Anyway I still have an aversion to the loudness of the instrument in any but performance situations. In addition I leave for Mexico in a month and want to continue to practice while I'm there. So I decided to make a silent instrument which could be disassembled.
I used maple from the Capital City Grange floor which I salvaged.
First I glued together strips as in the mandolin I'm making, then cut a slot for carbon rods (don't think I will need a truss rod due to the low tension) and then flattened the fingerboard side.
![Image](http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g117/Buz_Lactarius/Game002_zps1a89be2a.jpg)
I'm going to have this headless so I also cut a slot for the 5th string to come out at the head end and it comes out near the 5th fret.
![Image](http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g117/Buz_Lactarius/Game009_zps8039a94f.jpg)
Made an aluminum headpiece to attach the strings
![Image](http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g117/Buz_Lactarius/Game008_zps9e064387.jpg)
Using a Martin guitar fingerboard reject I got years ago which is a shorter scale than the typical banjo so the tension will be lower and also it saved me some work making a new fingerboard.
![Image](http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g117/Buz_Lactarius/Game011_zpsd238cd02.jpg)
I then constructed an armrest and leg rest from laminated maple to be attached with hex screws. Fingerboard is not yet glued on. In this picture I am using Steinberger type tuners which I eventually decided against-- they just didn't work well enough. Once everything was set up I cut the banjo in half (insert joke).
![Image](http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g117/Buz_Lactarius/Game015_zpsaa63f7df.jpg)
After cutting in half I hot glued rails to the sides for stability and then drilled holes for hex bolts.
![Image](http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g117/Buz_Lactarius/Game018_zps1e927374.jpg)
Finally put a neck plate on and some cheepo tuners I had laying around.
![Image](http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g117/Buz_Lactarius/Game048_zps96f0906a.jpg)
![Image](http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g117/Buz_Lactarius/Game067_zps6ea0f1da.jpg)
And here it is finished and strung up.
![Image](http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g117/Buz_Lactarius/Game065_zpsed225a03.jpg)
I am thrilled with it as I can practice whenever and wherever I want and I can put it in my carry-on luggage!!
MikeZ