The Philadelphia 1/2 Fretless

Here are the pictures of the banjo before I got to work on it. The left side of the head stock was missing, the carved heal was cracked and the pot was dull and dirty. The fingerboard and head stock veneer were gone entirely. The neck was a bit humped and twisted as well. I heat pressed the neck three or four times to try and straighten it as much as I could without removing any more material. Then I drilled about 180 holes down the center of the neck and after a bit of chisel work I glued in a carbon fiber rod to add strength and rigidity to the neck. After the truss rod was installed I added a .080" mahogany lamination, about the thickness of a guitar side, to add a bit more bulk to the neck. I prefer the feel of a clubby neck. Then I patched in the missing wood to the side of the head stock. Once I had the head stock shape refined I added a black and white veneer to the fingerboard and head stock. I used ebony for the fingerboard and final head stock veneer. To help conceal the pieces I added onto the head stock from the back, I added a long back strap to the back of the head stock and neck. The banjo has a great warn and cutting old time sound. The combination of a heavy double spun over pot, skin head and mahogany neck is just fantastic. Don't forget to scroll down for the after pictures. Enjoy!

 

Before...

 

And after...