US394530A

US394530A - Banjo

Info

Publication number: US394530A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1888-12-11
Anticipated expiration: 1905-12-11

Description

(No odei) W. R WOOD- BANJO. No. 394.530. Patented Dec. 11, 1888.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IVALLAC E R. \VOOD, OF (TI'IICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BANJO.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 394,530, dated December 11, 1888.

Application filed April 3Q, 1888. Serial No. 272,365. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, 'ALLACE R. \VOOD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinut for the thumb-string which is described in and secured to me by Letters Patent issued to me by the United States numbered 370,172, dated September 20, 1387, for improvements in banjos,) of which the following is a specifieation.

The object of this invention is to simplify the use of the movable rest for the thumb string of a banjo and to render it easily adjustable, so that it may be readily placed at any desired point 011 the finger-board and thus change the key or pitch of the string at will without interfering with the tension of said string.

My present invention consists of a thin strip of metal or any other suitable material, a in Figure 1 of the annexed drawings, laid upon and fastened to the surface of the fingerboard of a banjo, under and in line of the thumb-string, the edges of which strip are beveled toward the under side, as shown by the cross-section thereof, a in Fig. 2. The base of the movable rest 0, Fig. 4, is bent so as to loosely clasp the beveled edges of the said strip, as shown by the cross-seetion of the same in position on the strip at d, Fig. 3, permittin g the piece to move freely back and forth along said strip when carrying the thumbstring in position, and thus to be readily adj ustable at the will of the player. Instead of this beveled strip carrying the movable rest or nut, it is evident that the latter may be made to run in a beveled groove cut in the finger-board under and in line of the thumb string, the base of the rest or nut being titted therein, as shown in Fig. 5; or the strip may be made so as to clasp the rest or nut by the edges being turned upward and inward and the base of the rest or nut being beveled to fit therein, as shown in Fig. 0.

It is obvious that the same result will be secured by either mode of construction-to wit, the ready and perfect :uljustability of the rest or nut to any key or pitch of the thumb-string without clmnging its tension-- and that any one of said modes of construction is merely an equivalent for either of the others. I have found that, for cheapness of construction and ready adaptation to instruments already made the strip and nut, as first above described, are preferable, while for beauty of finish in making new instruments probably the groove may be most dcsirable.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a banjo, the slide a, for carrying the adjustable rest or nut rfor the thumb-string, constructed to operate substantially as described.

2. In a banjo, the combiimtimi of the adjustable rest or nut c with the slide a, constructed and operating substantially as described.

Dated this 20th day of April, A. I). 185 8.

WALLACE R. WOOD.

'itnesses:

LOUIS P. ScovILLE, J. B. SANBORN, KATE S. HOLMES.