Click on photos to see full-size

Well, Last night I put the finishing touches on Josh's banjo. I decided to laminate the inside of the hoop with two strips of steam-bent oak in order to sure up the 100+ year-old grain measure, and the results are great. Here are some photos showing the banjo throughout the construction process...

First, this instrument was originally inspired by a banjo for sale at Bernunzio.com. It was an odd instrument, and I borrowed the general aesthetic to create a banjo two years ago that it currently viewable in the gallery section of this web site. The current banjo picks up where that one left off, and is somewhat fancier than the previous one. But, just to give you an idea of where it all came from, the original 19th-century banjo looks like this...



Here are some shots of my version:

The neck, just after rough shaping


The dowel stick turning on the lathe


Neck with dowel stick attached


The lathe-turned dowel stick


The fancy ebony tailpiece


And, finally, the whole banjo (click to see full size)


Next project coming soon...