Sunday, September 9, 2012

1907 Orpheum #3 Banjo Finished

It's all finished and assembled. One of the most interesting restorations I've ever gotten to work on. I love the intricate design and all the details from the ornate inlays to the multiple piece dowel stick.

The peghead inlays were mostly intact. I only had to cut a couple of small pieces to replace the missing ones.

The fretboard inlays were all hand cut and inlaid into a new fretboard.

The inlay on the back of the headstock was intact. The tuners are all new modern replacements.

I had to hand shape the heel of the neck to fit the curvature of the body and to create the proper neck angle. The carving was all original, and the neck was in very good shape, so I didn't have to re-create the inticate carving on the heel.

A view of the maple/ebony dowel stick I created to closely match a photograph I had of another Orpheum from the same era.

Most of the hardware is new reproduction hardware, but I found an old armrest and a vintage neck/rim bracket that were closer to the originals than the modern repros.


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