Where Haufcut Instruments began : Tennis Racquet Banjo

The Tennis Racquet Banjo

This was the first weird instrument I made: A banjo from my dad's old 1950s wooden tennis racquet : I was inspired by the brilliant Dennis Havlena, and this link : Dennis Havlena's Website

 I planed down the handle, glued and stapled a drum skin to the frame and cut a wooden 'tension ring' which is held in place using pegs screwed in to the racquet (being careful to avoid the strings).

 I glued a fret at the top of the neck, and made a simple 'nut' by drilling three holes through a piece of scrap wood. I cut away a simple 'headstock' piece and attached an old guitar tuning peg and two screws. - Two more tuning pegs were added to CAREFULLY drilled holes at the heel end of the racquet, plus another screw.

I used 3 ukulele strings and the bridge from an old guitar.

The Tennis Racquet Banjo Video