Gourd Banjo Making

My process for building a gourd banjo, in this case a flat-back bottle gourd. I pretty much use the same process for canteen gourds, only “cupping” the end of the heel to fit against the gourd.
All tunes recorded on #111, the banjo featured in this video. It along with #112 were essentially twins, heading to Helsinki, Finland for Esa and Jukka.
Drew some of the tunes from Adam Hurt’s “Earth Tones” album - felt it was fitting as it’s the album that got me into listening, playing, and eventually building gourd banjos.

[@UkeEsa]

Hi Noah, that´s my banjo! Thanks for sharing the process. It´s even nicer to play that banjo after seeing how it is made.

[@steveallerton9124]

A life well spent ! Thank you.

[@librandy77]

One day I would really like to try and play a gourd banjo… nicely made, very well done sir.🪕🪕🪕

[@CliftonHicksbanjo]

👍👍

[@jasonw4053]

Soon as that waiting list opens back up, im putting myself on it. I dont want a banjo from anybody else, and if i can play it 5% as good as you, ill consider it a major win.

[@terryfinley7760]

Great job Noah!

[@bearshield7138]

Thank you for doing this

[@ronmarkell4436]

Can’t decide whether I enjoyed watching you work, or hearing you play more.

[@Jrhnhemp]

A perfect mix of qulity education and entertainment! Well done Sir!

[@andyman1532]

I second that!

[@quailcreekbanjos]

From one builder to another: you’re the man.

[@NoahCline]

Thanks, Lindsay!

[@guitzanin]

Great! Thanks!

[@stevesadownpicker1519]

Hi Noah thanks for sharing, extremely beautiful gourd banjo! Sounds amazing and great playing as usual!

[@trackie1957]

Just sent you an email via your website asking how you do it, then I found this video. My next question is sourcing gourds and head skins. I have been making cigar box guitars and ukuleles, plus a few mountain dulcimers, but you have inspired me to try some of these!

[@andrewh7385]

Mesmerizing.. thanks for sharing.

[@fralin1966]

Youre playing is a work of art !!!

[@NoahCline]

Ha! Thanks!

[@karlstine2065]

Beautiful

[@joannebaum5459]

Oh I liked seeing how it was made...I like #94 even better now...happy spring Noah

[@Cj12sings]

I 👍agree you the Man on building

[@dennisscanlin1458]

Thanks for making and sharing this video. I like the format with the playing behind the video and text. It works great and is very engaging to watch. Very nice playing too. I wish you much success in all your endeavors.

[@NoahCline]

Thanks, Dennis! Much appreciated.

[@NoahCline]

Just commenting again. Thanks again for your feedback - at least I know I’m doing something right!

[@JKWvideos1000]

Is it made with love?

[@NoahCline]

Love, blood, sweat, tears, and maybe a bad word that formed in the back of my mind, as Ken Davis would say.

[@trackie1957]

I’ve watched this about a dozen times and each time another question is answered, but two more come up! I just got my skins and gourds and am about to rip into this plank of mahogany I have been saving. I’m thinking of using birch wooden frets (toothpicks) that can be sanded or planed level after I’ve learned to play a bit. They are very comfortable. Do you slacken the strings between playing to avoid stretching the head or is that not a problem? Oh, yeah - do you apply any finish to the gourd or head? I’m thinking garnet shellac would look good on the gourd…

[@NoahCline]

I tend to lay the bridge down when not playing for long periods. There’s thoughts on either side as to whether there’s any benefit to the longevity of the head over time, but I’ve noticed doing so has shown some benefit. To me, having the bridge down over long periods of time allows for the head to adjust to temperature and humidity changes more evenly than with it up under string tension. Day to day may not show much difference leaving it up, unless the weather changes drastically. On normal open back banjos with skin heads, I don’t feel the need to lower the bridge since the skin can be adjusted tighter than on a tackhead. As for the frets, you could always put flush frets on it, which is a best of both having the finger placement as well as the fretless aspect intact. I’ve generally used a fret saw to cut slots as normal for metal frets, and then glue in thin strips or veneer of a contrasting wood. Depending on the thickness you may have to open the slots up some with a slightly thicker blade, like a coping saw. I have finished some of the wooden flat-back bottle gourds with a clear stain and Deft spray-on lacquer finish with good results. I’ve not put anything on the heads except for coffee grounds or walnut hulls while soaking to stain the head. I’ve seen some gourds coated in shellac (I think Clifton Hicks showed one where he had used it to finish the exterior).

[@trackie1957]

@@NoahCline Thank you so much for the time you took to write this reply! I’ve got two bottle and one canteen gourds all washed up and ready to go. This is going to be fun! I think I could learn a lot from a short conversation with you. I’ll email my phone # via your website. Again, the gift of your time is most generous and appreciated.

[@NoahCline]

I just sent you a reply earlier to your last email I received the other day. I’ve been traveling so that was why I was delayed with responding.

[@drewby613]

Awesome job. I love the sound of these gourd banjos. The wood mountain banjos seem to have too much mass in the pot, and they tend to sound muffled. The gourds have the strength but much less mass, and project beautifully. I’m trying the pull information together to make one-with minimal equipment. I’ll def be referring back to this one. What did you use the Superglue for in peg installation? I missed something there.

[@NoahCline]

Thanks. Pegheds have threads towards the upper end of the shaft under the spindle (the part the string wraps around), and require a tapered hole to install, and are threaded in place. The super glue on the threads just helps to keep them in place after seating them. The bass side pegs have a left-handed thread, while trebles have a right-handed thread, so the tension of the strings keeps the rotational force in the direction of the threads, respectively. Usually once glued and seated, they don’t move or loosen, at least in my experience.

[@drewby613]

@@NoahCline Got you. Thanks for that!

[@NoahCline]

No problem. Hopefully I wasn’t too long-winded or detailed with my response lol.

[@drewby613]

Watching this again and things are making more sense now. But your playing! Just wonderful, and the banjo sounds so fantastic. It appears that the shim between the dowel and the front (entrance) hole of the gourd is really all that is holding the neck secure against the gourd other than string tension, and perhaps the snugness of the fit of the dowel in the butt of the instrument. Do you go for a tight fit there (where the dowel exits the gourd), or is not critical?

[@NoahCline]

I try to go for a snug fit at both holes, though sometimes if the gourd is softer and my knife goes a bit deeper than intended, then that’s when I implement shims glued on the dowel at the heel end. At the tailpiece end if it’s a bit loose, I may add shims glued on the inside of the hole, but honestly if it’s a bit loose on the tailpiece hole, the string-tension on the tailpiece would keep it secure enough. Overall, the string tension and snug dowel fit as you mention is all that keeps these together as there really isn’t a way to add a wedge (like on some early open back banjos) through the dowel at the heel side. I guess you could run a wedge or pin on the outside of the tail-end of the dowel wedges against the gourd, but isn’t really necessary (unless one likes to overbuild stuff).

[@drewby613]

@@NoahCline Thanks! I'm so glad I came back to this video. My first build is finally moving along after tons of equipment delays, and my neck is very close to done, so I'm thinking ahead to making the holes for the dowel in the gourd. (Still very preoccupied with the issue of string height in connection with this step, but none of the builders seem to stress about it.) You have a lot of great tips in here, and it's been very helpful. And as noted, you're playing on Wandering Boy is just heavenly. Def going way up on to-learn playlist.

[@jasrwhite]

What a treat to see your gourd making accompanied by your playing! Wow, what a beautiful instrument, build video and collection of tune performances. I have to confess, I was a little concerned for a moment upon noticing uneven string spacing, until I saw that you didn't have the 1st string seated in it's nut slot. Haha. Thank you for sharing the video and for doing what you do. Keep up the great work! Now for the obligatory question. Are these A scale instruments?

[@NoahCline]

They’re both 24” scale. Some might consider this to be on the upper end of an A-scale, or maybe an Ab scale. I usually consider 23”-23 1/2” to be the usual A-scale range. Thanks

[@jasrwhite]

@@NoahCline 24" would work for me too!

[@trackie1957]

What kind of glue do you use for the skin? I use Elmer’s original white glue or original Titebond for most everything.

[@NoahCline]

I’ve always used Elmer’s wood glue for them and for anything wood-wise. I’ve considered trying Titebond, but I guess I’ve used Elmer’s for so long it’d be hard to change now.

[@dpgfla]

Hey Noah. I may be getting in a little over my head here but I'm wanting to try my hand at building one of these gourd banjos, fretted in the 23" scale and I was hoping you could answer a quick question regarding neck glue-up. Would you happen to know the rough dimensions of your neck blank prior to cutting out the side profile? I was planning on the heel/dowel combo such as you have in this video but using wenge instead of walnut. Possibly even a thin strip of wenge sandwiched between 2xcherry for the neck/headstock. Thanks!

[@NoahCline]

I tend to make my blanks around 27” long x 2 1/4”-2 1/2” wide x 2”-2 1/4” tall when going for a regular hole and tenon dowel stick construction. I go for a bit longer than needed blank to deal with planer dips on either end when thicknessing the boards. For one like I show in this video, the blank could be made 1 1/4”-1 1/2” tall, and then the heel/dowel piece would be 3/4” thick by whatever the width is that you go with. Then you can cut the dowel out to whatever width you want, tapered, etc. (I tend to go for a tapered dowel that’s 1” wide at the heel to about 3/4” at the end, leaving about an 1”-1 1/4” sticking past the gourd, though longer can and has been done before). If doing this method, a block will have to be added to the back of the peghead to create scarf joint in order to have it angled down (I like 15-degrees which is plenty). I like a length of at least 2”-2 1/2” of heel for this glue joint before cutting it out to give plenty of glued surface area. You could always drive a wooden dowel or two through this joint, or screws counter sunk and plugs added on top for additional support, though with the lower tension of the nylon strings, it shouldn’t pose a problem with just using glue. For an A-scale you could go a bit shorter, but for an A-scale like this you could go a bit shorter. I tend to butt the blank against the gourd, and then based on the scale length I want to go with I’ll see where the bridge position looks the best (I like it to be about 1/3 from the tailpiece end to bout quite in the middle), then I note the distance from the heel to the bridge (and compensate a little bit for the final heel fit), and then I mark the nut position, marking it on the top and then on the side using a square. Then I draw out the rest of the profile that I want.

[@dpgfla]

@@NoahCline Wow, thank you for taking the time to type out that explanation. You answered questions I hadn't even thought to ask. Much appreciated!!

[@dpgfla]

Thanks again for answering my questions here. I just finished up my first gourd banjo and i'm pretty excited with how it came out. And what a therapeutic process it was!

[@NoahCline]

No problem. Glad it turned out nice and you enjoyed it along the way.

[@toddcorey3190]

Where did you get your conical rasp? Building my first banjo now

[@NoahCline]

I think from a flea market, possibly.

[@vrai3078]

Im growing bottle gourds for my grandfather because he is a luthier ,we are going to make a guitar out of a similar sized gourd ,the only difference is that it won't have a skin like a banjo but a wooden top ,is there anything you would recommend? ,as this is the first time we are making an instrument with a gourd

[@NoahCline]

I don’t see why it’s not doable. I’ve considered making a guitar as well, leaving the upper bout cutout open to act as a sound hole (with or without a side sound hole as usually done on gourd banjos). You could leave the back natural or cut it as I have for this banjo and place a piece of wood on as well. And, if you have a gourd that’s more teardrop shaped, you could slice the top off full length giving it a lute or mandolin/mandola shape. I would probably recommend doing a neck-through or dowel running the full length of the gourd like I have done here as I don’t think there would be enough room to attach a neck using the usual dovetail method some guitars are built with.

[@vrai3078]

@@NoahCline thanks a bunch! ,I had never heard of some of those techniques ,i'll keep them in mind :D

[@manuelgomez1768]

It's an afghan Tar lute!!

[@NoahCline]

Quite similar, yes.