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January banjos and necks, and a surprise bus
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
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December banjos and an archtop guitar
December started with a stock banjo, #235, which is shown on the Banjos page. Next came #236, a custom walnut 11″ banjo with a Dobson tone ring. This banjo also has some precut inlays which the customer sent for me to install. #237 was a walnut fretless A scale banjo with a zebrawood fingerboard. Banjos
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November banjos and other things
November started with the completion of banjo #230, a 12″ mahogany 5+1 with a lot of inlay chosen by the customer. This banjo had been on hold since late September pending arrival of some of the inlays from overseas. The next thing on the agenda was a scheitholt, a sort of ancestor of the mountain
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September and October banjos and a house
Having failed to post a September report during October I figured I’d better get going somewhat promptly now that it’s November. In late September I bid on a house in the scenic town of Piercefield, NY, population about 300, in an online tax auction. In mid-October the deed was recorded and I was allowed to
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August banjos and necks
My first project in August was carried over from the last few days of July. I made two left handed necks for one customer, to fit a couple of nice old pots. Then it was time for a batch of 4 banjos. Banjo #223 was a bit of a departure from the usual sequence of
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July-an octave mandolin and not much else
I realized today that I had failed to post an update on July instruments. The only instrument I actually made in July was an octave mandolin, shown on the Mandolins page. Early in the month I was finishing off some June instruments for a few days, then at the end of the month I began
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June banjos and a neck
I meant to write a June report a couple of weeks ago, but July has been busier than I expected out of the shop and I lost track of it. My first completed instrument in June was banjo #220, a curly maple 12″ tenor with a Whyte Laydie tone ring. The customer gave me a
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May banjos and an octave mandolin
I was late getting my May banjos set up, since I started more than I had time to complete during the month. I think June 8 was when the last one got done. June is a 3-1/2 banjo month this year, so I should be able to get done on time even though I started
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April banjos
My first completed banjo in April was a custom 8″ cherry banjo with an 18″ scale length neck. It’s always fun to make mini banjos, and this is as small of a 5 string as I have made. #208 was a custom walnut 11″ banjo which involved the first inlay I have ever cut out.
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March banjos and necks
March started off with two custom banjos. #201 was an ash 11″ with cherry trim, a hop-hornbeam fretboard, a paddle peghead and a Dobson heel. Banjo #202 was a 10″ walnut C scale with aged brass hardware. This is the first banjo I have made with a brass plate in the scoop. The plate is