Neat project!

I was interested in hearing the demo (though not purchasing), but your soundcloud link seems to be broken.

appreciate the quick look and heads up - i just edited with updated soundcloud clip link

What kind of hardware would be needed to put one of these heads on a banjo ?

thanks for asking -

CMB originally solved that merely by keeping a ren head in its usual setup (as any banjo could) and slipping the wood top disc directly under it, secured with no change to the tension mechanism. (as i mentioned or at least infer in the ad - lo intended his top as more of a placeholder until someone carved another).

i don't have great pics of that setup - where you can tell that’s what's going on. you'd need to be some wizened imagery analyst of banjo tops -though i've attached a ca. 2008 delivery pic of the banjo front and back (so you also see that original x-braced mahogany top (i think somogyi tossed that one in the wood pile). i wonder if having two surfaces vibrating differently contributed to how that top mechanism worked out.

i also have a record of my first moments playing it back in 2008 (via a straight to mac laptop mic, and wholly unimpressive on archer not arrow counts otherwise, where i just was finding my footing on a fretless fingerboard after a break of years)
soundcloud.com/branyoner/woodtop2

ervin had a new tension hoop machined - that added ~5mm internal depth to the hoop top. since wood tops are about securing the top and not necessarily tensioning to tune, this simply secures wood top, and allows the traditional hoop/bracket mechanism to stay in place (and the confounding retention of the ren head was no longer needed). swapping out different tops in this format is a surprisingly swift exercise - and didn't require rethinking the swap-top concept from the ground up.

i'm out and about today, but will snap a closeup of that extra band on the hoop.

like i mentioned in the listing- for someone interested in the hoop that ervin had machined, i'd be willing to discuss letting it go. i'd mention the hoop does need some work (not to repair, but to correct an oversight in its spec) that i haven't gotten around to - that extra internal band was not machined down flush at the head/neck join, so that slight extra elevation confounds playing way up the fretboard where the string angle is less forgiving (he may be the grandfather of modern luthiery, but missed a basic of banjo setups).

update - tops 1, 9, 10, 11, 15 now sold.

and per thread request - here are closeups of the hoop itself (3 this post , 3 next due to post attachment limits). ervin had machined an extra internal band (approx ~5mm) to secure the top, but still use the basic bracket/hoop setup. change outs are easy with the CMB banjo - but i'm glad i requested only 12 brackets on it when we custom spec'ed the build. unscrewing the brackets (and the tailpiece) enough to remove the hoop takes less than a minute. i'd be interested in exploring other techniques.

more closeups of the hoop and band. apologies for lighting- cloudy week in central texas.

pre weekend update - tops 1, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15 now sold. 8 remaining. thanks - many great conversations, had no idea so many mad scientists (and scientists) are on the hangout.

FINAL FIVE - 2, 3, 5, 7, 14 still available. Ear for offers on multiple. Thanks!

Home stretch hustle - for the final five - $80 each shipped to CONUS addresses - $350 for the lot. If you're a repeat buyer can do $70 each/ $300 for the lot. As always local pickup available in Austin Texas 78745.