I'm building a Gourd banjo, alls well but the gourd isn't as thick as I imagined it might be. its around 5mm thick (and 4 in places)
should I reinforce inside the Gourd with something like fibreglass to strengthen it?
or would that make it brittle and prone to cracking?
any advice would be welcome
thank you
Artistically I am loath to combine natural and plastic materials. If the gourd cracks it can't be composted in my yard. And I can throw it away, but now I'm throwing away organic matter which is better composted.
Functionally, the gourd should be plenty strong enough without the fiberglass. Having laid fiberglass for boatbuilding and having built a gourd banjo, I don't think a beginners DIY banjo ends up nice enough to justify the work, stink, and mess of fiberglass.
I used fir plywood polygons around the inside edge. This also provided a firm grip for the upholstery tacks holding the head on.
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