Bill Anderson Says:
Saturday, March 25, 2017 @8:07:05 PM

I say the neck is probably original, although it is weird. H C used Buckbee manufactured parts and it looks right to me. The pot interior hex bolt heads date it 1890s to me, as does the heel shape.
As you noticed and mentioned, the metal fingerboard plate was probably removed , and cruddy fretted to the pot. Unlike most of them that I've seen, it shows use by a musician with the resonator, probably added after the 1920s.

Newl Post Says:
Saturday, March 25, 2017 @8:26:13 PM

Thanks much Bill. I have seen Richie Stearns Dobson up close. I think I might have even played it. This neck seems similar, though I don't remember what Richie's heel looks like. The angle of the headstock and the taper of it from the neck to the end are like Richie's. But the unevenness of the two "ears" at the end of it seem just plain odd. It looks amateurishly hacked away at. And the area is not finished the same as the rest of the neck. It is blackened. That's the only place on the neck that is not brown.

Newl Post Says:
Saturday, March 25, 2017 @9:17:10 PM

The resonator shows signs of being a relatively recent addition. It was adapted with extra blocks added for the rim to rest on (clearly some are original, some not). Although it is probably a 20s/30s resonator, the added blocks have very little patina. And the attachment hardware is home made - a strip of sheet metal with a couple of stacked nuts crudely welded to it is screwed onto the dowel. The bolt and the nuts are clearly not from the same era as the resonator.

And as long as I'm running on about it - there are other messy home made modifications. The nut looks home made. It looks like it was too wide for the neck, glued in anyway, and then filed to fit. There are some nasty file gouges on both sides of the neck at the nut. The chiseled out space in the rim for the end of the dowel was lengthened/extended toward the tone ring. The tail bolt was reseated in the dowel so it would increase the angle of the neck and lower the height of the strings. The tension hooks are of two different sizes (thickness/diameter) and the threading is different on many. There are 8 different types of nut (no kidding 8) to tighten the hooks with. I have a Lyon & Healy from the 1890s which has nuts matching one of the 8 types of nuts on the Dobson. All these other things being so amateurish makes me think the end of the headstock was modified, too.

Newl Post Says:
Saturday, March 25, 2017 @9:28:32 PM

Oh, and also another thing again. The block used to fill in the neck to fret up to the pot - on both sides of it is gold and silver metallic flake formica! LOL

Bill Anderson Says:
Sunday, March 26, 2017 @8:38:59 AM

Lincoln, sounds like you are right on every account. I also listened to your playing and you are awesome. I love your style and touch.
These HCD banjos are characterized by little weird differences in each piece. Kind of like he was always putting banjos together and like variety.
Do you want to leave it as is, maybe just clean it up, or restore it to some extent? Now that it is yours, you can make the call.
Oh how does it play...or does it need a neck reset?

Newl Post Says:
Sunday, March 26, 2017 @9:32:15 AM

It needs a neck reset and a bunch of other things. I will be getting it set up for playability mostly - not really restoration. I have many cheaper old spun over project rims & necks and intend to work on them "in retirement." I could actually do the work on this myself. I'd love to. But I'm too eager to have it up and running with no time to do the work now. I'm going to take it to have the "ears" trimmed and cleaned up at a local luthier. Then I'll take it to Bernunzio's to get it fixed up the rest of the way. I even have a set of fancy (well, sort of fancy, fancier than most I've seen) old 5 Star tuners from the 1970s all ready for them to install. Probably have the metal frailer's plate replaced.

The biggest issue in getting it playable is the neck has a twist. I didn't notice it until about an hour after my last post. It is set in the rim with the treble side angled a little higher than the bass. And the neck sort of slightly rolls off to the bass side, too. No bowing either back or forward. So that's good.

The pot has been slightly squashed out of round between the tailpiece and the neck heel. Whether that was string tension, tail bolt over
tightened or both, or something else even, I don't know. Probably not an issue with a skin head. I don't plan to put a plastic one on anyway.

Thanks for the comment on my playing!

Bill Anderson Says:
Sunday, March 26, 2017 @10:23:15 AM

Sounds like what I would want to do, except the tuners. If it were mine, I would maybe do PegHeds or maybe old Champions just for the looks, but I am wierd.
It is evident in your playing and writing that the banjo is in fine hands. Congrats to you and tell Bernunzio hi for me.

Newl Post Says:
Monday, April 10, 2017 @6:34:26 PM

I found out that Pegheds makes tuners to resemble the old friction tuners (Champions?). I got a full set of 5 installed. They really keep that period style look going.