Theron's Panjolele

thingiverse

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0BdOHb5xiY -Three strings -Concert Ukulele Scale (15" from nut to bridge) -Major Scale Fretting (like a dulcimer) -Banjo Shaped Body (aluminum mess kit frying pan) -Friction Fit Tuning Pegs -Tuned at a fifth and an octave from the lowest string I wanted something I could take camping and that would be super easy to play. A mess kit pan, a bit of wood, a screw, couple clothes hangers and some strings and I've got a great little throw around instrument. Instructions Neck When selecting the neck wood, remember that in this design it includes the head, fretboard and runs through the body. I used a 22" long piece of 1.5" x .75" red oak. You may shape the neck starting at 4.25" and ending at 14.5" from the head end by rounding two edges of one of the broad sides. Frets Use the fret calculator here: http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/Fretting/i-fretcalc.html I used values of 24 frets and 15" scale. I only marked the frets in the major scale to make this instrument dead simple to play. It essentially has no wrong notes. If that's the route you want to go then mark only: 2 4 5 7 9 11 12 14 16 17 19 21 23 24 Mark and cut your nut slot at 4.25" from the head with an end saw and miter box. Measure and mark your frets from that slot. Measure them all twice. Check again. It's no fun when these are out of place. Cut slots for the frets where you marked them using the end saw and miter box. Option 1 Get fret wire and just hammer it in if you want the best results. Set a real nut. See elsewhere for how to do this. Skip to the next section. Option 2 If you're taking pride in making your panjolele out of junk then cut 15 1.5" straight lengths of clothes hanger. 25 if you're not skipping any frets. I used steel and it looks so good it's out of place on my panjolele. Use a small round file to shape seats for the wire. Rest the wires in their seats and place a straight edge across the frets to make sure they're level. File the seats of the tall ones down until they're all fairly even. Mix up some epoxy and glue your frets and nut in place. Pegs Cut 3 2" lengths of the 1.5" x .25" wood. The pegs have four main features:Tip - roundedString hole - near the tip on the shaftShaft - cylindrical, tapering slightly from grip (~.25" diameter) to tip (~.23 diameter), ~1.2" longGrip - paddle area to facilitate turning, ~1" x 1" Shape your pegs similarly to the ones in the images. Don't drill the string holes yet. Head There are two factors that dictate the position of each tuning peg hole. They need to be placed between the sides so the strings will be evenly placed on the nut/0th fret. The pegs must be far enough from each other to not interfere while tuning but as close to the nut as possible. I had the first peg wind up clockwise and the other two wind up the other direction. Draw where your strings should go on the head using a straight edge. Mark your first peg's hole about .75" up (towards the head) from the nut and just to the right of the first string line so it's left side touches it. Make sure your holes are smaller than your peg's shafts. Place the next peg further up so it won't interfere with the first peg but on the left side of the middle string line. Repeat for the last peg. Drill your holes. Carve down into the front face of the head near each hole so the strings can be lower. Mark and drill the string holes just above where the peg shaft erupts from the head. Number the pegs as they'll each fit best in their hole. Pull them out and set them aside until you're ready to string up. Body The body consists of an aluminum mess kit frying pan lid and is held to the neck with a single screw as pictured. Don't tight the screw flush as it is used to retain the middle string. Hold the end of the neck up to the side of the lid and trace. Draw lines between the corners of the rectangle you just traced on the pan lid. Cut the x you just drew and bend the resulting triangles back into the pan. Insert the body side of the neck into the hole you just made with the frets towards the bottom of the pan. Reference the end result. Drill a hole slightly smaller than your screw through where the bottom of the neck meets the other wall of the pan lid. Drill into the wood as long as the screw is. Screw in almost all of the screw into the hole you just drilled. Poke holes near the rim ~.5" either side of the screw to secure the 1st and 3rd strings. Bridge 2" long .25" tall .25" wide Narrowing at the top. No need to cut slots to retain the strings. Stringing Up I used light electric guitar strings A, D and G because it's what I had on hand but you might get better results with light acoustic guitar, classical guitar, banjo or concert ukulele strings. Affix the strings to the bottom end of the instrument and then thread them through the peg and wind them until they pull straight. Slip your bridge under your strings on the face of the pan and place it 15" from the nut (or whatever your scale length is). We'll use a harmonic to test our bridge position. Gently rest the tip of your left (or right if you made it left-handed) middle finger on one of the strings over the 7th fret (or 12th if you installed all the frets) while you pluck that string near the bridge with your other hand. If it doesn't ring like a bell, make sure the string is tight enough that it will ring if you pluck it without touching it and then move your finger a little bit each direction along the string until you find the spot that rings while you pluck it. Remember that sound. Press your finger down to fret that string at the 7th (or 12th) fret and pluck it again. It should be the same note. If it's lower when fretted, slide the bridge a bit closer to the neck and vice versa. Tuning I tune it to itself at 5th and an octave. The first string at the 4th fret (or 7th) is what the second string should be tuned to. The second string at the 3rd (or 5th) is where you tune the third string. This makes it play like a power chord open or barred. Like the lowest three strings in drop D tuning on a guitar.