Banjo #339

This is an 11" Spartan with a Dobson tone ring. It has a 2 ply maple rim that is turned to 3/8" thick and is a little shallower than my other rims. This rim style makes a banjo that sounds very similar to an original Dobson banjo. It is very lightweight like an old banjo as well. The neck is walnut and is pretty close to the same specs as an old Dobson, without the longer peghead at a severe angle.

This customer doesn't care for the color of brass, so I antiqued this hardware very dark then polished it out. The Dobson ring was a trick to darken, because oil is used on it while it's turned. It took about 40 minutes of applying an acid bath to it with steel wool, but it eventually turned a nice black color. This banjo is headed to Brevard, NC.