I'm amassing quite the collection of banjo heads and bridges, and would like to come up with a system to easily be able to tell their measurements without having to bust out a ruler every time.
Using pencil to write the measurements on the heads and bridges seems safe, but does anyone ever use pen? Can there be any issues with writing pencil or pen on any of the materials (including skin heads)?
Curious about everyone's strategies to keep track of the madness!
I find bridge sellers/makers often write height and sometimes weight and sometimes "Crowe Spacing" under the feet of a bridge with pencil.
I used to use a pencil thin Sharpie to write my name at the front of the bridge and the specs (wood, height, string spaci g) on the bottom of the bridges' feet.
Retired now so no more.
Edited by - Bart Veerman on 10/15/2026 14:28:53
I use a pencil on skin heads and bridges. Not a problem to erase when you don't want it.
On a plastic head I use a sharpie in the outside edge of the aluminum flesh hoop.
Bob Smakula
smakulafrettedinstruments.com
All private maker bridges I've bought have height and weight written on the underside of two feet, with what's written on the third foot varying by maker. String spacing (Standard or Crowe) or wood type are two things that come to mind.
Always pencil.
If I were going to write on a head, I'd write in pencil on a vertical side where it would be hidden by the tension hoop, on a part of the flesh hoop that would be hidden by the neck or tailpiece, or (in the absence of a logo) on the surface of the head itself where it could also be hidden under the tailpiece.
Writing on the outside of the mounting band in pencil preferable. All my bridges I weigh on a digital micro scale and measure the height with my digital vernier. Both figures I write in pencil on the underside of the feet.
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