6-string banjo build question

my drummer left a set of old heads at my house. i've been looking for a project, so, 6-string banjo!

only problem, i have no money, and i can't think of a good way to pull the metal ring of the drum down over the wood ring of the body and keep it in line, screws are too thick to bore through the metal, too flimsy to just use around the outside, the ring is flat so there's nothing to grip onto with a hook or anything.

it can't be a full wooden ring over the whole outside to pull it because that leaves me no room for the neck, which i am going to eventually purchase from GFS when i see one come up in the clearance section or i save up the cash. the way i see it, the neck basically has to be mounted starting at the drum head because i can't cut in to either of them to make room for the other.

Point Is:

any thoughts on stretching a drum head down?

thanks!

Cool project! But a head scratcher to be sure. Can we see pics? This one will most likely be a brainstorming session in progress.

i appologize for burning your eyes with these, cell phone photos taken from notebook sketches at work, but i'll try to explain.

Here is a little drawing of what i believe the final product will look like, it is a main, circular body, about 4" high with a cross brace and an outcropping for the neck to be mounted on at the edge of the drum head. I am capable of making this body as it exists in my head.

Here is a picture of just the body, you can see the brace and the outcropping for the neck to be screwed to. the drum head will fit tightly over this, with the drum head's metal rim running around the exterior of the main body.

here is a side view, the drum head rests on the wooden body, sliding in between the body and the neck, but needs a good way to provide consistent downward pressure in order to keep it taught. on the drum it came from, this is provided by a specifically crafted metal over-rim, but that is pretty much beyond my capabilities. i have considered a wooden version of this over-rim, but it would greatly increase the size of the gap between the body and the neck.

and finally a sketch of a cross cut of the drum head and the body.

thanks for your interest! i've definitely hit a wall after a week of brainstorming so i'm open to any and all suggestions, especially from such gifted diy'er's as haunt these threads!

Look into banjo building. The way a neck is mounted on a normal banjo is with a bolt connected to the neck. Theres a hole drilled into the neck and a pin put through it and its held in place with pressure against the side of the drum. The neck is also contoured to the rim.

You pics didnt come out so I have no idea what config you're working on. I suppose you could take a large thick piece of wood and cut it round then create a hollow center then streach the head over that. You would still have a neck mounting issue. It cant touch the head or put pressure on it.

yeah this is my main problem, i have read up extensively on banjo building, this project was really just for fun, something amusing to do with the materials i have on hand, so i'm looking for creative alternatives even if they might not produce the most amazing instrument.

all in good fun, sorry my pic's may not show up!

My guess is if you have two drum rims and a head, you can use some kind of shell to suspend the head over, then use screws and bolts on both sides of the shallow shell to provide tension. You can leave a wood neck mount projection sticking out. Thing is it will need to be very strong wood like maple or oak so it can take the string tension which can be 120 pounds pressure with a set of .009~.046 strings.

I'm not very good drawing with a mouse but heres my basic idea.

excellent, thank you for taking the time to sketch that, i'm going to give this a shot in the coming weeks and if it turns into anything moderately interesting i'll be sure to post it!