Beautiful! I'm rather envious...

Lovely banjo Steve, a friend of mine spotted a wooden rim Windsor in an auction a few months ago, only one photo, a square-on front view and the blurb didn't mention it was a wooden rim model. Fortunately he recognised straight away what it was and bought it. The auction house was near me and I picked it up for him and subsequently fixed one or two minor repairs that needed doing. Primarily a couple of hairline cracks that had opened up in the fingerboard.

I knew little or nothing about Windsor banjos. The build quality of my friend’s banjo, as with yours, impressed me and it has a beautiful tone.

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Originally posted by EEB

Lovely banjo Steve, a friend of mine spotted a wooden rim Windsor in an auction a few months ago, only one photo, a square-on front view and the blurb didn't mention it was a wooden rim model. Fortunately he recognised straight away what it was and bought it. The auction house was near me and I picked it up for him and subsequently fixed one or two minor repairs that needed doing. Primarily a couple of hairline cracks that had opened up in the fingerboard.

I knew little or nothing about Windsor banjos. The build quality of my friend’s banjo, as with yours, impressed me and it has a beautiful tone.

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They are fine banjos Mike. I am particularly pleased with this one as it's very much of it's time with it's chrome plating and dark finish. The only changes I made were the Windsor metal tuner buttons as I couldn't lay my hands on a match for the original plastic, two of which were damaged. Do you happen to remember what dowel plate your friends has ?

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Originally posted by Stephen John Prior

Do you happen to remember what dowel plate your friends has ?

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I have photos. It has a bomb-shelter wall of a rim. That, a skin head and ultra-light CE rectified nylon strings together generate a distinctive and beautiful tone. I picked it up unstrung, but with the original New Windsor 2-pillar leg bridge. Kept that on there in the final set-up.
 

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Originally posted by EEB

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Originally posted by Stephen John Prior

Do you happen to remember what dowel plate your friends has ?

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I have photos. It has a bomb-shelter wall of a rim. That, a skin head and ultra-light CE rectified nylon strings together generate a distinctive and beautiful tone. I picked it up unstrung, but with the original New Windsor 2-pillar leg bridge. Kept that on there in the final set-up.
 

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Thanks Mike. 

A beauty for sure!

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Originally posted by Stephen John Prior

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Originally posted by EEB

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Originally posted by Stephen John Prior

Do you happen to remember what dowel plate your friends has ?

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I have photos. It has a bomb-shelter wall of a rim. That, a skin head and ultra-light CE rectified nylon strings together generate a distinctive and beautiful tone. I picked it up unstrung, but with the original New Windsor 2-pillar leg bridge. Kept that on there in the final set-up.
 

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Thanks Mike. 

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What date range was the Windsor Wood Rim Unique Model manufactured?  My friend's has 22 frets, paddle peghead and burnished steel(?) finish simple tuning pegs.

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Originally posted by EEB

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Originally posted by Stephen John Prior

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Originally posted by EEB

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Originally posted by Stephen John Prior

Do you happen to remember what dowel plate your friends has ?

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I have photos. It has a bomb-shelter wall of a rim. That, a skin head and ultra-light CE rectified nylon strings together generate a distinctive and beautiful tone. I picked it up unstrung, but with the original New Windsor 2-pillar leg bridge. Kept that on there in the final set-up.
 

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Thanks Mike. 

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What date range was the Windsor Wood Rim Unique Model manufactured?  My friend's has 22 frets, paddle peghead and burnished steel(?) finish simple tuning pegs.

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I cannot speak for Windsor, but the "Wood Rim" or "Wood Hoop" banjo became a phenomena on the heels of Alfred Farland's visit to England in 1903.  While Farland was not able to fill seats, the lasting impact were "Wood Hoop" banjos based on the concept of his design.  

Clifford Essex introduced their "Wood Hoop Special" around October of 1905.  This was not made by Alfred Weaver but was around the time they started building in their own workshops. 

Obviously, banjos with wooden rims were nothing "new" in 1903.  But the concept seemed to be novel (a thick rim with a beveled top edge) and was marketable or demanded enough that models were introduced by all the majors in England. 

There was an article mentioning the Wood Rim fad in Cammeyer's magazine but I will need to dig to find it as I have not started scanning that yet. 

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Originally posted by EEB

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Originally posted by Stephen John Prior

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Originally posted by EEB

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Originally posted by Stephen John Prior

Do you happen to remember what dowel plate your friends has ?

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I have photos. It has a bomb-shelter wall of a rim. That, a skin head and ultra-light CE rectified nylon strings together generate a distinctive and beautiful tone. I picked it up unstrung, but with the original New Windsor 2-pillar leg bridge. Kept that on there in the final set-up.
 

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Thanks Mike. 

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What date range was the Windsor Wood Rim Unique Model manufactured?  My friend's has 22 frets, paddle peghead and burnished steel(?) finish simple tuning pegs.

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I think the dowel stick plated models started early in 1900's. I'd need to check but I think one of mine is dated on the plate 1906. I think the early models didn't have a tailpiece just pins in the tension hoop. The attached photo is another wood rim I have with those pins.. Then they seem to have changed to the Windsor Pyxe tailpiece fitted to the hoop with machine screws. The later ones have the same tailpiece as the wood rim above. Date range so far as I can say for sure 1906 - 1935. 

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Originally posted by Stephen John Prior

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Originally posted by EEB

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Originally posted by Stephen John Prior

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Originally posted by EEB

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Originally posted by Stephen John Prior

Do you happen to remember what dowel plate your friends has ?

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I have photos. It has a bomb-shelter wall of a rim. That, a skin head and ultra-light CE rectified nylon strings together generate a distinctive and beautiful tone. I picked it up unstrung, but with the original New Windsor 2-pillar leg bridge. Kept that on there in the final set-up.
 

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Thanks Mike. 

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What date range was the Windsor Wood Rim Unique Model manufactured?  My friend's has 22 frets, paddle peghead and burnished steel(?) finish simple tuning pegs.

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I think the dowel stick plated models started early in 1900's. I'd need to check but I think one of mine is dated on the plate 1906. I think the early models didn't have a tailpiece just pins in the tension hoop. The attached photo is another wood rim I have with those pins.. Then they seem to have changed to the Windsor Pyxe tailpiece fitted to the hoop with machine screws. The later ones have the same tailpiece as the wood rim above. Date range so far as I can say for sure 1906 - 1935. 

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Thanks Steve. That's a long production run.  The paddle peghead, burnished steel pegs and inlay pattern to my eyes lend my friend's Windsor quite a 'modern look' for that time, c.1930. But it has the pins in the tension hope so is earlier than I had guessed.

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Originally posted by Joel Hooks

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Originally posted by EEB

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Originally posted by Stephen John Prior

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Originally posted by EEB

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Originally posted by Stephen John Prior

Do you happen to remember what dowel plate your friends has ?

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I have photos. It has a bomb-shelter wall of a rim. That, a skin head and ultra-light CE rectified nylon strings together generate a distinctive and beautiful tone. I picked it up unstrung, but with the original New Windsor 2-pillar leg bridge. Kept that on there in the final set-up.
 

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Thanks Mike. 

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What date range was the Windsor Wood Rim Unique Model manufactured?  My friend's has 22 frets, paddle peghead and burnished steel(?) finish simple tuning pegs.

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I cannot speak for Windsor, but the "Wood Rim" or "Wood Hoop" banjo became a phenomena on the heels of Alfred Farland's visit to England in 1903.  While Farland was not able to fill seats, the lasting impact were "Wood Hoop" banjos based on the concept of his design.  

Clifford Essex introduced their "Wood Hoop Special" around October of 1905.  This was not made by Alfred Weaver but was around the time they started building in their own workshops. 

Obviously, banjos with wooden rims were nothing "new" in 1903.  But the concept seemed to be novel (a thick rim with a beveled top edge) and was marketable or demanded enough that models were introduced by all the majors in England. 

There was an article mentioning the Wood Rim fad in Cammeyer's magazine but I will need to dig to find it as I have not started scanning that yet. 

 

 

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Thanks for the interesting background on the early 1900's popularity of this type rim, Joel.

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Originally posted by EEB

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Originally posted by Stephen John Prior

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Originally posted by EEB

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Originally posted by Stephen John Prior

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Originally posted by EEB

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Originally posted by Stephen John Prior

Do you happen to remember what dowel plate your friends has ?

---

I have photos. It has a bomb-shelter wall of a rim. That, a skin head and ultra-light CE rectified nylon strings together generate a distinctive and beautiful tone. I picked it up unstrung, but with the original New Windsor 2-pillar leg bridge. Kept that on there in the final set-up.
 

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Thanks Mike. 

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What date range was the Windsor Wood Rim Unique Model manufactured?  My friend's has 22 frets, paddle peghead and burnished steel(?) finish simple tuning pegs.

---

I think the dowel stick plated models started early in 1900's. I'd need to check but I think one of mine is dated on the plate 1906. I think the early models didn't have a tailpiece just pins in the tension hoop. The attached photo is another wood rim I have with those pins.. Then they seem to have changed to the Windsor Pyxe tailpiece fitted to the hoop with machine screws. The later ones have the same tailpiece as the wood rim above. Date range so far as I can say for sure 1906 - 1935. 

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Thanks Steve. That's a long production run.  The paddle peghead, burnished steel pegs and inlay pattern to my eyes lend my friend's Windsor quite a 'modern look' for that time, c.1930. But it has the pins in the tension hope so is earlier than I had guessed.

 

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The plate is stamped 1906. I was interested to note your friends dowel stick is not veneered. The rims on many of the higher grade wood rims are veneered in birds eye maple and he tended to veneer the dowel sticks to match. The higher grades also have his neck angle adjustment mechanism. 

This is the thread on cb ning, about the banjo from the auction house, that Mike collected for me and very kindly tidied up. Unfortunately, due to my being afflicted with an ongoing illness, we haven't been able to meet up since then.

classic-banjo.ning.com/forum/t...=activity

Just bought, in pieces, another wood rim from Ebay. Whirle badge, Pyxe tailpiece. "The Unique 4" stamped on the peghead. The rim like the OP wood rim is 5/8th inches thick. I'll post photos once I've assembled it.

Windsor wood rim. The Unique No.4. Ball brackets and rebated tension hoop. Sadly the armrest, which fitted onto the tension hoop, is missing. I'm currently repairing the resonator which may or may not be a later addition.