Restoration #3 - tenor banjo
This banjo was restored to playing condition between September and November 2021.
It came to me with a broken skin, some significant dents and scoring of the neck, and a big chip taken out of the headstock. Strangely, at some point someone had drilled through the top of the headstock to install a fifth tuner - see photos below. The nut was loose, and it was missing a few tension hooks, a tailpiece, and a bridge. It had a large, possibly aluminium(?) resonator, which I left off when I restored it - this thing is plenty loud enough for me without it.
This was a personal restoration project, so it ended up taking a back seat between commissions for a little while, but in the end I got it looking (and sounding!) how I wanted:
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The fifth tuner was removed and the hole plugged with a small piece of cherry
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The hole on the front of the headstock was filled with a disc of beech, to contrast with the dark headstock wood
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The chipped headstock wood was removed, a piece of walnut put in - I like that the repair is visible here
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The broken nut was removed and replaced
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The worn old finish was sanded back, and a new French polish applied to the neck
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The fingerboard was cleaned and oiled
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The skin was replaced, as were the old mismatched tension hooks
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The spun-over pot and the machine head plates were cleaned up with wire wool
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A new bridge and tailpiece were sourced and fitted
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A new set of strings were put on






Before photos:



