c.1885 SS Stewart 5-String Banjo

Serial number places this SS Stewart around mid 1880s. It's a beaut, plays great, sounds great too -- and is all original save a couple replaced hooks, nuts, and shoes, and replacement tuners (I scrounged a nice set of ivoroid-buttoned 1910s friction pegs and a 1920s celluloid peg for the 5th string from my parts bin).

Stewarts are considered way up there in the world of classical banjos and for good reason: the quality of build and tone is way up there as well. This one has a (thick for the period) ebony fretboard with MOP inlays, nickel-silver frets, cherry neck with darker stain, ebony headstock veneer with MOP star inlay, and a maple rim with spunover German silver (including the top spunover part of the rim which acts as an integral tonering) with faux-rosewood painted/stained interior.

New bone nut, too. Nice inlay. These banjos were originally equipped with violin-style friction pegs but this set looks the part, too. Strings were originally gut. These are Aquila nylgut in the classical set (for G tuning) and sound excellent.

Here's a little ebony Stewart-inspired bridge I made for this banjo. I put the arches under the strings rather than under the gaps where the strings are not.

The banjo is in phenomenal shape and aside from some cleaning on the pot and tension hoop, I left the hardware as is because the patina was light and elegant, rather than grungy.

Made a couple of new ebony shims for the neck brace (originals were missing).

Non-original "no knot" tailpiece -- this one is probably c.1920s.

Luckily, this banjo was never abused with steel strings and the neck is perfectly straight, no twist, with frets in really great original shape. Gotta love it -- this is my kind of banjo for sure!