c.1920 "Home Sweet Home" Banjo Ukulele

Here's a little (already taken) banjo uke from the 1920s with quite a bit of character. It's entirely made out of maple with a bit of flame on the neck and birdseye veneer on the pot and resonator back plate. Work included a neck reset, a "found object" tailpiece, and general restoration and repair (including patching of a torn head and some rim regluing).

Another angle.

The chromed tension hoop cleaned up pretty nicely... but take a look at that awesome paint job!

"Home Sweet Home" with style. New maple Grover bridge fits with the old maple body. This one is really, really attractive in person, and sounds really nice and mellow. The nylguts help impart a dry, sweet tone without the cruel pinging highs seen on most banjo ukes.

Polished-up brass frets.

Headstock. Tuners are c.1950s/1960s Grovers that I had in my parts bin. I've spruced them up with some new washers and they work nicely.

Side.


Pegs.


Back... f-holes on the domed resonator.


Back detail.

And this is a tailpiece fashioned from a flattened c.1900 brass mandolin tailpiece that bit the dust. The 4 holes are actually holes left over from the tailpiece's attachment to the hook section of the tailpiece, but serve nicely now as mounts for the uke's strings. I've also used a loop instead of a screw so someone can tie their strap to it if desired.