Tag Archives: activities week

Activities Week at Royal High School

Royal High School ‘Activities Week’, May 2012

This project is the blueprint for what I hope will be achieved with BanjoWorks.

In May 2012, the normal teaching timetable at The Royal High School, where I then taught, was suspended and pupils were given the opportunity to try other activities. I offered eleven S2 and S3 pupils the chance to build a banjo in five days.  Nine out of the eleven completed their instruments by the end of the week.  The two who didn’t were each absent due to illness for at least one day during the week but completed their banjos afterwards.

To ensure that pupils would succeed in completing their banjos within the week required a fair amount of preparation and a small amount of pre-building by the teacher.  A more realistic, leisurely time frame, with pupils carrying out almost all work themselves, is probably seven to eight days.

Some workshop photos were taken during the week and are available at Royal High CDT’s Flickr account:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cdtlog/sets/72157630027181072/

Sixth year pupil Stuart Clark visited the workshop on the Friday and made the following video recording:

The week after the event, some of the pupils assembled to have group photos taken.  Here is a video recording made then:

Here are two group photos:

Banjo week participants, June 2012

Banjo week participants, June 2012

Banjo week participants, June 2012

Banjo week participants, June 2012

Photos and video recordings of pupils’ banjos are available as follows:

Robert Ody

Iain Lowther

Stefan McGee

Felix Allan

Michael Hackett

Juliette Goddard

Marcus Watt

 

Michael Hackett's Banjo

Michael Hackett’s Banjo

Michael was one of my pupils at Royal High.  He almost completed this banjo in a single week, in May / June 2012, when the school’s usual teaching timetable was suspended and pupils were offered a selection of alternative activities.  Michael was in year S2.

I marked out and rough cut the neck and instrument stand at the band saw, but Rob did almost all the rest.

The rim (pot) was turned on the wood lathe from twenty-four hardwood segments of a tropical hardwood. The neck was formed from a tropical hardwood.  The peg head veneer is walnut.

Calf skin was soaked in coffee, to accentuate its natural colour variations, then stretched over a brass tone ring and fixed to the rim with furniture tacks. The brass tone ring was formed in school from 6mm round bar, bent using a ring roller. Its ends were soldered together at the brazing hearth.

Guitar fret wire has been used instead of banjo wire, as it’s easier to press in place than banjo fret wire. The neck was fixed to the rim using cast aluminium brackets (cast in-house) and hardwood wedges. Steel strings were fitted.

The instrument stand is made from 4mm birch plywood.  Its components are a friction fit, and easily dismantle for transportation in an instrument bag. Bicycle rubber inner tube has been glued to the plywood, to prevent the banjo being marked by the stand.

High Resolution photos of the finished banjo, along with construction images, are available at Royal HIgh CDT’s Flickr account:

 https://www.flickr.com/photos/cdtlog/sets/72157630095463722/

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Rob Baird's Banjo

Rob Baird’s Banjo

Rob was one of my pupils at Royal High.  He built this banjo in a single week, in May / June 2012, when the school’s usual teaching timetable was suspended and pupils were offered a selection of alternative activities.  Rob was in year S2.

I marked out and rough cut the neck and instrument stand at the band saw, but Rob did almost all the rest.

The rim (pot) was turned on the wood lathe from twenty-four hardwood segments of a tropical hardwood. The neck was formed from a tropical hardwood.  The peg head veneer is walnut.

Goat skin was soaked in coffee, to accentuate its natural colour variations, then stretched over a brass tone ring and fixed to the rim with furniture tacks. The brass tone ring was formed in school from 6mm round bar, bent using a ring roller. Its ends were soldered together at the brazing hearth.

Guitar fret wire has been used instead of banjo wire, as it’s easier to press in place than banjo fret wire. The neck was fixed to the rim using cast aluminium brackets (cast in-house) and hardwood wedges. Steel strings were fitted.

The instrument stand is made from 4mm birch plywood.  Its components are a friction fit, and easily dismantle for transportation in an instrument bag. Bicycle rubber inner tube has been glued to the plywood, to prevent the banjo being marked by the stand.

High Resolution photos of the finished banjo, along with construction images, are available at Royal HIgh CDT’s Flickr account:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cdtlog/sets/72157629606863796/

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marcus_watt_banjo_6267b

Marcus Watt’s Banjo

Marcus was one of my pupils at Royal High.  He built most of this banjo in a single week, in May / June 2012, when the school’s usual teaching timetable was suspended and pupils were offered a selection of alternative activities.  Marcus was in year S2.

I marked out and rough cut the neck and instrument stand at the band saw, but Marcus did almost all the rest.

The rim (pot) was turned on the wood lathe from twenty-four hardwood segments of a tropical hardwood. The neck was formed from a tropical hardwood.  Marcus didn’t get round to adding a decorative peg head veneer.

Calf skin was soaked in coffee, to accentuate its natural colour variations, then stretched over a brass tone ring and fixed to the rim with furniture tacks. The brass tone ring was formed in school from 6mm round bar, bent using a ring roller. Its ends were soldered together at the brazing hearth.

Guitar fret wire has been used instead of banjo wire, as it’s easier to press in place than banjo fret wire. The neck was fixed to the rim using cast aluminium brackets (cast in-house) and hardwood wedges. Steel strings were fitted.

The instrument stand is made from 4mm birch plywood.  Its components are a friction fit, and easily dismantle for transportation in an instrument bag. Bicycle rubber inner tube has been glued to the plywood, to prevent the banjo being marked by the stand.

High Resolution photos of the finished banjo, along with construction images, are available at Royal HIgh CDT’s Flickr account:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cdtlog/sets/72157629927329335/

Unfortunately, at the time I was making video recordings of pupil banjos, Marcus had already taken his home, so there isn’t one.

Robert Ody Turning His Banjo's Rim

Robert Ody’s Banjo

Robert was one of my pupils at Royal High.  He built most of this banjo in a single week, in May / June 2012, when the school’s usual teaching timetable was suspended and pupils were offered a selection of alternative activities.  Robert was in year S2.

I marked out and rough cut the neck and instrument stand at the band saw, but Robert did almost all the rest.

The rim (pot) was turned on the wood lathe from twenty-four hardwood segments of a tropical hardwood. The neck was formed from a tropical hardwood and a walnut finger board.  The peg head veneer is also walnut.

Robert Ody's Banjo

Robert Ody’s Banjo

Calf skin was soaked in coffee, to accentuate its natural colour variations, then stretched over a brass tone ring and fixed to the rim with furniture tacks. The brass tone ring was formed in school from 6mm round bar, bent using a ring roller. Its ends were soldered together at the brazing hearth.  You can see from the photo above that the tone ring wasn’t completely circular.  All the same, the instrument sounded fine.

Guitar fret wire has been used instead of banjo wire, as it’s easier to press in place than banjo fret wire. The neck was fixed to the rim using cast aluminium brackets (cast in-house) and hardwood wedges. Steel strings were fitted.

The instrument stand is made from 4mm birch plywood.  Its components are a friction fit, and easily dismantle for transportation in an instrument bag. Bicycle rubber inner tube has been glued to the plywood, to prevent the banjo being marked by the stand.

High Resolution photos of the finished banjo, along with construction images, are available at Royal HIgh CDT’s Flickr account:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cdtlog/sets/72157629971233977/

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Felix Allan's Banjo

Felix Allan’s Banjo

Felix was one of my pupils at Royal High.  He built this banjo in a single week, in May / June 2012, when the school’s usual teaching timetable was suspended and pupils were offered a selection of alternative activities.  Felix was in year S2.

I marked out and rough cut the neck and instrument stand at the band saw, but Felix did almost all the rest.

The rim (pot) was turned on the wood lathe from twenty-four hardwood segments of a tropical hardwood. The neck was formed from a tropical hardwood and a walnut finger board.  The peg head veneers are purple heart.

Calf skin was soaked in coffee, to accentuate its natural colour variations, then stretched over a brass tone ring and fixed to the rim with furniture tacks. The brass tone ring was formed in school from 6mm round bar, bent using a ring roller. Its ends were soldered together at the brazing hearth.

Guitar fret wire has been used instead of banjo wire, as it’s easier to press in place than banjo fret wire. The neck was fixed to the rim using cast aluminium brackets (cast in-house) and hardwood wedges. Steel strings were fitted.

The instrument stand is made from 4mm birch plywood.  Its components are a friction fit, and easily dismantle for transportation in an instrument bag. Bicycle rubber inner tube has been glued to the plywood, to prevent the banjo being marked by the stand.

High Resolution photos of the finished banjo, along with construction images, are available at Royal HIgh CDT’s Flickr account:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cdtlog/sets/72157629927322527/

Juliette Goddard's Banjo

Juliette Goddard’s Banjo

juliette was one of my pupils at Royal High.  She built this banjo in a single week, in May / June 2012, when the school’s usual teaching timetable was suspended and pupils were offered a selection of alternative activities.  Juliette was in year S2.

I marked out and rough cut the neck and instrument stand at the band saw, but Juliette did almost all the rest.

The rim (pot) was turned on the wood lathe from twenty-four hardwood segments of a tropical hardwood. The neck was formed from elm; there isn’t a separate finger board.  The peg head veneers are burr elm.

Calf skin was soaked in coffee, to accentuate the natural colour variations, then stretched over a brass tone ring and fixed to the rim with furniture tacks. The brass tone ring was formed in school from 6mm round bar, bent using a ring roller. Its ends were soldered together at the brazing hearth.

Guitar fret wire has been used instead of banjo wire, as it’s easier to press in place than banjo fret wire. The neck was fixed to the rim using cast aluminium brackets (cast in-house) and hardwood wedges. Steel strings were fitted.

The instrument stand is made from 4mm birch plywood.  Its components are a friction fit, and easily dismantle for transportation in an instrument bag. Bicycle rubber inner tube has been glued to the plywood, to prevent the banjo being marked by the stand.

High Resolution photos of the banjo are available at Royal HIgh CDT’s Flickr account:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cdtlog/sets/72157630033284569/

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Stefan McGee's Banjo

Stefan McGee’s Banjo

Stefan was one of my pupils at Royal High.  He built this banjo in a single week, in May / June 2012, when the school’s usual teaching timetable was suspended and pupils were offered a selection of alternative activities.  Stefan was in year S2.

I marked out and rough cut the neck and instrument stand components at the band saw, but Stefan did almost all the rest.

The rim (pot) was turned on the wood lathe from twenty-four hardwood segments of a tropical hardwood. The neck was formed from two different tropical hardwood; there isn’t a separate finger board.  The peg head veneer is oak.

Calf skin was soaked in coffee, to accentuate the natural colour variations, then stretched over a brass tone ring and fixed to the rim with furniture tacks. The brass tone ring was formed in school from 6mm round bar, bent using a ring roller. Its ends were soldered together at the brazing hearth.

Guitar fret wire has been used instead of banjo wire, as it’s easier to press in place than banjo fret wire. The neck was fixed to the rim using cast aluminium brackets (cast in-house) and hardwood wedges. Nylon (Nylgut) strings were  fitted.

The instrument stand is made from 4mm birch plywood.  Its components are a friction fit, and easily dismantle for transportation in an instrument bag. Bicycle rubber inner tube has been glued to the plywood, to prevent the banjo being marked by the stand.

High Resolution photos of the banjo are available at Royal HIgh CDT’s Flickr account:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cdtlog/sets/72157629606765300/

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iain_lowther_banjo_6040b

Iain Lowther’s Banjo

Iain was one of my pupils at Royal High.  He built this banjo in a single week, in May / June 2012, when the school’s usual teaching timetable was suspended and pupils were offered a selection of alternative activities.  Iain was in year S3.

I marked out and rough cut the neck and instrument stand at the band saw, but Iain did almost all the rest.

The rim (pot) was turned on the wood lathe from twenty-four hardwood segments of a tropical hardwood. The neck was formed from elm; there isn’t a separate finger board.  The peg head veneers are burr elm.

Goat skin was soaked in coffee, to accentuate the natural colour variations, then stretched over a brass tone ring and fixed to the rim with furniture tacks. The brass tone ring was formed in school from 6mm round bar, bent using a ring roller. Its ends were soldered together at the brazing hearth.

Guitar fret wire has been used instead of banjo wire, as it’s easier to press in place than banjo fret wire. The neck was fixed to the rim using cast aluminium brackets (cast in-house) and hardwood wedges. Nylon (Nylgut) strings were fitted.

The instrument stand is made from 4mm birch plywood.  Its components are a friction fit, and easily dismantle for transportation in an instrument bag. Bicycle rubber inner tube has been glued to the plywood, to prevent the banjo being marked by the stand.

High Resolution photos of the banjo are available at Royal HIgh CDT’s Flickr account:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cdtlog/sets/72157630034387183/

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