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Installing
Railroad Spikes in a Banjo Neck, page 2 We need to mark
the locations of the spikes as our first step.
I do this with the small hand drill loaded with a bit that is about half
the diameter of the spikes I’ll be using.
I mark the
locations in the middle, centered between the frets and directly below the
string and here is why: #1, This
pulls the string out of tune WAY LESS than having the spike up close to the fret
as is traditionally done. #2, It
allows you to fret the 5th string without giving you a false, flat
note off the head of the spike instead of the fret.
#3 (and my favorite), it makes it easier to hook! Here is
something I also seem to be the only person doing.
I point my spikes, all of them, toward the rest of the strings.
I know, I know, you are supposed to alternate them or some silly
something like that. Well, I say
no. I know you will get used to
whatever you have but with all the spikes pointed in the same direction, you
will not have to look or think about which fret you are working off you will
just set the string. Here is my last
public thought on the subject: Some
people have asked me if the string will slip out because you are picking it in
that direction? No.
It isn’t possible. You can
not, no matter how hard you try, pull the string out from under the spike from
anywhere over the head of the banjo. I
believe the string would break first. I
have tried.
Onward The drill bit
needs to be about half the spikes diameter for rosewood and a little bigger for
ebony (maybe 60 % of the spikes diameter due to the ebony being a lot harder). Here is how the
marks look. Notice I worked around
the diamond inlay in this banjo. Never
place a spike in a piece of inlay if you can help it.
The photograph on the left shows me marking the locations of the spikes
and the photograph on the right shows the marks themselves.
I always mark first and double check things before proceeding.
Remember, twice measured once cut is a good rule of thumb.
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