter of preference Basically a tighter head will produce a ...

Page 14: ...the last fret with the other at the same time you should see a slight gap between the string and the fret located about at the mid point This gap known as relief can be adjusted by turning the truss rod with the allen wrench pro vided Just be careful not to force the truss rod too hard you don t want to break the rod Your goal is to have about 1 32 to 1 16 space under the string in the middle when...

Page 15: ...ce the shape on your peghead 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 What is the difference between a macaw and a banjo One is loud obnoxious and noisy the other is a bird What is the definition of a genteleman Someone who can play the banjo but doesn t Why are there no banjos in Star Wars Because it s set in ...

Page 16: ...Musicmakers 14525 61st ST CT N Stillwater MN 55082 ...

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