Proy Wood

#007 out the door today, and what a beauty! a local client commissioned this vermont themed banjo from will at seeders instruments a while back ... all vermont woods and inlays; local cherry from bob crosby at battenkill tone woods in arlington, vermont, walnut from my dcf stock, cut in rupert, hop hornbeam for the fretboard from a friend who was cutting some firewood and liked the look of the log and dropped it at our shop for will to dry and use ... its all good ... click the pictures to enlarge them ...
the seeders instruments nameplate ...
the whole deal
side view
will set up a new photography thing by hanging the banjo from the ceiling on monofilament fishing line in front of some pool table felt we had on hand. were wrestling with a new camera so some of the photos seem a little dark, but the details are crispy when you blow them up ...
back view with another map on the heel ..
peg head with a little knot figure in the walnut
nice tuners from stew mac ..
and the boat heel detail on the neck ... very cool ... i had never seen that shaped detail before.
and there is a short video, both claw hammer and picking style on wills website and there are a few in process photos below ...
other banjo posts here ... and wills banjo plays nice with some of our other vermont stuff ... might be time for me to do something vermonty ... hmmm .
the boys are proud to be vermonters .. sam has sold about 150 of his vermont belt buckles now ... great wedding and birthday presents.
and trevor made this coffee table for himself a few years back

Whether you know it or not, those big fat florescent tubes you have in your workshop now will no longer be available in 2012. Here in Vermont, we have quite a progressive program called Efficiency Vermont that helps industry and other smaller users of florescent lighting to replace old fixtures with new updated 4 bulbs. The new ballasts are TINY. According too their calculations, Ill save a ton of electricity and the fixtures will pay for themselves over the next couple of years. A friend with a car repair shop told one of my guys today that his electric bill went down about $100.00 to $125.00 a month after participating in this program ... Not only that, the light is fantastic. Its warmer, brighter, and more even than any florescent lights I have ever experienced. Working with Efficiency Vermont, I will receive a substantial rebate check to help with the installation cost after they come to check on my 53 new fixtures .... This is a great deal and they also have programs for public buildings and homes ... Our firehouse just got all new LED flood lights and will be upgrading their florescent s soon at pretty much zero cost to the taxpayers ...
Out with the old, in with the new ...
upstairs, downstairs, finish building, metalshop ...