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Hi, Friends,
Okay...it's not a mandolin, but I want you to see it and I don't know where else to post it. Lance, feel free to move the thread if you think that is appropriate.

It's a tenor banjo. I have flange plates for it, but have not yet made the resonator nor the arm rest. The rosewood nut is temporary, as I am waiting on my back-ordered bleached bone nut blank. But it's playable so I'll post it.

The pot is laminated from bent maple hoops, with birdseye "show" faces. I stumbled across the neck maple at Menard's one day (talk about being in the right place at the right time!). The head plate and heel cap are slices from a rejected gun stock blank.

This was my first attempt at pearl inlay. Sawing, filing, etc. were easy for me. Inlaying was a DEFINITE challenge, but I will probably do it again some time.

Position markers are not well shown in these photos, but were achieved with cross banding of maple and walnut veneers beneath the fingerboard. This was directly inspired by the work of a fine banjo maker named Ken LeVan.

Metal parts are from a variety of sources. I've had the tone ring, tension hoop and coordinator rods for about 30 years. Tuners, bracket shoes, tail piece, hooks and nuts, etc., came recently from Stew Mac.

I am an arch top guitar player. My band mates and I play older swing tunes and standards. The idea with this banjo was to create an instrument I could double on for the really old tunes from the 1920s.

I hope you like it.

Patrick

Very nice, indeed.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

That's one good looking banjo

Nice Job!

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

Now there be somethin you don't see too often any more. Nice clean craftsmanship, well appointed choice of woods....YAY! Patric...congratulations, very well done!

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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Wow! gorgeous.

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

Very pretty. I don't know anything about Banjos but I sure like the aesthetic of this one!

Beautifull Work , Banjo's are always welcome here !

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Well, many thanks to all. I'm glad you like it!
Patrick

Very nice banjo Patrick. I really like the inlay. Also, did you turn the pot? The hardware fits exceptionally well.

Ray

Thanks, Ray. The pot was laminated in an outside mold from several slats of plain maple, with birdseye slats on the two "show" faces. Slats were bent free hand on my bending iron. Inner and outer butt joints were centered on a line. The other butt joints were staggered around the rim. I didn't like the looks of the two joints that showed, so I made walnut "end grafts" for them. Of course, one is totally hidden by the neck heel and the other will eventually be hidden by the resonator, but I know they are there. It only required a bit of lathe work to true the outside and cut the ledge for the tone ring. I then chased down a few shallow voids between the laminations, packed them with fine sanding dust and flooded them with thin CA glue. These were limited to a few places on the top and bottom edges, and did not run through the rim. Then I glued on the laminated, nine-segment bottom cap and a walnut veneer cap on the top edge. These were trapezoidal segments. I trimmed them with a flush trim bit in a router and then rounded over the bottom edges on the lathe. I made a Longworth lathe chuck for this work. The tone ring sits perfectly in the ledge, and just touches the veneer on the inside top edge.

I love this. I am a tenor player with the Kettering Banjo Society. I have been wanting to attempt a banjo build.

I've been kicking around a banjo build since having the good luck to acquire an early 1900's A. C. Fairbanks open back.

Thanks for the photos Patrick. And for the record, your fitting, including the inlays, completely surpass the Fairbanks.

Ray

Absolutely beautiful work Patrick...congrats & well done!

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Dave
Milton, ON

Like it? It's absolutely stunning in every detail.


Bob

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http://www.bobmatthewsguitars.co.uk

Beautiful work, Patrick! Love it!

Wonderful!

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

That's a great looking banjo. Nice job!

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Another day, another dollar.

Classy!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Ken

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Ken

Thank you, Guys. I appreciate this a lot. Since first posting the banjo, I've made a wooden arm rest for it that might be of interest to some. I haven't edited the photos yet, but I'll add that to the thread as soon as I get those sorted out. Still no resonator, though, and not likely to be one until after the humid summer weather.

VaVaVavoom. I like everything about the aesthetic of this instrument. I wish I had a good eye for design!

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Patrick, that is really a work of art.
The material and craftsmanship are top notch.
Thanks for sharing!
Dan

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