|
|
|
Banjo Restorations A small tenor banjo, possibly an old Vega, is in need of a total overhaul.
Copyright 2004, Richie Dotson. All rights reserved From the photos below, you can see the amount of time that has passed since this banjo was regularly played. This looks like the classis attic kept family keepsake from long ago. Nobody plays it, but it belonged to grandpa or whoever so we keep it. I have heard and seen this type of thing for years and although it may be a sin of sorts, I think I understand. Occasionally I will have the rare opportunity to save one of these beautiful banjos just before it was let go to complete ruin. That makes me happy. Here are a few photos and highlights of this old banjo being mercifully brought back to life.
The missing pieces are not that big a challenge depending on the amount of old parts you have on hand from old jobs. Even if they don't perfectly match you will have something functional when you are done. The first concern is this banjo being completely disassembled, cleaned and checked for hidden problems. The fingerboard is also separated from this banjo. The wood rim is beginning to delaminate and it is difficult to see what else may be wrong through all the crud. The headstock and the old friction pegs look good and with a little cleaning and adjusting, they were good to go. The pot was dismantled and the areas of the wood rim that were separating were repaired and them the banjo was reassembled and a new calf skin banjo head added. |
