1900s Lange-made Supertone-style 5-String Banjo

I'm pretty sure that most of the banjos in this style were built by Lange (formerly the Buckbee factory) in New York and that most of them wound-up for sale (with a slightly different headstock) in the Sears catalog as Supertone instruments. This one dates from either the very late 1890s or early 1900s judging by its extreme amount of L-shaped shoes.

A customer sent this in to get repairs and it was gross when it arrived, with all manner of weird, congealed oil-stuff on the side of the rim and hardware almost rusted-up to the shoes. Upon closer inspection, it also needed a lot as well. Post-repairs, though, it's a gem of a player, lightweight, and has a clean, snappy response. I like it best played fingerstyle but, if you frail over the neck, it makes a decent old-time/clawhammer-style player as well.

Repairs included: board plane and refret (the neck was really warped), new Gotoh 4:1 tuners at the headstock and 5th peg, too, new 2-foot bridge (compensated), railroad spike capos for 2, 4, and 5, new Elite Remo Renaissance head, new brass no-knot tailpiece and brass armrest, replacement (vintage) hooks and nuts, lots of cleaning, and a proper setup. I also made the neck's back-angle adjustable via the installation of a couple of "trim screws" at the butt of the heel that can be adjusted to choose back-angle. This wound-up working better than simply shimming the angle back because it's more rigid.

Rim wood: maple

Tonering: none, spunover bottom-edge

Bridge: maple/ebony 2-foot Grover

Fretboard: ebonized maple

Neck wood: cherry or similar

Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (fast)
String gauges: 9, 20w, 13, 11, 9

Neck shape: medium V w/a little C

Board radius: flat

Truss rod: n/a

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium

Scale length: 25 7/8"

Nut width: 1 1/4"

Head diameter: 11”

Depth overall at rim: 2 1/4"

Weight: 4 lbs 8 oz

Condition notes: while a lot is non-original, the finish and much of the hardware is, too. It has plenty of wear-and-tear and damage to the finish and metal parts, but it's charming, sturdy, and good to go.