1940s Kay Baritone Banjo Ukulele Conversion

This is a Kay tenor banjo from the '40s. It still has the company's metal neck adjustment bracket rather than the plastic one of later years, so I'm guessing it's just-postwar. Its neck had developed a bit of warp and twist (that I leveled-out via the frets) with steel strings, so after sprucing-up I set it up and "converted" it into a baritone banjo ukulele with all-plain, DGBE fluorocarbon strings (the D'Addario low-G tenor uke set works perfectly, here).

In this capacity it both plays and sounds awesome and the neck is good and true. You can play it like a tenor banjo if you want with a floppy nylon pick (or whatever), but of course it excels at being just what it is... a big banjo-uke! I love the sound of the chop chords and strummy triplets and whatnot, though faux-clawhammer playing and fingerpicking sound great, too.

It's a full-resonator design and so can't be played with the resonator removed as the flange and bracket band are one and the same. I modified the neck join area with an extra bolt for stability (as I do on all Kay adjustable-neck-gizmo instruments), too, so it's sturdy and good to go. Other work was the usual for mid-grade old banjos -- new head, cleaning, fretwork, new tuners -- and now that the work is all done it's a happy camper.

Repairs included: a new Renaissance head, replacement tailpiece, parts-bin tuners for the headstock, side dots install, fret level/dress, cleaning, setup.

Rim wood: poplar

Tonering: medium-sized hoop

Bridge: 60s-style Grover

Fretboard: ebonized maple

Neck wood: poplar

Action height at 12th fret: hair-over 1/16" (fast, easy)
String gauges: D'Addario EJ99TLG low-G fluorocarbon

Neck shape: medium-bigger V/C hybrid

Board radius: flat

Neck relief: effectively straight

Fret style: low/small

Scale length: 23"

Nut width: 1 3/16"

Head diameter: 11”

Resonator diameter: 13 1/2"

Depth overall at rim: 3 1/4"

Weight: 7 lbs 6 oz

Condition notes: it's got scratches and scuffs throughout and mild usewear/playwear as well. The head, bridge, tailpiece, and tuners are not original but the rest is. I added a neck-reinforcement bolt at the inside of the rim to keep the neck angle aligned properly. It's good to go!