There are so many interesting things going on in this area that it's hard to keep track of them all. Today I went to a banjo-making workshop where I made my own banjo!
It seems that the Gretsch Company, longtime maker of banjos and drums, has over the years bought out several other companies. As a result of these purchases they have a large number of banjo parts just lying around. The Gretsch Foundation, the company's charity arm, decided these parts could be put to good use. The Savannah Folk Music Society in conjunction with the Ships of the Sea Museum went through the Gretsch warehouse and scrounged enough matching parts to make a bunch of banjos.
This was a non-trivial project. The men in charge of the workshop had to make sure that all the parts matched, that all the nuts fit all the screws, and that they were able to fake any parts that were missing. About 25 of us showed up with our toolkits, polish, sandpaper, and sundry other implements of construction. These banjo parts had been lying around in a warehouse for more than 35 years and required a bunch of TLC before assembly.
Anyway, after a few hours of polishing, scraping, sanding, tightening and cursing I now have a beautiful banjo -- hand assembled by yours truly. And I had a great day!
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