Building a Banjo Bridge with Steve Caddick

In this video, I walk you thru the steps and procedures I use to make a 4-string banjo bridge. I show the tools and equipment I use. Jigs and fixtures that I developed to help me make the perfect banjo bridge. Follow along as I make a Fat Foot Banjo Bridge of my own design. This design gives a balanced tonal quality across all the strings, because it is a single foot bridge with the ebony and maple made in a way that has the each string slightly separated from each others path to the banjo head. This gives each string a direct path down onto the banjo head. The holes in the bridge are designed to prevent most of each strings vibration from impeding the other strings individual vibrations. That direct path for each strings vibrations makes the tone of the banjo the best it can be!
I will be selling these soon in 3 models. A thin version for brightness, a medium thick version for mid range enhancement and a thicker/heavier version for bass enhancement. All the models will have clear tone in the range you prefer. Email me if you are interested: [e-mail] Use the words Banjo Bridge in your message title.

[@marinevet7273]

Hi Steve, what glue do you use to glue the Ebony board to the Maple Board? Thanks for the video,

[@elianu7027]

I would like to build a bridge like this but for a 6 string banjo. How do I know how to set the string spacing on the brige?

[@brasspick]

Welding torch cleaners are great for finishing out the string slots...they run from ca.$5-10

[@memoenglish1]

How important is it to use maple wood? I'm afraid maple wood is in deficiency in our quarters. What do you think I could substitute it with? How about oak, birch, mahogany?

[@jesusfirstto-the-pointendt4552]

Try virtually anything -- the denser and harder the wood, the more I enjoy the metallic, crisp banjo sound for which I also use light nickle steel strings for, and on a mylar drum head (maple runs the gamut and so I like harder maple). Softer woods give a more mellow tone catering to the lower frequencies more, like you might seek using phosphor bronze or gut/nylon/fluorocarbon strings for and maybe with a real skin drum head. I'd go with the oak if you want to approximate maple, or you could use the oak for the top stiffener strip and try mahogany for the rest for a more mellow hybrid. Also, though, you may start looking at old throw-away items with decades-old maple etc. in them. Time creates lovely tonewood. I harvested some phenomenal 50-year-old maple with classic bridge-looking medullary ray blotches. Google "grain orientation in bridge blanks", by Paul Hotstetter to understand how to cut the wood. I quartersaw or split. also google "janka hardness chart" for a good, thorough one to get a good idea up front of the hardness a.k.a. possible tone color. It's endless fun to experiment. This is a phenomenal tutorial which I'm doing next, but a great design that's easier to start with and less equipment heavy is Mike's 3 or 4 part youtube about making a bridge based on cello and/or cello banjo thoughts but great for any. To me the most crucial thing is getting the proper gauge files for the slots if I want to give or sell them to anyone else. I've eyeballed it sofar but gotten lucky with no buzz. I'll cave and get some stew mac bridge files or nut files. There's a 3 pack banjo bridge set not bad about $40

[@fivestring4653]

@@jesusfirstto-the-pointendt4552 a lot of great information you've shared here . Thank you much . I'm really wanting to build a bridge for myself and do some experimenting . I'm having a hard time finding some really old maple though. 100+ year old range. Do you have any suggestions on where to find very old maple like this ? Thanks again for sharing

[@jesusfirstto-the-pointendt4552]

@@fivestring4653 Hello! This is Tina. That was my husband, Jeff. I'll let him know to respond to you. Peace and Love to you and yours!

[@fivestring4653]

@@jesusfirstto-the-pointendt4552 thank you Tina . I was fortunate enough to find a piece of maple 100's of years old I was told from over in Clearwater , FL at Coast to Coast lumber . I'm hopeful it'll turn out to be good but I'm still looking for more because I want to do a lot of experimenting. Thank you for replying and the well wishes . Same to you both

[@jesusfirstto-the-pointendt4552]

@@fivestring4653 Oh awesome... Jeff here, now, hehe -- I collected a bit of old maple from parts of free pianos, sometimes inside, structurally. You can I.D. it pretty well esp when you cut at different angles and see not only the grain but the little check marks that are only visible at a certain axis. It gets easy to identify and bridges are fun to make and share. Another place was old beds, hit and miss but a hit gets a piece with 100 bridges in it, hehe. And then there was a 1938 table saw I got. It had a "fence" that was easily replaced with other lumber so I could cannibalize the piece of aged maple off of it. So many people want big pices for things, but making small parts we can really cash in sometimes. For the very top (not that they don'tsound good plain, actually) I try various things but, not to sound cliche, but I must admit nothing does better than a thin sliver of old ebony. I got a whole envelope of century-old ebony keys off an old foot-pump organ. Etsy I believe. But just a key can easily get you a couple pieces for the top, even after the saw eats a healthy chunk away. Best wishes but be careful. After I wrote the above I cut the end of my finger off. I made a nice, old drill press into a light duty wood milling machine with a cross vice and some end mills. I made jigs to hold wood level etc. I thought the tool was off and sitting still (my air compressor was loud) but it was sitting still and I reached in for the finished bridge and took the end of the tarsal bone tip off the finger and everything. The nail is growing back in now, just a little stumpy. It's my strumming hand, fortunately (not that I played well to begin with). Best wishes

[@MatthewZmusician209]

Hello can you please play "zipity doo dah zipity day" in the tenor banjo please! :) I want to
Get a tenor banjo

[@djreag8614]

NEEDS BRIGHTER LIT SHOP

[@kennkid9912]

Kind of over complicated. Just an opinion. Not a criticism.Most people don't have such a shop.

[@banjopa]

It took me a while to assemble all these tools. I am talking years of experimenting. But, since I have them, I'll use them. Makes for a great bridge!

[@kennkid9912]

Nice shop.I could misrepresent bandsaw, to resaw thin wood,like for banjo pots.You Texas much?

[@kennkid9912]

I could use a bandsaw.The computer alters sentences.

[@anthonykinrade8642]

Get one.