I have to start this month’s report with an addendum to May, because I forgot to describe Banjo #456 and #457, which were completed near the end of May. My mind is clearly not what it used to be, or at least what I used to imagine it was.
Banjo #456 is a cherry 11″, with walnut trim, granadillo fretboard, and a paddle peghead.
Banjo #457 was a left handed African mahogany slot head with a rosewood fretboard, made to be a left handed version of Banjo #426, which is a stock banjo I made early this year.
Guitar #25 was the first instrument built fully in June. It is a size 5 guitar, which I had never heard of before, since I live under a rock. According to what I have learned this was a smaller guitar tuned 3 semitones higher than a standard guitar. As always with guitars there were some things I changed to match my building methods, and the customer requested some changes too. I made a quick video of the guitar before shipping it. It has silk and steel strings, which also change the sound a bit. The customer ordered some reclaimed old redwood for the soundboard, and the back and sides are walnut. The neck is African mahogany with a walnut stripe, and the fretboard and bridge are ebony.
As soon as this guitar was done I started on my other June guitar, #26, a walnut tenor with the same shallower L-00 body that I use for flat topped octave mandolins. The customer requested a banjo style peghead and planetary tuners too. The soundboard is Sitka spruce from Alaska Tonewoods.
The last thing for June, and it also spread a few days into July, was a batch of 5 banjos. Banjo #458 was a walnut 12″ thin rim banjo with a Dobson tone ring, similar to some of the stock ones I’ve been making for the last year or two, but with a paddle peghead and a moon themed inlay pattern. The inlays were, as always, ordered by the customer and sent to me precut, as I am not skilled at cutting inlays myself. The fretboard is zebrawood. This customer was very patient for months, as I was out of thin rim material, and my supplier had moved their location so everything was backordered.
Banjo #459 was a cherry 12″ with a peghead shape drawn by the customer and an antique penny inlaid on it. The fretboard and rim cap are persimmon, and the customer also worked with me to get the heel to be the shape he wanted.
Banjos 460-462 are stock banjos, and are shown on the Banjos page. They are all direct replacements for banjos that were bought recently. I have a few more to restock in July or whenever time permits. Right now I am starting a batch with another 12″ cherry stock banjo, a custom tenor, and a neck. After that I may have a custom guitar and a custom banjo to build if the plans are finalized, and then anything could happen.
I took 3 days near the end of June to go on a camping trip which I had been contemplating since last year, from Blue Mountain Lake to Long Lake by paddle board. It was very nice to get out for an extended time again, and I was lucky enough to see the moon near full both nights. A trip report with pictures is at the link below: