Banjo 09 - assembly

Over the course of the last week I've been applying an oil finish to this mountain banjo, in four coats.

By yesterday it had achieved the shine and contrast I was looking for - not too thick or glossy, but with a gorgeous shimmer to the grain.

So yesterday's work was assembly, the largest part of which was installing the skin.

I always mean to take in-progress photos of the skin installation but it's inevitably a bit of a whirl: prep all the components, line up the tools, and then run through the process in a single breath while the soaked skin is at its stretchiest. This is goatskin - for the previous few banjos I've used calf, but goat is slightly thinner and should give a slightly snappier sound.

With tuners, nut, 5th string pip, sand tailpiece also in position, this banjo is now sitting for a few days while the skin settles. Then I'll be putting it's first strings on and making final adjustments to the nut and bridge.