Much cheaper than straightening the neck… Then the other common thing to do is put geared tuners on the instrument if it has friction pegs. That is not to say it will work every time. Remember it's a banjo after all and the strings you put on should be for a banjo and a 32 is about the heaviest string i would use for sound so it will help with the tension. In most banjos, the truss rod can be adjusted by removing the cover on the top of the peghead and tightening the nut to decrease the neck bow or loosening the nut to increase it. The first notable project I straightened with a neck press was my 1924 Vega Whyte Laydie #7 original 5 string banjo. If it's fixable, he can fix it! References. Primitive Ways: Arrow Straightening ; Writer Bio. Thing is, the tensioning rod can put this glued-in section under a lot of strain so a simple glue-up’s not going to do the trick on its own. It is now almost unplayable, the action is so high. For some reason the neck has become warped over the last year or so. Unless it has changed the action of the neck then any reinforcement will be fine. This process is for correcting back-bowed necks, the typical symptom of a warped neck or faulty truss rod. With the heat platen on the fingerboard side, I heated it until the back of the neck was scorching hot. My own personal 1927 Vega guitar banjo (maple neck/ebony board) came to me with a wicked curve in the neck. I heat-treated it 15 years ago, and it is straight as an arrow to this day. I have seen an article on straightening a banjo neck that involved a clamping jig that puts pressure on the midpoint of the warp. If you use a skin head you will not have to support the rim as a lot of these are not round and the skin will not care. I’ll need to help it out Erik has worked on all my instruments for years, and he always gives you an honest appraisal of your instrument's condition. Feb 3, 2016 - Glueing the broken heel on this banjo neck is the easy part. Simon Foden has been a freelance writer and editor since 1999. Fortunately, this was short of melting the binding, but not by much. I wouldn't trade my banjo for any other one. Alternately, the action can be lowered by straightening the neck, which will bring the frets closer to the strings. The heat treatment was done on my banjo's neck two years ago and it still has perfect action, low but no buzzing, just the way i like it. I had to get it pretty hot to achieve that. In cases where the neck is bowed forward, apply more pressure to the clamp at the top of the neck. I have had a great deal of success straightening necks with my neck heat press. That can be a bit of work, and should be done as delicately as possible, to keep from breaking the headstock. The neck has stayed straight since completing the pressing in 1978.