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Banjo Build Diary: Day 8 [Replacing the Bridge]

I decided to build one of the American Banjo Kits from Carver Banjos. This is the eighth video in a series that will cover all the steps involved in building the banjo. At this point the banjo is completely finished but I swap out the bridge in an attempt to lower the action.

You can buy this banjo kit here: https://carverbanjos.com/product/americana-banjo-kit/

There's a playlist that contains all the videos in this series here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwIixlr7C6KVG1LV-W4W8KxblRgMHnzG5

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Comment by Doug Thorsvik on May 2, 2021 at 1:36am: It’s difficult to get everything perfect on an instrument. I have found the break angle over the bridge needs to be greater with nylon strings than steel strings to play correctly and it looks like if you go lower with the bridge you may introduce a new problem. If you aren’t playing in the upper register you may be at optimal playability for the given design. It is a cool banjo. I noticed you didn’t comment about how it played and sounded after your last change.

Comment by Poorness Studios on April 28, 2021 at 1:13am: Thanks for watching AD, Derek, & t-belly. Building an instrument is easy... tweaking it to the point that it's playable is hard. LOL.

Comment by Poorness Studios on April 28, 2021 at 1:11am: How do you get the bottom side perfectly straight Dave? That's always my problem.

Comment by Dave Lynas on April 27, 2021 at 10:09pm

Comment by Dave Lynas on April 27, 2021 at 10:04pm: I’ve found just making my own bridges is easy and you can make it any height. It doesn’t need to have the fancy feet shape. I just put an arch in the middle. I like a wider foot anyways. I can’t tell any difference in sound between factory and homemade.

Comment by t-belly johnson on April 27, 2021 at 8:12pm: I guess that`s the problem with kits of any kind, guitars, model aircraft even kit cars!

There`s almost always issues with them.

You get the satisfaction of actually putting something together but can`t always be fully happy with the results.

Funnily enough it`s the same for CBG`s!

At least with mine!

Comment by Derek Rose on April 27, 2021 at 2:26pm: I had similar issue with an old banjolele. Bought the shortest bridge I could find and still too tall. I cut the string slots deeper and that solved it. Didn't have to take anything off the feet. That is a great looking banjo. The Grover friction style tuners with screws/compression washers would have a nice aesthetic for that banjo too. Looks a lot like friction tuners but you can tighten down with the screw.

Comment by A.D.EKER on April 27, 2021 at 12:16pm: i use violin raizin on my uke peg tuners, to keep them from slipping. the smoother they are the sooner they slip !

Comment by Poorness Studios on April 27, 2021 at 11:56am: Indeed Dave. I have used that trick many times before but in this case it probably would not have worked. The new bridge is over 1/8" lower than the previous bridge and it's still high. I'll probably sand this one a bit but I needed something lower to start with.

Comment by Dave Lynas on April 27, 2021 at 11:43am: Sand down the bridge if you want lower strings. It’s easy and you have plenty of wood on the bridge to sand off. Belt sanders do it in a short time.