VINTAGE & UPKEEP > RESTORING AN ORIGINAL
1920S SLINGERLAND MAYBELL BANJO UKE BY JOHN BROWN
In the 1920s, Chicago-based Slingerland Banjo Company
was one of the largest manufacturers of banjo ukuleles.
Slingerland is best known to
collectors of banjo ukuleles as
the maker of the Maybell line
of instruments. The company
also made a variety of other
stringed instruments under this
name, such as traditional banjos, banjo mandolins, guitars,
and mandolins. Most of them
were conservative in appearance
and modestly priced, although
Slingerland also made some very
fancy and elegant instruments.
In later years, Slingerland
started to make drums and
at that time the company’s
name changed to Slingerland
Banjo and Drum. Yet to
follow was another name
change in the 1930s to The
Slingerland Musical Instrument
Manufacturing Company.
Over the years, I’ve seen an
assortment of banjo ukuleles
of different grades, and the
Maybell line remains one of
my favorites. The neck and
rims were crafted out of maple.
Some were lightly stained and
then sealed with a thin topcoat
of clear nitrocellulose, and
designed with a 7" or 8" head.
Some fretboards were stained
and others were made of rich
ebony with dot or diamond
mother-of-pearl inlays. The rare
instrument has an assortment
of nicknames, including “banjo
uke” and “banjolele.”
With an overall length of 20
1/2", the Maybell banjo uke
that came into my shop for
restoration has a 13 1/8"-scale
fretboard with a 1 1/4" nut, 16
frets, and three pearl-dot fret-
board inlays. The instrument
sports friction tuners and a
calfskin head. The 7" diameter
laminated maple rim is 7/16"
thick and 2 1/2" deep, and the
tension hoop secures the head
with 12 bracket hooks. It’s
1.
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6.
1. Two Slingerland Maybell banjo ukes. The instrument on the
right is one that came in for service. The one on the left—a
model 24—has a few more factory upgrades, including more
bracket hooks holding the tension hoop. 2. Maybell model 24
banjo ukes (left) came with higher quality tuners than their less
expensive siblings. 3. The bent tension hoop required careful
straightening. 4. Hammering the tension hoop. 5. Once it’s
trimmed, a Grover Non-Tip 4-string banjo bridge works well for a
ukulele banjo. The pencil line shows how much wood I’ll remove.
6. The trimmed bridge fits nicely on this Maybell banjo uke.
interesting to note that the 7"
rim provides room for the 16th
fret. Maybell banjo ukes with
8" rims have only 15 frets.
The tension hoop had taken
a blow at some point, and it was
my job to work those kinks out.
I loosened the 12 bracket hooks
using a 1/4" bracket hex wrench
(a nickel-plated steel tool for
installing and tightening banjo
heads) and removed them care-
fully to avoid damaging the orig-
inal calfskin head. As I removed
the head I saw its underside was
stamped “White Mount – Calf –
Selected – Slingerland Bros.”
After attaching a short-
throw pipe clamp to my
StewMac Ultimate Vise, I used
a Deadblow fretting hammer to
pound out the kinks in the ten-
sion hoop and correct its curva-
ture. I then used X-Treem metal
polish to clean the hoop and
remove any corrosion before
reattaching it to the instrument.
After cleaning the hoop
brackets, I tightened them
evenly until the head was firm
but not overly tightened. To
avoid tearing the calfskin head,
I worked slowly and cautiously.
As I tapped around the outer
edge of the head, I discovered it
consistently rang at F#.
Because the uke arrived
without a bridge, I had to
install a new one. I used a
Grover Non-Tip 4-string banjo
bridge that works well for uku-
lele banjo, once it’s trimmed
correctly. After I removed wood
from the waist and feet portion
of the bridge, it fit the size and
shape of the instrument nicely
and allowed the strings to fan
out from the tailpiece with a 1
1/4" width between the outer
two. To cut string slots in the
bridge, I used gauged nut-
slotting files. I enjoyed shaping
the bridge—it reminded me
of when I use to trim violin
bridges to give them a distinc-
tive appearance.
JOHN BROWN is the
inventor of the Fretted/
Less bass. He owns and
operates Brown’s Guitar
Factory, a guitar manufac-
turing, repair, and restoration
facility staffed by a team of
talented luthiers. His guitar-tool and acces-
sory designs are used by builders all over the
world. Visit brownsguitarfactory.com or email
John at info@brownsguitarfactory.com.
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