The picture below was taken in the spring of 2004. I was having difficulty getting the hole for the railroad capo spike drilled and discovered, much to my surprise, that the side dots on this Deering banjo were crafted from metal!
The finish blistered (see the inset photograph) from the heat generated from the drill bit. So, If you are having an unusually difficult time installing spikes into a banjo, look at the side dots. They may, for some bizarre reason, be metal.
I still don’t know why.
Thanks for your visit,
Richie Dotson
