January was a busy month in the shop, and I was able to get more time than usual away from my ‘day job’. The first banjo completed was #186, a 12″ walnut banjo pretty similar to #180 but with a streaky ebony fretboard.

Next came #187, a mahogany 12″ with a 1/4″ brass tone hoop and Dobson heel.

#188 was a cherry A scale which I had built to be a stock instrument, but someone was looking for an A scale and decided to buy it instead of #182 which I had in stock at the time, so I never listed it on the Banjos page.

Banjo #189 was a walnut 12″ with spalted maple peghead overlay and a hickory layer on top of the rim, and ball shoes from Balsam Banjo Works.

#190 was a 12″ walnut banjo with a left handed neck, a Whyte Laydie type tone ring, and a John Balch head.

Banjos #191 and #192 are both shown on the Banjos page. Also shown on that page is a thing I am currently calling a wood topped banjo, though there are probably other and perhaps better names for this kind of thing. It’s a banjo neck on a banjo-shaped but structurally more guitar-like body.

In February I have two custom banjos and a custom neck to build, and am planning to build 4 stock banjos if I have time, as I am currently running a bit low. I think there will be another pair of 12″ walnut banjos with and without a metal tone ring, and an 11″ walnut slot head, and a cherry A scale, but my plan may change depending how things go.