Jul 13 2011

Banjo in the making

The Van Gogh of the Banjo

As some of you already know, Carter, our mandolin/guitar/clarinet player, is also the skilled luthier behind Subterranean Music Works in Bath. He makes and repairs stringed instruments. Recently, Troy acquired the pot (round part) from a 1928 Vega Tub-a-phone banjo. It’s a really nice piece that used to go belong to a tenor banjo. It has the original skin head and closed-end bracket nuts.

Troy holds a vintage 1928 Vega Tub-a-phone banjo pot and a hunk of Maine rock maple Carter will carve into a new neck.

Troy holds a vintage 1928 Vega Tub-a-phone banjo pot and a hunk of Maine rock maple Carter will carve into a new neck.

Carter just happened to have a neck-length piece of rock maple kicking around. So, like chocolate and peanut butter, like peas and carrots, like Moxie and Needhams, we’re gonna put two great tastes together. Carter has agreed to carve a custom, extra long neck for Troy’s pot. Today, they finalized the plan for mother of pearl inlays and hardware.

Carter "The Beaver" Ruff begins the painstaking process of gnawing the rock maple into shape.

Carter "The Beaver" Ruff begins the painstaking process of gnawing the rock maple into shape.

We hope to update you on Carter’s progress on a regular basis so you can see how it’s done. So, stay tuned to this station for pictures and details.

Here we see Carter nearing completion on a tooth-carved guitar fretboard.

Here we see Carter nearing completion on a tooth-carved guitar fretboard.