I built my first stringed instrument on April 18, 2014.  It was a simple 3 sting tin can banjo. It was supposed to be a prop for my son on a parade float at the local bluegrass and old time music festival the next day.

That day at the festival I had it with me, and quite a few people asked about it and a few were able to get a quite a bit of music out of it. By the end of the day I was thinking about how I could make a better one. I even picked up a few tips.   I've been building ever since.    

#1 - Rob Pearcy April 2014

I consider my stuff playable folk art. I look for instruments in junk. Cans, hub caps and what not.  Most of my wood is barn dried from the family farm here in West TN.   Some are pretty simple, Some more complex.   I still get a big kick every time someone takes one of them and makes more music with it than I can.

Daniel Rothwell with one of my walking stick/salad bowl banjos at Summertown Bluegrass Reunion. June 2018

Billy Wise playing the chevy hubcap banjola,  Me with my washtub bass, Joan Wise playing her Martin Guitar. April 2017

-Steve