milkjug fingerpicks

Subject: milkjug fingerpicks
From: wilco
Date: 10 Jan 03 - 11:44 AM

A claw-hammer style, banjo playing friend of mine showed me how he makes his fingerpicks out af a plastic milkjug handle. he broke his fingernail off on his strumming finger. He cut the handle off a gallon milkjug, and trimmed it until he had a little piece that would cover the end of his finger. Then he trimmed it to fit.
    I tried this, but I soaked it in real hot water, before the last trim, and then slipped it on my finger to trim it. It cools to give a custom fit to the finger. Yeehawww!!!!

Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks
From: Bullfrog Jones
Date: 10 Jan 03 - 12:23 PM

A classical guitarist friend of mine uses pieces of cut-up table tennis balls glued on to replace broken nails, and the other day I saw a mandolin player using a plectrum made from a cut-up credit card!

BJ

Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks
From: Uncle Jaque
Date: 10 Jan 03 - 03:47 PM

Cool!

Although I don't use picks much on banjo or guitar, I used to make cheap-yankee picks out of milk jugs, (light) Laundry Detergent jugs (medium) and credit cards (heavy). I thought it was pretty cute to cut a pick around my name on the credit card; gave it kind of a personal, customized touch, ye know.

They worked pretty well for a while, but I found that they don't stand up to the constant flexing as well as the store-bought ones do.
Of course the price is right, and it's a novel form of recycling.

Trash-picks are OK for practice, but I would reccomend sticking with the "real" variety when performing in public, so as to avoid the embarassment of having one the recycled jobs bust in two on you in the middle of a lick, as they are rather wont to do.

Some smart-Aleks build up their nails with super-glue, or coat the tips of their fretting fingers with it to protect them while doing a lot of slides or fancy fretwork on steel strings. Sort of like synthetic callouses.   Just wait for it to dry all the way 'afore playing, won't you? };^{)~

Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks
From: C-flat
Date: 10 Jan 03 - 03:52 PM

Well I might be tempted to make picks out of my partners credit cards! That WOULD be a saving!

Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks
From: Sam L
Date: 10 Jan 03 - 06:04 PM

I reckon I've made picks out of everything that walks or crawls, and now I've come to make picks out of you, Sheriff Bill.

   Ping pong balls and picks are the only things still made of celluloid, which is a good plastic for it. I'm liking polycarbonate these days. Hi ho.

Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks
From: CraigS
Date: 10 Jan 03 - 06:29 PM

I can't remember where I know this from, but there were a lot of blues and country players in the Depression who made their finger and thumb picks from sardine cans - why sardines and not milk or beans ?

Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks
From: Amos
Date: 10 Jan 03 - 06:32 PM

I expect because of the thinner tin.

A

Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks
From: Cluin
Date: 10 Jan 03 - 07:23 PM

Cut up ping-pong balls I've seen used (Don Ross crazy glues them to his fingernails for a tour), but not tennis balls. Interesting...

Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks
From: open mike
Date: 10 Jan 03 - 11:08 PM

i also have recently made pix form credit cards..
'the raised numbers give a good grip like those
dunlop mud and snows with the good tread....

Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks
From: banjoman
Date: 11 Jan 03 - 08:30 AM

I have made picks and plectrums from just about everything including ring pulls from beer cans (great for the autoharp by the way) to single teeth cut from a nylon hair comb in an emergency. As i invariably break at least one thumbpick and one finger pick at every gig, I always carrry one of my out of date cards with me as well as bits and pieces of broken or redundant guitar /banjo parts which are handy in an emergency. Best of all were a set of picks made from a hammered flat coke can using a set of metal ones as a template. Great once the blood had dried up. Learnt my lesson for the second set and folded the top edges over.

Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks
From: breezy
Date: 11 Jan 03 - 11:03 AM

you guys must be hard up or desperate as well as sad.
Have you tried a fred kelly 'bumble bee' or 'speedpick'?
Nickel silver finger piks when shaped and twisted to fit correctly are the only substitute for lack of finger nails that allow the guitar strings to sound true, thus in turn obtaining the real sound of your instrument.
Pete Seeger, Paul Simon, and me.

Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks
From: GUEST,Frank Hamilton
Date: 11 Jan 03 - 07:00 PM

Check Pete's book on How To Play The Five String Banjo. He shows how to make picks out of tin cans.

Frank

Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks
From: Sam L
Date: 11 Jan 03 - 08:00 PM

Breezy, Fred Kelly seems a very nice guy when you talk to him, and many people like his thuimbpicks. One of the propik guys told me Kelly was the most popular. But they don't suit me, particularly.

   I've noticed aluminum can have a really sweet tone, but don't like strumming with it, or any other metals.

Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks
From: Uncle Jaque
Date: 11 Jan 03 - 09:19 PM

Picks of any kind are not reccomended for use on any gut strings; they will fray and eventualy break the string.

Of course I don't expect that many folks are still using gut guitar or banjo strings any more these days.

At a session I let another banjoist try out my Minstrel gut-strung banjo, noticing too late that he was all decked out with finger-picks.
Tore them strings up pretty good!