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Had a great banjo weekend. On Saturday I went with a couple friends to Paul's studio. His brother, who is also gourd instrument maker, was there. It was quite a scene - the wood stove burning in the corner while we crowded into the shop, snow piled up just outside the glass doors, and instruments of every kind coming down off the shelves - akontings, didgeridoos made of everything from snake gourds to PVC pipe, banjos, hand drums, kora, xalam. I was happy to see Paul's Hartel, which I hadn't known about, and good times were had all around.

Otherwise, I have been busy with school and work for the past week or so, so Tim's banjo has been coming a little slowly. I did get a chance to make two new sets of bones today. I will now be selling bones to those who want them. They will be $15 per pair, or $30 for a set of four.

I have decided that, once Tim's banjo is done, I am going to focus all my efforts on machining hardware and rolling rims in order to start making minstrel banjos with adjustable heads. My first one is going to be a Boucher copy.