Repairing a Banjo Peghead

 The break!

The banjo needed
to be taken apart for the repair.
Here are all the pieces.

A bunch of shims fell
out of the neck.

The fingerboard
was protected while
the nut was steamed
and cut loose.

The tuning pegs
needed rust removed
and lubrication.
They were kept organized
to go back in the same holes
so they would fit right.

The overlay wood was so dry
that it crumbled while being removed.
The inlay was saved
to be put in the new overlay.

The front overlay piece
had to be steamed & pried off.

The break glued
and clamped.

The back view
with a block screwed
through peg holes
for orientation
of the new overlay.
Keeps it from slipping
while being clamped. 

The new rosewood
overlay glued and clamped.

The back stripe wood
was also damaged and very dry.
It will need to be filled with some pieces
that were in a plastic bag in the case.

The new rosewood overlay
had to be trimmed
flush to the peghead.

Here you can see where the overlay
needs to be trimmed to the curves
and angles of the headstock.

The pegholes were drilled
from the back through
the new overlay
then they were chamfered
on the front side
by hand using a
countersink bit to fit
the friction pegs.

Next the old inlay
was traced onto the new overlay.

A hole has been routed
using a fine bit in a Dremel router.

Clean hole cut
to the depth of the old inlay.

The inlay is so thin that
it had to be set to a perfect depth.
There was no extra to sand down.

The inlay was
glued & weighted.

And of course
it had to be fille
with this yucky business.
Not to worry.

A little scraping & cleaning
and it's good as new.

The dry and brittle wood
of the back stripe
was missing pieces.
You can see some saved pieces
in the plastic bag.

Some large pieces were
glued in and taped until dry.
More voids had to be filled
with glue and ebony wood dust.

The nut was refit
into the overlay
at the proper depth.

The neck was taped off
in preparation for
staining the side of the peghead.

The overlay also
needed stain.

The dry fingerboard
was oiled to prevent cracking
and fret protrusion.

The pegs being installed
in their respective holes.

Time to put the parts
back together.

The hardware securing
the neck stick to the pot.
All the shims were put back
in place so the action
would be correct.

 The peghead side view of the repair

The finished peghead with a couple coats of lacquer for beauty and durability

This Baystate banjo
is the first I've seen with a set screw built into the fifth string peg to keep it tight.
Over the years, the hole had become enlarged and needed fixing
so the screw would do its job.

A new set of strings
and reattaching of a case hinge
and this old timer is good to go.