Wes Merchant's Blog (5)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYO4Qi1sYt4The small ebony guide that holds the fifth string on my banjo split so I made one out of an old fiddle peg. I sized it through a hoIe I drilled in a steel plate then drilled out the old peg with the same bit  and filed in a slot with a small knife edged file. i"ve strung it up with nylgut and I'm really pleased with the sound. I'll post sound clips if I came remember how to play the dang…

 I came across this digital book today and thought some others here might be interested. You can navigate to the various pages and songs by clicking the arrows by the bar  in the center of the page, a lot of Dan Emmett songs and tunes are shown as well as some songs of the late 18th /early 19th century. 

http://0-muco.alexanderstreet.com.libra.naz.edu/view/500067

I was thinking about going to a July 4th anvil shoot ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anvil_firing ) at the home of a black powder enthusiast  I know, so I found this on Utoob, 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFmBNPLLe6A

https://soundcloud.com/dusttodigital/joe-bussards-country-3

For those of you unfamiliar with Joe, he is one of the world's premier collectors early country, blues and jazz of 78's. He's also the subject of the Australian Documentary "Desperate Man Blues". I've known Joe for many years, and actually played in a band with him for a while, he's quite a character and a great resource Here's the play list : Taylor's…

I used to live in Bills house in Baltimore many years ago, he had some fine instruments then and has continued collecting over the years. Here is his online gallery, I hope you enjoy!

http://www.billsbanjos.com/