025 – VT Native Wood Banjo
A Vermont native wood banjo made from Cherry, Walnut and Ironwood. The owner decided on some of the details to pick up on some common themes that we see throughout the state. We went with Cherry, Walnut and Ironwood as they are common hardwoods grown sustainably throughout the state and make great sounding banjos. The Fiberskyn head reminded him of the cows that you see throughout the state’s dairy farms (while not having to use a calf skin for the banjo). The amber tuning knobs and maple leaf inlay touched on the maple sugaring industry that is such a large part of Vermont tradition and culture.
- Vermont Cherry and Walnut Brick Laid 11″ Pot
- 25-1/2″ Scale Length
- 1-1/4″ Nut
- Ironwood Fretboard
- Ironwood Vermont Inlay in Curly Walnut Peghead Overlay
- Cherry and Walnut Three Piece Neck
- Seeders Pyramid Heel with Vermont Inlay
- Vermont Inlay in Frailing Scoop
- Paddle Peghead Shape
- Published in Banjos
024 – Native Wood Dobson Banjo
A simple but elegant banjo that features completely native Vermont Hardwood and a Vermont inlay in the peghead. The owner of the banjo lives in the Gaysville,VT area so we added a dot to the state inlay. The 12 inch rim adds a really nice deep low end to the Dobson tone ring.
- 12″ Vermont Cherry and Walnut 12″ Brick Laid Pot
- 26-3/16″ Scale Length
- 1-1/4″ Nut
- Ironwood Fretboard
- Ironwood Vermont Inlay in Curly Cherry Peghead Veneer
- Curly Cherry and Walnut 3 Piece Neck
- Vega Heel Shape
- Frailing Scoop
- Published in Banjos
023 – VT Native Wood Banjo
This native Vermont wood custom banjo features Vermont themed inlays and locally grown hardwoods. The Ironwood fretboard was harvested locally in Dorset, VT and the Walnut in the neck, pot and inlays was harvested right up the road in Rupert, VT. As much as I enjoy making banjos with traditional materials and exotic hardwoods (ebony and rosewood for instance), there are some excellent native hardwood options for building custom banjos as showcased in the Native Vermont Wood Banjos that I build.
- Cherry and Walnut Brick Laid 11″ Pot
- 25-1/2″ Scale Length
- 1-1/4″ Bone Nut
- Ironwood Fretboard with Walnut Inlays
- Ironwood Vermont Inlay in Walnut Peghead Overlay
- Cherry and Walnut three piece neck
- Seeders Pyramid Heel
- Ogee Scoop
- Paddle Peghead
- Antiqued Raw Brass Hardware
- Published in Banjos
022 – Curly Maple Piccolo Banjo
A Curly Maple and Ebony Piccolo banjo with engraved mother of pearl inlays and engraved rim cap. The rim cap is engraved with the owner’s family’s initials as well as a quote from the Mary Oliver poem ‘The Summer Day’. We used the inlay design from Seeders Banjo #012 as well as the volute detail and bound dowel stick from Seeders Banjo #015. The fifth string neck carving was inspired by the work of Lee Sproull of Alabama.
- 8″ Curly Maple Steam Bent Pot with Engraved Ebony Rim Cap
- 18″ Scale Length
- 1-1/4″ Buffalo Horn Nut
- Engraved VT Buck Horn Mother of Pearl Inlays
- Laminated Ebony Neck Volute
- Carved Fifth String Detail
- Seeders Pyramid Heel
- Antiqued Brass Hardware
- Stained Three Piece Curly Maple Neck
- Stained Goat Skin Head
- Seeders Curved Bridge
- Ebony Bound Dowel Stick
- Mother of Pearl Side Dots
- Published in Banjos
021 – Half Fretless Dog Banjo
This banjo project started out as an existing S.S. Stewart banjo with a spunover rim that needed a new neck. The owner wanted to have a tribute to his dog inlayed into the peghead so I took a picture he sent me and drew it as an inlay using different wood species for color and contrast. A great way to get a modern playing vintage sounding instrument.
- 11″ S.S. Stewart Spun Over Pot
- 25.5″ Scale Length
- 1-1/4″ Nut Width
- Brass Half Fretless Overlay
- Rosewood Fingerboard with Ironwood Dot Inlays
- Brass Side Dots
- Custom Dog Inlay
- Three Piece Cherry and Walnut Neck
- Frailing Scoop
- Paddle Peghead
- Published in Banjos
020 – Half Fretless Whyte Laydie Banjo
This Vega pot most likely started out as a Vega Whyte Laydie tenor or banjolin. The owner of the pot and I put our heads together and from his vision and love of contrasting woods we came up with this unique neck. The woods we used were a lightly figured soft maple for the neck, Ironwood for the fretless overlay and dot inlays, an ebony fingerboard, curly claro walnut for binding, peruvian walnut, ebony and maple for the center lamination of the neck, ebony and maple for the nautical star peghead inlay and fumed english oak for the peghead and heel overlay. The combinations create a very unique looking neck with woods that compliment each other nicely while creating an eye catching contrast. The completely bound coffin peghead shape was inspired by a mid to late 19th century minstrel banjo peghead with marquetry inlays that had binding continuing across the peghead above the nut, a small but challenging detail that created a unique look.
- 10 1/16″ Vega Whyte Laydie Pot
- 24 1/2″ Scale Length
- 1-3/8″ Nut Width
- Vermont Ironwood Half Fretless Fingerboard Overlay
- Ironwood Dot Inlays
- Medium Width EVO Fretwire
- 9 Piece Neck Lamination
- Coffin Peghead Shape with Nautical Star Inlay
- Raw Brass ABM Tuners
- Frailing Scoop
- Volute
- Published in Banjos
019 – Aluminum Rim Conversion Banjo
This banjo was built for a local friend and fellow woodworker. He found a couple old banjos in his basement and wanted to use whatever we could to create a simple tenor banjo. We found that one of the chinese made banjos he found had a nice aluminum pot without the ‘bottle cap’ flange that most of these aluminum pots have. He had recently dismantled an antique bed to salvage the wood and found that is was made from old growth Beech. It had a beautiful tight grain that was very straight and it was incredibly stable because of its age. He brought me the neck blank and I whipped up this little left handed tenor for him. I ended up being very surprised with how great the salvaged aluminum pot sounded.
- 23″ Scale Length
- 1-1/4″ Nut
- 11-1/16″ Aluminum Pot
- Nickel Plated Hardware
- 3 Piece Beech neck with Curly Maple center stripe
- Hardhack/Ironwood fretboard
- Bubinga Peghead Overlay
- Left Handed
- Published in Banjos
018 – Brass and Cocobolo Fretless Banjo
This is a very simply appointed fretless banjo that showcases some fine details and exotic and local hardwoods.
- 25.5″ Scale Length
- 1-1/4″ Nut
- 11″ Vermont Cherry and Walnut Pot
- Nickel Plated Hardware
- 3 Piece Vermont Cherry Neck
- Fretless Coccobolo Fingerboard with Brass Inlay
- Frailing Scoop
- Brass Side Dots
- Published in Banjos
017 – Prime Number Fretless Banjo
The Vega Little Wonder pot that was used in this banjo was sent to me with the original tenor neck that had a bad break. The owner being someone with an interest in numbers wanted prime numbers inlaid into the fretboard. Throughout the process we thought it would be a cool idea to use a piece of the original neck in the design. Being that 17 is a prime number, part of the design and just by chance happening to be #017 I decided to use a piece for the 17 inlaid into the fretboard to subtly contrast the other walnut numbers.
- 11″ Vega Little Wonder Pot
- 26-3/16″ Scale
- Skin Head
- 1-1/4″ Nut
- Walnut Prime Number Inlay Design
- Walnut Neck
- Ironwood Fingerboard
- Published in Banjos
016 – W.A. Cole Conversion Banjo
This rim came from what was originally a W.A. Cole mandolin banjo that most likely dates from the 10’s-20’s. It was sent to me with a missing neck and was designed with some of W.A. Cole’s original designs and appointments in mind with a few variations on his style.
- 9 7/8″ W.A. Cole Mandolin Banjo Pot #89
- 23″ Scale Length
- Skin Head
- 1 1/4″ Nut
- Scooped Neck
- Amber Tuner Knobs
- Published in Banjos