Thanks for posting yet another great resto video on the old Bowtie!! Very thorough and I love the commentary and descriptions (I'm very detail oriented 😄) Great job, Dave!
That's a nice, old, Gibson banjo with a lot of character!!!!!!! That tailpiece looks to be original for an early 60's bowtie. A friend of mine has an original 62 flathead bowtie & it has the same tailpiece. The bowties can sometimes be a bit difficult to determine what are the original parts. The reason for this is that they were made right at the end of a Gibson transition period & also continued production through one or two more. I know the tailpieces & tuners changed a few times through the years. Greg Ernest is considered to be one of the most trusted authorities on vintage & prewar Gibson banjos. He offers a better description & explanation in here: "After the hiatus caused by World War II, Gibson resumed banjo production in 1948 with two models, both non-Mastertones. The style 100 was a budget-model instrument whose lineage could be traced to the prewar style 00. The style 150 was essentially the same banjo, but was dressed up with most of the same cosmetic appointments (with the exception of a Mastertone block and a bound peghead)." Back to my knowledge. The RB-250 or (style 250) that you are working on, was the next banjo in that line & Gibson's first "postwar" Mastertone model. They were first produced sometime between 1952 & 1954. Gibson began to change the "guitar style" peghead shape into the "fiddle cut" around 1968 & shortly after, adopted a different inlay pattern altogether. The modern 250's are considered to be an entry level Mastertone.
You know I expected that to be the case, but as I've looked at a number of other examples made within a year of this one the vast majority have this style tailpiece. Well It's been a long time now and easy enough to swap out, if someone wants to do that. Thanks for the comment.
