7 Jul 2010    PureTimbre™ One-Ply Rim Blanks A comparison of two identical rims. One made with a three-ply blank from the Cooperman Company and the other made with a one-ply PureTimbre™ blank from the Fluted Beams company. Sound Tests   25 Feb 2010    Tonering Wood: What is "Grenadilla" There are several woods called, variously, granadillo, grenadilla and grenadillo. This article tries to sort out what acutal species can be called by these names.   1 Feb 2010    Bucket Lid Banjo Designing a prototype "Bucket Lid Banjo" for use in the DC public school project.   17 Jan 2010    Turning a Solid-Wood Resonator This article documents turning a solid wood resonator for guitar maker Stephen Cyr.   12 May 2009    Indexing Jig for Locating Bracket Shoe Holes This jig finds the locations for bracket shoe holes using tension hoop notches.   3 Feb 2008    Banjo of My Youth My quest to make a reproduction of my first "real" banjo, a Fairbanks Electric Special No. 1.   2 Feb 2008    Wood Density Chart In the quest for understanding wooden tonerings and about what makes banjo tone I have compiled a listing of wood species and their densities.   26 Jan 2008    Tone Evaluation System After testing rims for several months I began to be able to break down the aspects of performance that made some rims better than others. In order to evaluate the performance of wood species and to make recommendations for use and dimensioning, I have initiated this system.   4 Jul 2007    Prototype 3 Development and Plans I have decided to organize articles about Prototype 3 development in a separate articles directory. Click here for a list of articles.   17 Jun 2007    Grenadilla: The Ultimate Tonering Wood? What exactly is grenadilla and what are its properties?   12 Jun 2007    False Jaws: Key to Accurate Turning False jaws are "tuned up" every time you use them, assuring excellent concentricity.   11 Jun 2007    Wood Species for Tonerings: What's Best? I am often asked, "What are the different tonal characteristics of wood species for use in tonerings?"   10 Jun 2007    Repairing a Gibson 2-Piece Flange Rim The wood that holds back the tube broke off. I inaly wood and shape it.   9 Jun 2007    Using a Boring Bar for the Inside of the Rim Cutting the inside of a rim cleanly and efficiently is a major challenge. One excellent choice is the machinist's boring bar.   28 May 2007    Block vs. Laminated Rims The bluegrass community tends to put too much emphasis on single factors in it's quest for perfect tone. The organic whole must be considered.   4 May 2007    A Customer Review of DVD Volume 1 Lew Stern, "Chief Surgeon" of the Little Bear Banjo Hospital in Arlington, VA reviews DVD Volume 1: Introducing the Rim Lathe.   12 Aug 2006    A Brief History of the Banjo A banjo history I wrote for an online encyclopedia project.   25 Dec 2004    Walnut Rim with Decorative Splines and Purfling Walnut block rim with tubaphone tonering plus heat bending an inlay strip.   23 Nov 2004    Maple Rim with Decorative Splines and Purfling A rim project using wood inlay splines and a herringbone purfling.   24 Sep 2004    Whyte Laydie Heel Carving: Aesthetics A discussion of Whyte Laydie heel carving in a historical context.   17 Dec 2003    Heel Shaping Jig Utilizing a Horizonally-Mounted Router Shaping a heel to meet the rim using a router on a pivot.   16 Dec 2003    A Rim Shaping Jig Utilizing a Horizonally-Mounted Router My first serious attempt at an accurate jig for rim making.   15 Jun 2002    Interview WIth Ed Britt Ed Britt is a banjo collector and banjo historian. We spent some time shooting the breeze on some aspects of banjo history.