would love to see how old y'all think this might be. I got it knowing it may not be playable, as the neck has a twist. the pot looks pretty old, the hardware not so much. wondering if this was a partial restore that someone never finished up, or gave up. thoughts on age? thanks!
Great wall-hanger.
Well if you have a gig down at the Red Neck Saloon, you could take this banjo and use it for your self defense thereby sparing your good banjo. There are no bad banjos, but they must be aimed properly to be effective. banjered
A great will hanger for a Cracker Barrel restaurant. They would probably buy it from you.
Robert
Despite me thinking the warp could potentially give it aerodynamic properties, any guesses on age? Its got to be pre-1880s, no?
Edited by - jun3machina on 02/01/2023 14:07:24
This arrived today. Very small! Pot is approx 9-9.5" diameter. Skin is rolled on a hoop and was whip stitched on. Pot looks like it might have been a tack-head at some point (entry point holes along the edge on the inside) Tension hoop is handmade out of some scrap metal. The dowel reinforcement on the neck looks to be riveted into place so I dont even know if I can get a new head put on... I'll take better photos tomorrow and measurments. Thought I'd share some nail photos
quote:
Originally posted by jun3machinaDespite me thinking the warp could potentially give it aerodynamic properties, any guesses on age? Its got to be pre-1880s, no?
I don't think it's that old.
It's unusual, for sure, and my guess is that portions of it are older than other portions.
I wouldn't be worried about rivets as they can be drilled out carefully. The neck twist won't help, but it may still be somewhat playable. If all fails, you still have an interesting piece. Whatever, it doesn't belong in a Cracker Barrel.
With a banjo such as this, I doubt you'll ever find out who made it.
Agreed. Too nice for a cracker barrel. I showed some pictures to a luthier and we were discussing the woods. Pot looks like oak. Dowel looks like sycamore. Unsure on the neck. Maybe also sycamore. I believe you are right too, that some pieces are older than others. I think it was originally a tackhead too. And many of the metal pieces were added approx 1890-1910. The tailpiece mimics the lyon & healy patent bar tailpieces
One might be able to play this instrument by making the action & nut high enough to play "slide" style, & get some music out of this oddity.
The rim most likely started as a flour sieve. The "tack head" holes are from brads that would hold on the screen.
I'm getting folk revival handyman vibes off of this. It looks consciously old timey while having turn of the century parts.
The whipstitching of the head to the hoop is very Foxfire.
Edited by - Joel Hooks on 02/04/2023 17:01:48
