Shop News

  • November banjos and a fiddle

    This month has been busy in the shop, but for the first time in a while I haven’t had any custom instruments to build, so I’ve had a chance to make some instruments to restock.  Banjos 125-128 are shown on the Banjos page, and fiddle #23 is on the Fiddles page.  Banjo #129 is the…

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  • October instruments

    At the beginning of October I put the finishing touches on a couple of mandolins that I was building to have in stock.  They are now on the Mandolins page. Banjo #124 is my first longneck banjo, and the first with a bracket band.  It also has a Whyte Laydie type tone ring so it…

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  • September instruments

    I didn’t post an August update because I didn’t complete any instruments in August this year.  I started a guitar-bodied walnut octave mandolin and a cherry A5 type mandolin then, but I only had them about halfway built at the end of the month.  I just put the last coat of finish on both of…

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  • Back in the shop again…..

    I got back from my trip Sunday afternoon and just got back into the shop for a bit tonight, but I’ll be back to my normal evening work schedule starting tomorrow.  I posted a trip report and pictures again on the Adirondack Forum website, if you’d like to see them please follow the link below.…

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  • I’ll be away August 19-25

    I’m taking my annual vacation this week, bicycling to the Adirondacks, as I have been doing for 10 years now.  I will be out of reach of communication during most of my trip but I will reply to emails as soon as possible on my return.

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  • July instruments

    Banjo #117 was a custom ash 12″ with a Whyte Laydie type tone ring and a Dobson heel. #118 was a stock banjo, it can be seen on the Banjos page. My last two projects were in the works at once. Fiddle #22 is a cherry chicken head and is shown on the Fiddles page,…

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  • June instruments

    June was another low-production month since I spent a number of evenings working on the roof instead of in the shop, but now the roof job is done and I am back up to full speed, such as it is.  My first June job was a custom 5+1 neck fitted to a very unusual old…

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  • May banjos

    This May was not one of my more productive months in the workshop, but sometimes that’s how it goes.  My first project was banjo #113, a custom walnut short scale with a WL/Electric type tone ring. My other completed project was banjo #114, which was a custom curly maple A scale with hickory accents and…

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  • April instruments

    I am very late writing this update, but I can still remember a lot of what happened in April.   My first project was banjo #111, which is another walnut C scale and can be seen on the Banjos page. I made two squareneck resonator guitars back in 2014 or so, and the second one…

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  • March instruments

    My first jobs in March were continued from the last part of February.  I made a mountain dulcimer (#45) and a banjo (#108) from the gym floor wood, for the customer who brought the wood.  The dulcimer is a bit of a departure for me as it is the first I have made with a…

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