Making a resonator guitar... (well, banjo)

[Quickstep192]

I'd like to make a resonator banjo using a guitar resonator. What I have in mind will be an oval shape of about 13-1/2" by 18" with a 5 string banjo neck.

Based on the reading I've done and plans I've seen, it looks as if resonator guitar tops are "braced" with a piece of plywood with a hole in it to accept the resonator cone and see cut aways, presumably to lighten it and then topped with spruce top.

For my 13-1/2" X 18" oval shape, is there a reason that the entire top couldn't just be a single piece of plywood veneered with a pleasing wood?

[Robin, Wales]

What type of cone are you going to use? That will set the internal design of the cone well. The internal structure is going to be the key to getting your design correct - and there are variances depending on the cone being used.

You certainly can use plywood for the whole body (that's what all the old 1930s wood bodies reso guitars were made from). Build it thick and heavy - you are making a speaker cabinet which will work differently from a standard acoustic guitar body.

[Quickstep192]

Originally Posted by Robin, Wales

What type of cone are you going to use? That will set the internal design of the cone well. The internal structure is going to be the key to getting your design correct - and there are variances depending on the cone being used.

You certainly can use plywood for the whole body (that's what all the old 1930s wood bodies reso guitars were made from). Build it thick and heavy - you are making a speaker cabinet which will work differently from a standard acoustic guitar body.

I hadn’t thought that much far ahead. I am leaning toward a biscuit resonator.

How does the cone well influence the internal design? To my untrained eye, the both look like they consume the same amount of space.

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by Quickstep192

I hadn’t thought that much far ahead. I am leaning toward a biscuit resonator.

How does the cone well influence the internal design? To my untrained eye, the both look like they consume the same amount of space.

The biscuit bridge cone is 9.5" diameter and mounted hub cap style about an inch down from the guitar top with the neck stick providing some support for the cone well. The spider bridge cone is 10" and mounted like a dish style flush with the guitar top. The cone well is full depth and the neck stick stops short of the cone well.

StuMac has a good series on making a wood bodied biscuit bridge resonator guitar. The internals of your banjo version would be the same:

https://www.stewmac.com/video-and-id...ophonic-1.html

If you want more advice I'd suggest going to the Michael Messer Forum. There are a few folks there who have build all sorts of resonator style instruments.