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That's kind! But I'm pretty sure I know what I need, the problem is finding it :?

D'oh! That will teach me to work from measurements, not memories of measurements. What I need are 3/32 screws. A fraction smaller than M2.5. So far as my researches online help, the only candidates are: UNC 3-48, 0.99 inch diameter, 48 threads per inch 7BA, 0.98 inch diameter, 52.9 threads...

[Correction - I originally wrote 3/16, when I should have written 3/32] I have bought a banjo (and yes, I know there are recovery programmes for people like me ...) It was made in Birmingham, probably in the 1920s, and has unusual friction tuners which suit it well, so I'd like to use those if...

The swan neck sticks up higher, so your towball is higher. Used if your car sits low to the ground. But it can instruct the boot/tailgate. You want the towball to attach your trailer in a roughly level position, so it's a compromise. Detachable towbars mean you don't bark your shin on them and...

I find both cut easily with handsaws.

Fish glue is the Marmite of instrument making. A few use it in preference to anything else, but many have had bad experiences with it. (this is all from lots of reading of luthier forums, I've never used fish glue myself). The bad reports are mainly about the glue softening on humid days and...

I don't think anyone has mentioned that glass pots are not ideal for heating hide glue. I let my glue cool when done (it sets rubbery) and reheat to use again (not too often, reheating weakens it, and not if it smells off). But when gelled it sticks to glass so well that it can pull chips off...

I made a scrub from a wooden coffin smoother with a wide mouth (cheap at boot sales and the thick iron is good for scrubbing). I have a no 80 scraper which I rarely used, though I'm keeping it. Excellent for hardwood, not good on softwood.

Yes, of course! I should have made it clear that my problem would be heating something as big as a bench. Heat lamps, I guess, for veneering? I get by with a heat gun, which does all the heating I need. And it powers the hot pipe for bending.

I use mainly (but not exclusively) hot hide glue for making musical instruments. A baby bottle warmer and a small plastic pot for the glue (thimble-sized for ukuleles) works fine and takes up little space. Functionally, the only joint which really needs hot hide glue is the bridge. The string...

Probably no help to you, but I'd cut them with a good backsaw (I have a Pax from last year's birthday). But I make ukuleles, so am used to cutting to within around 0.1 mm accuracy by hand (OK, maybe 0.2 mm). But with a good saw it doesn't take many practice cuts. It would take longer to mark out...

3.4mm hardwood ply should bend to that radius under hand pressure if you orient the grain of the outer layers at 90 degrees to the curve. And if you bend it over a simple former, clamp and heat with a heat gun until it feels uncomfortably hot to your hand, it should largely keep that curve...

Method and a wash sorts out my own shellac mishaps. Blot, don't run.

I'm skeptical about Jacob's assertion that musical instrument tops and backs were joined with rubbed joints. The plates flex too much to get a decent alignment. All the methods I know use some form of clamping, though not much if using HHG. For example, I join ukulele tops and backs simply by...

Thank you all (and the advice in PMs too). Mainly dirt rather than corrosion, and the most visible parts have cleaned up well using T-Cut, which is what I had to hand. The hooks, nuts and flange brackets are dirtier and a little corroded (different plating?), Plus they are horribly fiddly. So...

Thanks both. I'll post a picture when the "patient" arrives in case that suggests any other ideas. Also have to decide what level to restore the woodwork to, but that's for a different sub-forum.

I've just "invested" in a century-old banjo, which of course is bristling with metal hardware. From the pics (it has yet to arrive) it looks as if humidity in the attic where it lived has very lightly corroded the hardware surfaces. I guess they are probably nickel plated. Any hints where to...

What I do on ukulele cases is to fit the lid to the box and tape it firmly in place. Then I place the hinge so the pivot runs along the join and tape that firmly in place. Finally I drill my holes, erring perhaps a tiny fraction away from the join line. Seems to work.

This kind of repair is common among instrument makers. Here is a ukulele neck I made from recycled wood, which had a nasty stain from a corroded steel screw. The fix is to scoop out an oval section (straight lines never disappear) and glue in a shaped patch. My patches here were less than...

Nice, neat work there. I'm interested to see how the strings attach to the soundboard - clearly not just a hole with a knot at the back!