Update on #22-28... lemesee... since last time:
We finished up the headstock inlay, and engraved the faux truss rod cover with the Roman numeral for a nameplate, and the brand into the 19th fret. I do this by hand of course, with a Dremel and a small scribe bit. Always have, so they all look kinda' hand-signed. If you're wondering; yes, it's very tedious and a slip means start-over. I got these on the first take.
Went with aluminum wire for side markers. Nothing fancy about it, just drill a hole between the frets, dip the wire into some CA glue, press in, clip off, file flush. Nice shiny dots. I put two at the 12th fret.
Finally... frets. This neck wasn't bound, so that made the job exponentially easier. I used mandolin fretwire first of all... it's a smaller gauge, but works well for banjo too. I like to do one more good dressing of the fingerboard before hammer time, get it as smooth as possible, then drag a fret saw through the slots one more time to clean them out. After that, cut the frets to length, and pound them in with that nylon hammer. I've used a piece of leather to back up the wood, and my bandsaw table as an anvil for this job... forever. Three or four firm blows. Be very, very concentrated when doing this. After all of them are in, file the ends flush, and bevel. Then shape the fret ends with a triangle file. Polish up with fine sanding. Use your hands to feel for sharp fret ends and just keep working until you get them all. I hate fretwork. My Ol' Man loves it. This time though, I think he loved watching me do it. I got a good job... a really good one. They look like little silver railroad ties. One little extra, I filled the little space underneath each fret with some rosewood infused epoxy to 'disappear' the slots. Makes for a nice finished look on an unbound neck.
After that... finish sanding. One of my favorite jobs. I can get comfortable in my chair, listen to some tunes and work at it for an hour or two. Most of the wood in this neck is cherry, and not very grainy, so it went quickly. I raised the grain with some water twice, and buffed with 0000 steel wool. Slick as a peeled onion.
I ordered some hardware... have to admit there was some sticker-shock. What tuning machines were available at my old suppliers were not really what I wanted, and expensive. What I wanted had fallen victim to the all-too-familiar "supply chain interuption". Turns out, Gotoh makes a nice-looking set of nickel-plated 4:1 planetary machines, and a matching 5th string peg for less than $100. So that's what we went with. Also ordered a dual coordinator rod set. (this is what fastens the neck to the shell, and controls to some degree, the draft angle)
Next up - time for some finish. This one is getting a reddish-brown wash, and oil finish. It's supposed to be reminiscent of one made around 1900.
