Artisan bracket fabrication
Randy Cordle shows how to make your own brackets. Randy is the one man show behind the Bluestem Banjo Guide I'm learning from (and several other guides) and is a fountain of doggedly pragmatic comments, suggestions, tips, and solutions on the Banjo Hangout. I could never reach the tolerances my father-in-law will with his skill and machines, especially on the long, flat back and wrap-around J part of my brackets, but it's cool that something like this is at least approachable for custom hardware needs if you don't have access to a pro (or do but decide to take pity and let the man rest with his books instead of spend more hours in the shop). Randy's (brass?) bandsaw table insert is cool, too. Click the link above for the full photo tutorial. To get an idea of the full banjo building guide, imagine over 700 photos like that with captions, several videos, several textual documents (including one on making brackets similar to the ones shown here), and a full size CAD drawing.
(Photos: Randy Cordle)