Any tricks for using high bridges?

[John Cohen]

My right hand is at its best with a 1/2'' bridge or lower, but I have five banjos that require high bridges (10/16'' or 11/16'')- otherwise I get buzzing since the action would be lower than 5mm at the 12th fret.  These are original banjos... I know for certain that 3 of them never had neck resets and were always strung with gut strings, but for some reason they were made with low action or aged such that they require a high bridge.

I plan on putting a Hartnett Tone Bar on one of these banjos but they aren't easy to find, and I'm looking for advice as to how to proceed with the others.  I've tried learning to play with a free hand (without planting the little finger) and I can do it to an extent, but I prefer to plant.  

[Shawn McSweeny]

Keep looking for Hartnett bars or similarly mounted metal pickguards from the 1920's. They turn up occasionally on ebay. Try posting an ad in the Bjo Hangout classifieds.

I have a Blue Ribbon Supertone with extended fingerboard. The extension raises the the fbd about a quarter inch higher above the rim than a regular neck and requires an 11/16" bridge, way too high for the "classsic finger clench" and horizontal plucking. Experimenting with freehand, I lost power and accuracy. A Hartnett bar, with some customization to set it at suitable angle and height, was the solution for me.