In the first few days of April I put the finish on banjos 282, 283, and 284, and wood topped banjo #4, but I got sick for about a week and didn’t get them set up and listed for sale till near the middle of the month. They are shown on the Banjos page. During the rest of the month I worked on two more banjos and an octave mandolin.

First was octave mandolin #6, made from walnut with ebony fretboard and bridge. It’s a stock instrument but was made to order and shipped to the customer on completion. If an instrument is within the range of what I normally build as stock I will take it back if the customer finds it’s not what they wanted once they get it. I haven’t had one of these in stock for a year or maybe longer, but I hope to make another one sometime this spring.

My only custom banjo for April was #285, a 10″ C scale with a very wide nut, a slot head, and a tunneled 5th string. This was the first time I have made a short scale banjo with a tunnel, so that was fun. It’s made from curly maple and ebony.

Banjo #286 is another mahogany C scale made from the remaining casket wood that was too short to make regular size necks. It’s shown on the Banjos page. I’m hoping to be more productive in May.