I’m not a banjo picker. But then, before this afternoon I wasn’t a banjo repairman. We all have to start somewhere.

In this case, it starts with a well-appreciated (by that I mean pretty beat-up) Kay five-string banjo – which according to several websites (so it has to be true, right?) – was manufactured in Chicago in the 1960s. It came into my hands from one of our lunch guests who was thinning out his collection of musical instruments.

kay1

Over the years I’ve learned that some vintage things are held together by years of collected grease and grime. Apparently, this particular instrument was held intact by the old rusty strings. Before becoming the next Flatt & Scruggs banjo-picking sensation, I thought I’d just whip some new strings on the thing.

Tightening up the first new string, and…

POW!

kay2

The string went all slack (and decidedly non-musical). Tried several times to get some tension on the string before I finally examined the gear and tuning peg.

Well. The tiny spot where over a half century ago some craftsman connected two pieces of metal together – was broken. Probably not beyond repair, but certainly out of my superglue range of skills.

After a little further investigation, I determined that the banjo is no Antiques Roadshow segment, and would not have been even in better shape than its current state. So I ordered some tuning gears and today they arrived.

Wouldn’t fit in the banjo.

kay3

Plan B could have been:

A. “Return to the Internet” to find some other parts
B. Make the parts in hand work out.
C. Give up and just throw the darn thing away

Mostly because I love using my cordless drill, I chose B. That’s how I happen to have an image of a drill bit digging into a banjo.

Fun is where you can find it.

There is probably a special banjo hole-reaming tool out there. Probably expensive. The keep drilling with a larger-diameter drill bit method did the trick for me.

Unfortunately, the cordless drill has been in the cabinet for a time, and ran out juice shortly after taking the picture. So, I’m writing this as the battery recharges.

I hope to have the gears mounted and ready for stringing by this evening.

Then I can pop over to the music section and see if that Beginner’s Guide to Guitar Pickin’ is still on the shelf.

Come visit!

McHuston

Booksellers & Irish Bistro
Rose District
122 South Main St. Broken Arrow OK!