Question about Cleaning a Spun-over Pot
roybme
it apart, I'm trying to clean-up some minor corrosion on the spun-over pot.
Much of the pot is as bright as the day it was built, but it does have a few
dark areas.
I don't want to buff it out enough to leave polish marks, nor do I want it
to end up with a chemically "pickled" look. I've already removed much of the
100+ years of grime with a mild detergent. What remains is greenish, and
soft enough to be moved with a fingernail. Anybody have some good ideas on
how to brighten the pot up a little without damaging it?
Timmo
ones) and Formula 409. Beneath the green stuff are darkish pits that you
pretty much can't fix without extraordinary means. Rub a little light oil
on the spots and /or put a good paste wax on it, then shine it up as best
you can with soft cloth.
Tim Smith
"Save The Banjos"
http://userweb.suscom.net/~timmo_1949/
"roybme" <roy...@cox.net> wrote in message
news:vJFHb.30372$F22.1681@lakeread02...
Curtis Harrell
I used white vinegar on a sock. Soak the sock and then use some elbow grease
to get rid of the green. After I had removed the green coating, I polished
the pot with Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish. The result was very nice.
Curtis
"roybme" <roy...@cox.net> wrote in message
news:vJFHb.30372$F22.1681@lakeread02...
Brittles
Hi Roy-
Well... It depends.
You'll have to figure out if your Stewart rim is clad with sheet BRASS, which
is nickel plated - or with sheet NICKEL (which in turn was often nickel
plated...).
Most of the better spun-rim banjos had sheet nickel - which usually polish-up
quite nicely.
However, I have run across some SS Stewarts which have nickel-plated brass. If
the plating is thin, some polishes it will take some (or most) of the plating
off. So you do need to be careful.
It can be difficult to tell the difference, when the rim is dirty.
I usually remove the neck, and carefully take a couple passes with a fine file
at the edge of the sheet - which is visible at the square hole for the
dowelstick.
All you want to do is just file the edge enough to see if the sheet metal is
silvery nickel or yellow brass.
Be sure to test any polish you want to use, on the same area - which will be
covered by the heel.
After trying most of the polishes out there - I prefer Mother's Mag Wheel and
Aluminum Polish.
Best-
Ed Britt
Please Remove *UNSPAM* from my address, to e-mail me.
roybme
> I usually remove the neck, and carefully take a couple passes with a fine
file
> at the edge of the sheet - which is visible at the square hole for the
> dowelstick.
>
Thanks for the info. I did remove the neck. ...looks like solid nickel to
me. I never got down to yellow in a few file passes, anyway. The Mother's
Mag is working quite well too.
This brings up another question though: How was the neck attached to the
dowel-rod on these old instruments. I never noticed before, but now that I
look closely, they don't seem to be made of a single billet of wood. It
looks a little like there might be a socket drilled into the neck, into
which a turned end of the dowel is inserted and glued. It could be just an
allusion caused by different finishes, though. Not that it matters, much.
I'm just curious (no pun intended).
Thanks again, and have a great New Year.
Roy
Brittles
<< This brings up another question though: How was the neck attached to the
dowel-rod on these old instruments. I never noticed before, but now that I look
closely, they don't seem to be made of a single billet of wood. It looks a
little like there might be a socket drilled into the neck, into which a turned
end of the dowel is inserted and glued. It could be just an allusion caused by
different finishes, though. Not that it matters, much. I'm just curious (no pun
intended).>>
Hi Roy-
Dowel sticks were attached in MANY different ways depending on maker and time
period.
The earliest banjos would often have the eneck and dowel cut from one piece.
By the late 1850's they were adding separate dowels (as well as large bolts and
other assorted methods...)
Through the 1860's and 1870's all sorts of schemes were developed most with a
dowel, and either wood screws into the heel or asome kind of wedge.
By the late 1880's Stewart began to really refine the 5-string, and was soon
followed by most of the Boston makers.
The typical dowel construction for a "better" maker was to drill a 5/8ths to
3/4" round hole into the end of the heel, and then turn a round tenon onto the
end of the dowel. Add glue, and insert.
Basically, it was chair making technology. All the tools and equipment already
existed to cut the tenon - without having to put the square dowel in a lathe.
(You can still buy tenon cutters at better shop supply houses)
But there were many variants by smaller makers including the use of hidden
screws, bolts, and secondary pins, to secure the joint.
Like most repair work - you find that the better makers did things in "known"
ways - and most repairmen know what to expect. It's the "inventive" smaller
makers who always pose some interesting "surprises".
best-
roybme
> By the late 1880's Stewart began to really refine the 5-string, and was
soon
> followed by most of the Boston makers.
>
> The typical dowel construction for a "better" maker was to drill a 5/8ths
to
> 3/4" round hole into the end of the heel, and then turn a round tenon onto
the
> end of the dowel. Add glue, and insert.
>
Just FYI, the banjo in question is an SS Stewart "American Princess" serial
#10931. My best guess for a build year would be 1898, (give or take a couple
of years). It's a bit of a "Plain Jane" but otherwise a nice old instrument
with a 10" pot and a 22.5" scale. It does seem to have the construction
method you mention above.
It's cleaning up quite nicely. There are a few dings in the back of the
peghead, but if I look this good after 105 years--etc, etc.
Thanks.
Roy
Brittles
<< Just FYI, the banjo in question is an SS Stewart "American Princess" serial
#10931. My best guess for a build year would be 1898, (give or take a couple of
years). It's a bit of a "Plain Jane" but otherwise a nice old instrument with a
10" pot and a 22.5" scale. It does seem to have the construction method you
mention above. >>
Hi Roy-
Those are quite nice banjos. Well made, but simple. They were usually made in
small sizes, and were considered a "ladies" or "childs" banjo (for smaller
hands, etc.).
Yes, it should have a round tenon on the end of the dowel, which is plugged
into a matching hole in the heel.
Don't know SSStewart serial #'s by heart - so I can't verify that right now.
I'd suggest looking on the Mugwumps site:
www.mugwumps.com
Much of the Stewart info there came from some 1970's-'80's Mugwumps articles
written by the infamous Eli Kaufman.
Eli is pretty much THE Stewart expert - so it's decent info. (But I'm not be
completely sure if Mugwumps is completely up-to-date with any recent info Eli
might have come across since the articles.)
Best-
Bill Rogers
heavy corrosion. Motorcycle and bicycle shops carry it.
Bill
"roybme" <roy...@cox.net> wrote in message news:<vJFHb.30372$F22.1681@lakeread02>...
roybme
Anybody ever try using a "Jeweler's rouge impregnated polishing cloth" to
put a final finish on the pot after metal polish? I seem to remember from my
service days (a very long time ago) that these things worked exceptionally
well on brass, with absolutely no mess and very, very little abrasion. I
checked the net, and they still make them, mostly for the jewelry industry.
As I remember, if used with minimal elbow-grease, they put the brightest
shine on polished brass that I've ever seen. As I said, though, it was a
LONG time ago, and one's memory is the second thing to go.
Roy