Since I haven't posted anything in a while, I thought I'd better!
Below are some photos of the current batch of commissions, a varied selection, all coming along nicely.
Clockwise from top left:
Cherry, 11" rim with Dobson tonering, Cherry neck with Ziricote fingerboard and peghead overlay.
Walnut semi-fretless neck for 12" vintage pot, the fretless plate will be German silver.
Maple tackhead, with 12" pot.
Rosewood, Spruce and Ebony. A little project I've been planning for myself for several years, might get a chance to get stuck into it later in the year.
All Walnut openback, this one will be very similar to the Walnut 'stock' banjo that I recently sold.
Another Walnut banjo, this one will have Ziricote for the fingerboard and peghead overlay, and a Dobson tone ring.

As I said, these are all spoken for, but I do still have a few, very tasty banjos for sale on the 'banjos in stock' page.

I received a nice email from a customer, this week, along with some photos, which I truly appreciated.
It gave me the idea, that it would be really nice to have a 'rogues gallery'  page! If you have a photo of yourself, with your 'Ballard banjo/banjos' please send it over to me, don't be shy, it would be great to see :)

'Hi Leon, Thought you might like to see your banjo in it's new home with the proud owner.  Also in the photo are my custom Brook guitar made in Devon & an Eastman uke. Banjo takes pride of place!  Banjo sounds superb & so easy to play. The neck is beautiful & silky & the Walnut looks gorgeous.
Thanks again
Gary'

Just finished these two open backs, and listed them on the 'banjos in stock' page, check 'em out! 

Top:
12"Walnut rim
Rolled brass tone ring
Calf head
​Walnut neck
25.5" scale length

Bottom:
11" Ash rim
Integral Cherry tone ring
Renaissance head
Lightly flamed Maple neck
26 3/16" scale length

Number 2 of the 4 fretless banjos is now finished, and on the 'for sale' page, number 3 is currently on the oiling bench and will also be listed next week!

FOR SALE! Just finished this Walnut mountain banjo, a great little instrument, with a really nice mellow, woody tone. It has a 1930'sSixpence inset in the peghead, found whilst digging veggie beds in the back garden of our old cottage.
The cost is the same  as my base model mountain banjo (£825 + shipping), if commissioned it would cost over £100 more, as it is made from some beautiful American black walnut with Ebony trim, and also features a nice brass scoop plate!

Black Walnut 10" pot
6" goat head
Ash tone ring
One piece black Walnut neck
Ebony fingerboard & peghead overlay
Ebony violin friction pegs
Minstrel gauge nylon strings
Inset 1930s sixpence
​Brass no knot tailpiece

Finished this commissioned Minstrel banjo earlier in the week, possibly the prettiest Minstrel I've built!


If anyone is looking for a mountain banjo, I'll be finishing a nice Walnut one next week, which will be available to buy, keep an eye out for photos :)


Minstrel banjo
Maple neck
Rosewood fingerboard 27" scale
Rosewood peghead overlay & Walnut rear overlay
Mother of pearl Edelweiss flower
12" 2-ply Oak rim with Walnut cap
Goat skin head
Minstrel gauge nylon strings

Just finished the first of 4 similar banjos I currently have on the go, the other 3 will be finished in the coming weeks. I originally started these to use for a workshop I was asked to do, as this has now been cancelled, all 4 banjos will be available to buy.
This one has a thin, Walnut multi ply 12" rim and 1-piece Maple neck, it is very lightweight, sounds great and is very affordable.
​Full details are on the 'banjos in stock' page.

Fresh from the workshop, this banjo has some pretty cool features, including a deep 3.5" x 12" rim with an integral Rosewood tone ring, giving it a lovely deep tone with plenty of bottom end. The Rosewood top and thin calf skin help add a nice rich flavour, it is also set-up with a neck angle to accommodate a 3/4" high bridge, combined with the frailing scoop, this allows for plenty right hand  'claw' space but still maintaining a nice string height over the fretboard.

​Asking price is £1450 plus shipping. If commissioned, with the additional optional extras (underlined in bold), this would cost around £1650, so a nice £200 saving!

Look out for some fretless banjos coming up in the next few weeks :)

12" 2-Ply Maple rim, deep 3.5"
Rosewood tone ring
Ebony rim cap
Calf skin head
2-piece medium flamed neck, with Ebony pinstripe
Ebony fingerboard 26 3/16" scale length
Ebony peghead overlay
​Curvy frailing scoop
26 Nickel plated hooks, nuts and shoes
Gotoh planetary tuners and geared 5th
Nickel plated, notched tension hoop
'No knot' tailpiece
Bone nut and pip
Mother of pearl fingerboard position markers
White fingerboard edge dots
Ebony capped Cherry bridge
Mother of pearl star inlaid and engraved in peghead
Medium gauge GHS Americana strings

Here's the latest commissioned banjo, a super nice Walnut open back fitted with a 12" 'Whyte Laydie' tone ring.
12" Walnut block rim with Ebony cap
Whyte Laydie tone ring
Goat skin head
Walnut neck
25.5" Ebony fingerboard with brass side dots
Inlaid/engraved 'mother of pearl' moon and shooting star
Medium GHS Americana strings
Cherry bridge

 
Also, take a peek at the bottom three pics, this banjo will be finished next week and up for grabs!

Finished this tenor banjo commission yesterday, strung up and tuned GDAE for Irish tunes.
I haven't played a tenor banjo for well over 10 years, that's my excuse for the sloppy audio file, but you get the idea of the tone.
This was the first tenor I've built, hopefully it won't be the last, as it was a fun project. If you're interested in commissioning one, prices are the same as for my open back banjos.

Just a little reminder, I'll be finishing up some stock banjos over the next couple of months, the first should be listed For Sale in a couple of weeks (a Maple open back).

12" 2-ply Maple rim, capped top and bottom in Walnut
1/4" Brass rod tone ring
Renaissance head
Presto tailpiece
21.5" scale Ebony fingerboard
Black Walnut neck

Here's some photos of the batch I'm currently working on. The top 3 are commissions, so won't be available to purchase, however, the bottom 3 are extra stock. If you fancy cheering yourself up during these apocalyptic times, why not treat yourself to a new banjo!
The bottom left is a 12" Maple rim, with Rosewood tone ring and Ebony cap, the rim is an experimental 3.5" deep, should be mighty powerful in tone. Flamed Maple, 26 3/16" scale neck, it will have nickel hardware.
Bottom middle is an American black Walnut mountain banjo, with an inset sixpence I found in my garden. It will have a goat skin head, Ebony friction pegs and possibly a brass scoop plate.
Bottom right will be an all black Walnut open back, 25.5" scale Ebony fingerboard, 12" block rim, not sure which tone ring it will have yet, it will have brass hardware.
These three banjos will become available over the next few months, let me know if you like the look of any. I also have 4 fretless banjos I'm working on, which were intended to be used for a workshop I was booked to do over Summer, it's looking highly unlikely this will go ahead, so if it doesn't I will be also putting these up for sale at 'giveaway' prices!