The Scroll Shop (Ed of H's Shop Thread)

[KR]

Very cool, that.

[David Houck]

Nice looking century-old banjo; what was wrong with it that it wasn't playable?

[David Houck]

I don't know anything about banjos, but I ran a search, and the peghead inlay looks very similar to one on a banjo on Reverb described as a Lyon & Healy.


https://reverb.com/item/56554195-lyon-healy-f-style-4-string-open-back-tenor-banjo-birds-eye-maple-un-cleaned-but-solid

[cozmik_cowboy]

Well, based on the groovy checkerboard binding, I'm thinking it's a Rickenbacker.......

I must confess, it took me a second to reset the old brainpan from its gitfiddle default to banjer; I'm sitting here thinking "Dern - I knew Greg was good, but I can't even see where he put on the new..... oh, new head, not new headstock!  My son the drummer would be so ashamed.


Peter (who may take a minute, but does get there eventually)

[edwardofhuncote]

Good eye, Dave, definitely the same headstock inlay and certainly the same time period, though my subject is a different model altogether. I could believe Lyon & Healy, which places it in a Chicago factory, rather than the Northeast. Unsurprising, as Lyon & Healy built for several well-known catalog labels. Some were extremely fancy too.

The checkered bindings should have been my clue, Coz... they wound up on quite a few Chicago-label Regal and Oahu guitars too.


*and yes, I replaced the busted hide, with a Fiberskyn head, a synthetic banjo head made to simulate the old calfskin hide-heads. The headstock of this banjo is completely healthy... I just thought you guys might enjoy those backstraps.

[edwardofhuncote]

Well, unfortunately... things have broken down at work, and I'm back to a schedule that just doesn't allow for any meaningful, productive shop time. I'll have to finish up what's on my bench and blow the lights out again.


The unbranded tenor banjo is almost done. The resonator still needs to be refitted. The old Kay Orchestra Model is in the last stages too. Th ed Kay cello, well... that was just something that I wanted to try, so it'll keep. 


Maybe a couple more posts, and back to sleep again for Summer. I sure have enjoyed the break, being back in my shop again.

[edwardofhuncote]

Glued the top back onto the Kay bass. I've had it dry-clamped for a couple weeks to help it 'remember' its shape. A bead of glue all the way around, spread out evenly on the blocks and corners, then spread the clamping pressure out.  I'll knock the clamps off another night this week.

The banjo is restrung and sounds great. Unfortunately, the flange is so warped that it will not seat into the resonator anymore. Not even close. (in the words of Archie Campbell, I tried it on and it fit'n-dit...) You can see the two little hold-down fasteners here... they are basically useless now. I'll have to devise a new way to secure the resonator. I already have an idea... been here, done this before.

Pics;  (check out the matching checkerboard binding, Coz)

[cozmik_cowboy]

Man, that resonator is gorgeous!

Peter

[edwardofhuncote]

The Montgomery-Ward tenor banjo is complete, and going back to Fret Mill Music this afternoon.

I came up with a solution to keep the pot assembly both centered, and offset just enough that the warped flange won't be an issue. These wood blocks are fit exactly to fit the floor, the rim wall, and the ledge of the resonator. They are spaced in a triad to prevent it rocking. Once glued in place, I marked where the screw holes would go, directly though the existing holes already in the resonator flange. A trip down the fastener aisle of my favorite old-school hardware store produced these shoulder washers for a nice finished look.

It's a good, solid fix even I'd be happy with.

[KR]

Greg, seeing how calmly you react to issues that come up with these repairs, reminds me of how I react to computer vs home or car issues I deal with. If my problem deals with a physical object, I get less agitated because I know I can modify or fashion something that will work. But if issues come up with a computer or program, etc... I'm tweaked easily and reach for the Advil.

[edwardofhuncote]

The Founder of Honeytone Banjo Works is 79 years old today. I have it from good sources he's been fed and sung to, and gotten back to the business of entertaining Rosie. I'm starting to understand why I don't get much help or oversight in the shop anymore.

I dropped off another gift certificate to Corvette Central after work today. He burned his last ones putting in this sweet burl walnut dash and console in his '87 C-4. (actually, one of my nephews did the installation... did a heluva job too)

[cozmik_cowboy]

Wow - that looks like the dash on my '77 Triumph Spitfire!

Peter

[pauldo]

Rosie ♥️

[edwardofhuncote]

She's a wildcard. The Ol' Man would like nothing better than to take his little doggie riding in the Vette. Rosie just don't do car rides... never has. So they hang out there in Mom's she-shed until they get caught and run out.


Yeah, that material is cool. It's a thin veneer of wood laminated to some kind of polycarbonate material. It's very easy to work with. Notice how all the pieces are grain-matched? Kinda' like continuous wood backplates.

[edwardofhuncote]

Emptying out the shop and closing down for the year... I have a cool project on the bench worth posting.

This one came my way, by way of Fret Mill Music. The local V.A. Hospital here in Salem has a Recreation Department with a few musical instruments. This 1940 Gibson RB-00 has been in their inventory longer than anyone can remember. The assumption is that it was a donation by a patient long ago. The whole music program runs on donation for that matter.

Anyway, the "00" was about the cheapest banjo you could buy that had the Gibson brand stenciled on the headstock. There were quite a few catalog models with house brands... Kalamazoo, Oriole, Recording King, etc. I have seen a few TB-00's (tenor banjo) and a couple MB-00 (mandolin banjo) but this is only the second RB (regular banjo, seriously) I've ever seen.

It didn't really need much. New tuning machines, new head, bridge, and a good cleaning and setup. I'll probably be done with it later today.