I put a new head on my 1988 Granada today and decided to take off the tone ring to check fit and see if there was anything interesting underneath. I found the following on the rim and ring:
I know this is tone ring A-21 from Anti-Friction Products (Richard Kulesh Sr.) and that it matches the rim. I've been reading various archived topics about AFP rings, including that they were cast in lots and that the A in A-21 is the lot designation. Beyond that, I have no idea. I bought this banjo new in 1988 but I'm still finding out things I didn't know about it.
Any information about these rings would be useful for me and probably others on this list who have early Greg Rich era Mastertones. Thanks in advance.
1988 ESS # 1325 appears to be same handwriting
Edited by - banjoT1 on 02/25/2025 01:38:19
The archived post below is from Oct/2023 by BHO member Kurt Kemp. The original thread, and chat including from Richard Kulesh Jr., appeared in 2014. I believe the text is a direct copy/paste from Richard's post.
................................................... .
Here is some helpful information for dating AFP rings:
Lot A: April 1987 - 50 rings (1-50)
Lot B: September 1987 - 95 rings (51-145)
Lot C: December 1987 - 94 rings (146-240)
Lot D: April 1988 - 199 rings (241-440)
Lot E: Unknown Date (probably mid-1988) - 145 rings (441- 558, 607-635)
Lot F: Unknown date (probably summer/fall-1988), but simultaneous to Lot E, from the looks of it - 47 rings (559-606)
Lot G: No date (probably very late 1988) - (636-664)
Lot I: 25Apr89, previous 3 lots were possibly in 3-4 month increments.
Lot J: June 1989 - 252 rings (713-965). The last of the lot is dated to have been completed on 8/18/1989.
Some lots had dates, some did not. Usually, if a lot was undated, you can get an idea from the adjacent one when that was. For example, Lot I was 25Apr89, so the previous 3 lots were possibly in 3-4 month increments.
Also, The sequential nature of the serial number means that ring one of the lot was ring number 713 and the last of the last was 965\ for Lot J as an example.
Edited by - banjoT1 on 02/25/2025 01:54:27
Thanks for the list. Now I wonder why my banjo, which was the 98th Granada built in 1988 following 27 Granadas built in 1987, got one of the first batch of 50 rings.
People talk about the unanswered questions around the pre-war Mastertones. I'm trying to answer these questions while there are still people around who know the facts.
...unless someone with first-hand knowledge can provide an explanation why your ring languished for a year in the warehouse, we can only speculate - perhaps as serendipitous or as simple as a later pallet of rings was stacked on top of the first pallet of "A" rings.
Edited by - banjoT1 on 02/25/2025 11:30:59
That's certainly possible. I'm not complaining, mind you...
I have seen a great deal of 'slippage' with these earlier batch rings being on later stamped wims Rich...I think even more so with the higher end models because they set the pieces aside and they took longer to prepare.
Edited by - Pigeontown Banjo Co on 02/25/2025 16:19:35
Well, I'm glad they took their time with mine, then.
BTW you can see part of this banjo in the corner of my avatar. That was the day Earl signed it.
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