Banjo Craziness

John Calkin used to build guitars and in recent years started playing around with banjo construction. He is experimenting with wood varieties and different designs to create a clawhammer banjo with the tonal qualities he wants. His website has lots of pictures and explanation. Successes. Failures. I was hooked as soon as I clicked it open, but I admit, I have a fondness for banjos, construction, and design.

He has other pages on tools he uses, guitar building, and instruments he has built over the years. I killed an hour I should have used to clean the garage. Fun site.

The rim pieces in the picture are from his banjo project. The last post on this project was in 2008 but he promises more information as he goes along. I'll be watching for updates.

[Via Tangier Sound]
[Image: Captured from Banjo Craziness: http://tangiersound.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/wooden-head-banjos/]