Greetings Early Banjoists

[Neil Bellanca]

Hello all. I'm getting back into banjo after two injuries prevented me from playing for several months. I'm planning on attending the AEBG in June if it's still scheduled, since I want to get involved in living history, especially as it relates to early banjo.

Anyway, I'm also planning on building a new banjo before the event. I have three woods picked out - locust for the neck and the rim, American Chestnut for the peg-head overlay, and black walnut for the dowel and tailpiece. My question is, did anyone ever try to work with locust? Is it too hard a wood to work with? I was thinking it would make a nice thin neck.

[Bell Banjos]

Guard yourself from the black walnut dust and clean it all up immediately. It contains 5-hydroxy-alphanapthaquinone, a poison that kills plants within the vicinity of the black walnut tree's roots. Black walnut oil, taken orally, kills parasites in animals and humans. I used to be on steroids and had many trips to the doctor because of asthma and COPD like symptoms. It was black walnut sawdust poisoning.

[Neil Bellanca]

Thanks Terry. I might use American Chestnut as my peghead veneer instead.