Build Your Own Banjolele!

My wife had been dropping hints that she wanted a banjo or a ukulele for Christmas, and let’s just say that subtlety is not her most developed characteristic. I started looking around a bit and found a hybrid instrument called a banjolele, which is a banjo with a ukulele neck and strings. It sounded kinda cool and because I didn’t have to choose one or the other it sounded perfect. As I was shopping I thought I could probably build one and started gathering materials. I found I was really enjoying the project and wondered if I could simplify the project a bit and make a couple for my young nephews. Something sturdy enough to withstand boyhood shenanigans and still sound decent without being too loud, after all I love their parents too. What I came up with was really fun and fit the bill perfectly, and having had so much fun building them wondered if I could build one for my niece (different parents) that would fit the one board challenge. I think it came out even better! Hope you have as much fun with it as I did.

Supplies

Materials:

1 straight 2x4 stud

Wood glue

linseed oil

oil-based paint (optional)

fret wire (or suitable substitution)

tuning pegs

Ukulele strings

small scrap of hardwood, antler, or store bought bridge and nut

carbon paper (optional)

Tools:

saw for making straight cuts ( miter saw, circular saw, cross cut saw, etc.)

Saw for making shaped cuts (band saw, jig saw, coping saw, etc.)

belt sander (not essential but makes things much faster)

palm or orbital sander
hard block sander

meter stick

bar clamps

Planer (optional)

wood burner (optional)

razor knife

Pencil

Step 1: Select Your Shape and Size

My niece is into sugar skulls, so I searched of one I liked and printed it. I also thought that using a skeletal fist would be interesting for the head and printed one of those too. The ones I made for the nephews were superhero themed and my wife’s was an octagon. Your imagination is the limit, just keep in mind that if you or someone you love is going to want to play this, it needs to be comfortable to hold. If it’s going to be an art piece that hangs on a wall, go wild!

You will also need to decide on the sound you want, the longer the neck, the lower your tone. This one is a soprano and the length from the bridge to nut is 21 inches. I’m working on a bass and it will be about 36 inches long.

Step 2: Measure and Cut Your Board

For the candy skull banjolele I cut two 16” pieces and one 28” piece.

Step 3: Glue and Clamp

This step is simple but there are some important considerations. First the choice of glue, I used original tight bond, this is because it is a good modern alternative to horse hide glue which was the traditional bonding agent for making stringed instruments. It is water soluble which allows you to take it apart to make repairs, however this instrument has no resonance chamber so a waterproof glue could also be used. In the past I would have worried about not having a mechanical bond like screws, dowels, or biscuits, but after properly gluing and clamping I have in a similar project, I was unable to separate the pieces at the joint without cutting.

Next lay the pieces out long one in the middle, if you flip the short pieces over, as the wood cures, it will help keep it from cupping or warping. Apply a generous amount of glue on the edges and then clamp them together, flushing the three pieces on one end. Be sure to set it on some news paper or other disposal surface to cure for 12 to 24 hours before removing the clamps.

Step 4: Clean Surface

You may use a chisel to remove excess glue and then sand it down to even out the boards. You may also run it through a thickness planer if you have one available.

Step 5: Find Your Center and Draw Your Shape

Measure the width and find the half way point, mark it and find the midpoint on your image. Put a piece of carbon paper behind your image, center it on your board and tape it down and trace your image onto the board. If you are artistic feel free to free draw a design onto it instead. Then draw on the neck and head. This neck is 1 1/2” wide, if you have thick fingers making it wider may make it easier for you to play. I used the same process used on the body to draw a skeletal fist for the head.

Step 6: Cut Out Your Banjolele

I find that a bandsaw worked very well to cut out the basic shape, a scroll saw would also work well. If you have the patience for it you could also use a coping saw.

Step 7: Neck and Head

Next you will need to flip it on it’s side and sketch out the depth of your neck and head, the neck needs to be thick enough to take the strain of the tight string and thin enough to be comfortable to hold. You should probably not go thinner that 5/8 of an inch. Also remember your head will need to be angled down so the strings will stretch into place. Go back to your saw and cut it out.

Step 8: Sanding and Shaping

A belt sander is very useful for this step. It will quickly remove kerf marks from the saw and help you get your desired shape. Be careful it is easy to take off too much. Block sanding will help keep your straight surfaces. At this point you may do most of your finish sanding.

Step 9: Add Decoration

Remember the image and carbon paper from step 5? Re-tape them and draw on the details. Once it was transferred to my banjolele, I chose to wood burn the image into the wood, then because I like seeing the wood grain I took oil based paints and thinned them down with linseed oil to add color. I think it gives it an old fashioned white washed feel rather than the super clean vibrant look of modern paints. This is also a good time to oil your banjolele. Be liberal and let it soak in, when it cures it hardens which helps protect your instrument in the future.

Step 10: Bridge and Nut

Quick definitions:

Bridge (that’s the piece on the body where the strings attach)

Nut (the part the strings go over between the head and the neck)

These pieces need to be hard. You can buy them, and that may be easiest, otherwise you will need some small scraps of hardwood, or in the case of this build, I used a bit of a shed deer antler I found, which I think really goes with the theme. I cut the antler at 2 1/2” then cut it down the center lengthwise. One half was my bridge, the other I cut to 1 1/2” and that was my nut. The bridge I then sanded down to about 3/8” and the nut to about 1/4”. The nut is placed first and goes at the transition between head and neck. And the gets channels cut in the entire width across the bottom starting 5/8” from each end and then 7/16” from each end, each cut being about 1/8” deep. This is where your strings will slide through a single kerf width (the width of the cut your saw makes) should be adequate. Set your widest string in the cut to be sure. Now cut a very shallow grove across the top of your bridge opposite the channels you cut into the bottom. Your strings will sit in these on their way to the nut and stay in place while you play. Center the nut next to the bridge then mark the nut to cut the same groves into it. Then drill and countersink two small holes on both sides of the bridge and two more between the groves for the 1st and 2nd strings and between the groves for the 3rd and 4th strings in the nut. Glue and screw the nut at the transition between the head and neck. Center the bridge on the body 21” from the nut and attach is as you did the nut.

Step 11: Measure Measure Measure

If something is going to go horrifically wrong, it will be in this step. You will need very precise measurements or you banjolele will not sound nice when you are done. First of all you will need to look up a fret calculator online. I use the one from Stew-Mac and I also buy a lot of my specialty items from them as well. https://www.stewmac.com/fret-calculator/ this is a great resource and will work for virtually all stringed instruments. You will need to decide on your scale length, in this case it is 21 inches, however I find converting it to metric at this point is very helpful, it’s a lot easier to find 35.5 mm than 1.71 inches. So i set the placement of my bridge (that’s the piece on the body where the strings attach) and the nut (the part the strings go over between the head and the neck) at 21” apart and the converted 21” to millimeters, which is 533.4 mm. The fret calculator will give you very precise measurements for the placement of each fret from the nut and from the previous fret. Always measure from the nut! If you measure from the previous fret every one after will be wrong and it will be very hard to fix. Measure from the nut and double check that measurement from the location of the previous fret, then if something is wrong you should be able to catch it before cutting the slots for your frets. I used a meter stick and set it against the nut and used a razor knife to mark each location. If you can get it to within half a millimeter it will sound good.

Step 12: Cut for Your Frets

It is important to use a very fine kerfed saw for this step. This means that the blade leaves a very narrow cut width. This helps keep your frets tight and exactly in the correct place. I was able to purchase this nice Japanese style saw from my favorite big box lumberyard for about $10 and it has quickly become a favorite. I placed the saw in the cut made by the razor getting it placed exactly in the proper position. Then I used a combination square against the side of the blade to make my cut square to the neck which worked very well. As for the depth I cut till the saw teeth were just covered, about 1/8”. In previous builds I used brass rod for frets and used a small rotary tool to cut channels to lay the rod into and glued them. This worked well but I found that actual fret wire was similarly priced so I have switched to fret wire which installs faster and easier.

Step 13: Frets

Installing frets is quite easy, you flush one end to the side of the neck setting it in the channel cut in the previous step. Then you tap it in, be sure to use a non-marking hammer, a small steel head hammer will work if you are gentle, but you do risk denting your frets. Black rubber mallets will probably leave black marks on the neck so a wooden mallet or a hard plastic one like the one I have will be ideal. Also because I was using pine in this build I used a toothpick to add a little glue to each channel before setting the fret. While it may not be necessary I feel confident the frets will stay in place. Once they are set go ahead and use you block sander to smooth the edges of your frets, nobody wants to get them snagged on clothes or hurt their fingers on the sharp edges.

Step 14: Tuning Pegs

Installing tuning pegs is the final part of the actual build. You can get them from stew-Mac, amazon or your favorite music store. They can be tricky to place properly, the easiest way I’ve found to place then well is to remove the screw holding the little gear and rod on the frame and then setting them on the back of the neck and marking when the holes will need to be drilled. Drill the holes, my pegs required a 1/4” hole which is pretty standard, but check yours to be sure. Then they can quickly be reassembled and installed with a small screwdriver. Then your banjolele is ready for strings!

Step 15: Stringing and Tuning

Now it’s time to install the strings, you run it through the bridge and tie the them off, up over the nut and through the hole in the tuning peg. The start tightening away. There are plenty of tuning apps that will help you choose the stringing order you want and will get it in tune. Don’t worry when it falls out of tune quickly, the strings will stretch a lot after you first install them. Soon it will hold a tune well and you or your delighted friend you made it for will be picking and strumming away. They are loud enough for you to hear them, but quiet enough to ignore while the kids are learning. I hope you have fun with this project no matter its final home. Cheers!