Hello, and thanks to everyone who gave me advice, sometimes without know that they were doing so. I listened to the advice to convert the Lyon and Healy "Own Make" Style A (1923 I believe) from a tango tenor to a five string. Because some warned the cost might not be worth it because of the sound of that particular pot I saved money by doing it myself. Didn't save time and hassle and fretting, but that is another story altogether. My total cost including the original Lyon and Healy came to under $500 including all the shipping and sales taxes. Not too bad considering that I saw an identical Lyon and Healy sell two weeks before I got mine that went for $400 before shipping.
I took the advice and got the inexpensive unfinished Saga neck and finished it with Tru Oil. I got a 3 oz bottle and that gave me 15 coats. I didn't wait long enough for suggestions on the tuners and got Grovers. But I got them at 40% off and no shipping or sales tax, which is why I acted so quickly. They seem fine, but I realize that the Gotoh would probably have been better.
Fitting the neck caused some fits. I am a good woodturner, but this kind of work is not something I normally do. I didn't have a jig, so everything had to be done by hand and lots of sandpaper, something that I have no lack of in my shop. The fit seems pretty good, at least to my untrained eye.
The truss rod cover I made myself from some curly Hawaiian Koa I had in the shop. I was pretty happy with that. And the cost was reasonable, as in nothing. I took out the coiled spring that served as a "tone ring" and hand bent a 1/4" bronze rod. WOW!, do I ever wish I could have bought a 10 3/4" bronze ring, but I couldn't find such a beast. The Kirshner "Unique" tailpiece broke, I guess at 90 some parts of me might break as well. So I bought a new Kirshner tailpiece as you can see from the photos. I also found that the head was broken so I replaced that, and thank you to all of you who talked me through that. I have attached a photo of the side of the pot to remind everyone that the Lyone and Healy "Own Make" uses a Van Eps tension ring. I, obviously kept well clear of messing with that any more than I absolutely had to, as in replacing the head.
And it actually sounds pretty good, at least to my ear. When I find someone who can play better than I do and knows how to create a sound file I will try and post what it sounds like and you can make your own judgements.
