I’m a little out of sync with the calendar again, but I’m hoping to catch up next month. January started out with a batch of 3 stock banjos, #241-243. They are of course shown on the Banjos page. Then came banjo #244, a mahogany slot head with ebony trim throughout and a veneered rim. I didn’t get this banjo completed till more than a week into February due to getting sick and missing a week or so of work in the shop toward the end of January.

Also in January I made two necks. The first one is a cherry A scale fitted to a vintage 12″ pot.

The other neck is maple with a slim profile and zebrawood fretboard, fitted to a newer pot. This one was delayed for 8 days because I failed to check the hanger bolt size that was needed, so when I went to install the completed neck I had to wait for them to come in the mail. I had two sizes in stock already and thought I was all set, but now I have three sizes. Live and learn, I guess.

Just before writing this I completed 3 more stock banjos that were begun in January. They are #245-247 and are also on the Banjos page.

I haven’t been up to work on the house I bought since November, but preparations for work and the move are proceeding. I have been buying materials that I’ll need when I can get them cheaply on Craigslist and stockpiling them here till the days get longer and warmer and the roads are clear. I also recently bought a retired school bus that the district had been using for a maintenance vehicle for a while. All the passenger seats were removed, so I will be able to carry 16 foot lumber inside it when I am building the new workshop, and I’ll also use it when it’s time to move. I figured that by driving this bus for a few months I can do my part to uphold the image of banjo builders as eccentric and goofy persons.

I will hope to be more timely in posting my next Shop News report. My plans for the rest of February are to build 3 banjos or so, and 2 necks, and anything else that time will permit.