My first two bodhrans.  19” hickory hoops covered with white tail deer hide.  I steam bent the hoops from 3/16” planks and strapped them to a plywood form that I built for the purpose.  The ends of the hoops are glued tapered lap-joints.  The hoops are reinforced with a 1/4” strip glued at the tack line just below the head.  The cross-bracing is mainly for peace of mind.  This view looks like the ancient Indo-European sun symbol of the cross-in-circle.  This tipper (drum stick) is about 10.5” long,  carved from hard maple. 

This banjo is my second attempt at such an instrument.  It is too heavy to pack around but has a nice sound.  The neck is book-matched cherry wood with a walnut strip down the center.  The fingerboard and heel-piece are cocobolo and the hoop is laminated from three plies of hickory and laminated over with walnut inside and out.  Much of the weight comes from the heavy cast bronze tone ring inside, brass hoop over the head, and all of the brass hardware.  If I make another one, it will be much lighter.  My dimensions came from Earl Scruggs’ book as did the old Mastertone peg head design.  I just wish I could play it better. 

I have made a few mountain dulcimers which are pretty simple compared to other stringed instruments.  Mostly just a fingerboard, peg head, and box.  I think these are a great introduction to instrument building as all the basics are present such as fretting, making a bridge, and bracing of the sound boards in the body.  They are also relatively easy to learn and a lot of fun to play.

This was my first dulcimer and not my best work but it is the only one I still have.  It rarely gets played but has a special place in my heart. 

Making a Drum

The hoop.  Oil stained and ready to go.

Cutting out the hide.

A completed hoop drum and a small double-sided drum made by my daughter.

Drying in the sun and wind.

I have played a lot of instruments over the years but none particularly well.  Music has often taken a back seat to work, family, and other obligations.  My favorite instrument is the fiddle.  It has a rich history and has a beautiful sound.  I particularly like the wide range of sounds it can produce and its many styles.  Maybe this is what has associated it as the Devil’s instrument.

My favorite style probably is some combination of the driving dance tunes from Scotland and the ornamented complex tunes from Ireland.  I also enjoy playing the Ozark and Appalachian tunes I have heard all my life, many of which are rooted in the British Isles.  To hear the great range of sound and style capable on the fiddle, I would recommend listening to Bach’s Partitas and Sonatas. 

Many great people I admire were fiddlers, including Leonardo Da Vinci, St Francis of Assisi, Robert Burns, Neil Gow, and Albert Einstein.