Nichols Sliding Dovetail Banjo Shell

The first banjo shell I ever made was a bricklaid design made from blocks of walnut. I was reading a Foxfire book several years ago and saw an article about this mountain man who made a shell using a half-lap joint. This gave me the idea of making a shell using a sliding dovetail joint.

I have made several of these shells and I think they are a good design. I took mine out of my banjo when I got my one piece shell from Fluted Beams. This shell is still a good one.

I may use it for another banjo one of these days.

This curly maple doesn’t look half bad either.