The brackets and hooks that provide the tension to pull down the tension hoop and tighten the head, are a distinctive part of the look of a banjo. Some banjos have a lot of brackets, but I prefer the look of fewer. I decided on a total of 14, which is about the fewest I have seen in photos. The brackets that hold the hooks are attached to the rim with bolts. I needed to lay out and drill holes for each bracket. I took the circumference of my rim and divided by 14 to get the spacing between brackets. I marked this spacing on a piece of painter’s tape then placed the tape on the rim to mark out the holes.
Marking for bracket holes
I checked my spacing using the hardware just to make sure it looked alright and to make sure there was enough room for the neck to pass between the hooks without being crowded.
Checking bracket spacing
I center punched the marks and drilled the holes.
Center punch
Holes for brackets
The bolts for the brackets are a little too long for the thickness of my rim so I need to grind each one down a bit.
Original bolt on the left and a shortened one on the right
One L-Shoe bracket installed
Head of bracket bolt as seen from inside the rim
Recent Comments