Mountain Banjo, Fretless, new, made in West Virginia!!

Finished this one October 7, 2026. It measures 36 1/2” overall, 11” wide, 2 1/4” side height, and I have the bridge 25” from the nut in the photos. I really love the natural color beech neck in contrast with the dark stained poplar body. The Aquila super nylgut 1b strings sound really good on this but I can replace with ball end light gauge steel strings if you need me to, or you can even get medium gauge ball end steel strings. The nylgut strings I brought up to standard tuning 3 times so that will help but there will still
Be a two week period they need to stretch before they settle but will last longer than steel strings as long as you keep them clean. The beech neck is sturdy as can be and historically beech was used for block planes because it’s hard and doesn’t move. The neck does have my V neck profile and which is a very old style but very comfortable in the hands. As far as I know I’m the only person making them like this even the more expensive makers don’t have as refined a neck feel as what I offer but I tried to keep my prices low but costs of materials will no longer allow me to do that but my prices are still reasonable and I find that I get more customers who genuinely want to keep, play and maintain a heirloom quality instrument. I’m real nice and easy to get along with and will help or repair the banjo for you or send you a higher or lower bridge just let me know. I will include a set of guidelines and if I don’t answer a personal email it’s because it went to my spam box and message me on here to check my messages because sometimes I miss a personal email but I don’t miss them on here. The body on this banjo I went over with birch wood Casey tru oil so that seals the stain in so it don’t leak out or leech into a case or on clothes, then I went over it all with a food grade mix of boiled linseed oil and beeswax called tried & true original that you can get on Amazon and I love how it feeds the wood and embellishes the grain. Some people think beech grain is boring but I think it’s beautiful and much more sturdy than something highly figured. The solid ebony violin pegs on all my banjos are set in holes reamed with violin peg reamers that cut the same taper and angle so you get the best friction fit. The nut, bridge and tailpiece are all beech. In owning one of these banjos you are keeping an Appalachian culture alive at a time that its fading fast and if you are from out of town and show up in the area with one of these you will have all kinds of people interested and showing you respect but I figure you’d get that almost anywhere you go. I love it when people send me photos of ribbons they won with one of my banjos or a YouTube video of one being played. I think I got everything I wanted to say in here. I want to make 5 more banjos and list them on here between now and Christmas so don’t miss out on one of these. I have a very small & cluttered on man workspace and it takes me a long time making these by hand. Each sale directly impacts my life. Thanks for reading and hope to do business with you!