YJ018 grain measure banjo

Pot is softwood, so the pot may or may not have been made from a grain measure. Some discussion here: grain measure pot thread. I steamed the pot to take out a warp, but the warp has returned, even with nylgut strings. I think that the pot is a little too soft to hold its shape. Appearance is affected, but the playability is not adversely affected.

Three of the tuners appear to be crude, older, manufactured wooden pegs, and two pegs are hand-carved wooden pegs.

No tone ring, skin head rests on wood.

The angular shoes look like some that I've seen on late 1800's Buckbee banjos. It has short, straight (not dog-legged) hooks, and all but three of the nuts are patinated similar to the hools and shoes.

When I got it, this banjo had crude frets. The fret positions were "eyeballed", so that the lower frets probably played close to correct pitches, but the higher notes were definately too far apart to play correctly. I took out the frets, put on a rosewood fingerboard veneer, and left it fretless. You can still see the fret slots on the side of the neck if you look closely.

DIMENSIONS:

Head dia. = 9 7/8"

Scale length: now set up @ 23 3/8"

String span @ nut = 1 1/16"

String span @ heel = 1 5/8".

Bridge = 3/4"

SETUP:

* action @ heel = 1/4".

FLAWS:

Uses violin pegs ...not really a flaw, but takes some getting used to if you've never used them. These are a less precise than geared tuners, and take more attention than geared tuners. The banjo will stay in tune.

Overall the finish is in rough, hand-made condition. This is not a loud banjo, and the tone is "average". The most appealing thing (to me) about this banjo is its apparent age and crude construction.

ON THE PLUS SIDE:

The most appealing thing (to me) about this banjo is its apparent age, crude construction, and overall rustic "character".

Sound clip:

Train on the Island