IMPROVEMENTS IN BANJOES
Year: 1884

page_text: I ARTHUR TILLEY of 30 Westfield Road, Surbiton in the County of Surrey,
Professor of the Banjo do hereby declare the nature of my Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BANJOES" and in what inanner the same is to be performed to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This Invention relates to improvements in banjoes.
The rims of banjoes whether of metal, or of wood and metal combined, have
generally been provided with a number of brackets for receiving the tension bolts
and for forming bearings for the nuts of the said bolts the said brackets being
secured to the rim of the banjo by means of screws or the like passing through the
rim; the forming the rim of the banjo with perforations for receiving the said
screws considerably weakens the rim at the part where there is the greatest strain
and the result has been that the rims were liable to get out of shape and the tone
of the instrument was deteriorated.
In order to obviate these defects and to strengthen the rim of the banjo I provide
the rim with a continuous bracket or flange forming a portion of the rim and
which takes the strain of the tension bolts.
To prevent the bridge of the instrument from moving laterally when the
instrument is played with a thimble or otherwise, I provide a device for raising
the rear end of the tail piece to which the strings of the instrument are fastened
whereby the front part of the tail piece will be depressed so as to cause the bridge
to be firmly pressed upon the parchment and be thereby provented from swaying
Bideways.
To facilitate the fingering of the instrument when being played from music I
mark the frets or divisions on the side of the arm with figures corresponding to
those marked on the music.
In order to enable my Invention to be fully understood I will describe the same
by reference to the accompanying Drawing in which Figure 1 is a plan, Figure 2,
a side elevation and Figure 3, an end view of a banjo constructed according to
my Invention; Figure 4 is a longitudinal section of part of the instrument.
Similar letters in all the Figures represent similar parts.
a, represents the rim of the banjo which according to my Invention I form with
a continuous bracket or flange b, through which pass the tension bolts c; d, d, are
the nuts of the bolts c, for producing the required tension on the parchment e, of
the instrument; the said nuts bear against the underside of the bracket or flange ỗ;

page_text: the top or upper edge of the rim a, is formed as shown in the sectional view at
Figure 4, so as to provide a rounded edge which allows of the parchment boing
strained over such rounded edge of the rim without risk of cutting the same;
f, is a rod or bolt, screw threaded at its lower end, which working in the flange b,
the upper end of the bolt bears against the underside of the rear end of the tail
piece g, attached to the end of the instrument in the usual manner. By raising
this rod f, by turning the same in any suitable manner such as by means of a lever
inserted in the hole a¹, therein, the front end of the tail piece g, will be depressed
and thereby cause the strings to press the bridge firmly against the parchment e,
of the instrument whereby the bridge will be prevented from swaying sideways
when lateral pressure is put upon the strings i, such as when the instrument is
played by means of a thimble. The arm k, of the instrument is provided with the
usual divisions as shewn in Figure 2, but I mark each division with a figure which
figures correspond with the figures on the music being read from and are to
assist the player in fingering the instrument.
Although I have shewn my improved banjo constructed with a rim entirely of
metal it will be obvious that the rim may be made of wood and metal combined;
for example the lower part of the rim may be constructed of metal and be
provided with my continuous bracket or flange and the upper part of the rim may
be made of wood and receive on its lower edge the upper edge of the metal portion;
or the parts may be combined in other suitable ways.
Instead of the rod f, I may employ any other suitable device such as a lever for
operating the tail piece g.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. Providing the rims of banjoes with continuous or permanently fixed brackets
or flanges substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein before described
and represented in the accompanying Drawing.
2. In a banjo the employment of a suitable device such as that shewn in the
Drawing or its equivalent for the purpose of preventing lateral movement of the
bridge substantially as hereinbefore described.
3. The improved banjo berein before described and represented in the
accompanying Drawing.