My second manufactured instrument, which obviously excludes the basement cigar-box banjo, was a banjo-uke. It had one great deficiency, which was that the head sagged prodigiously in damp weather. This was Long Island in fall and winter, early 1950s. My brother built a bracket for a lighter-fluid powered handwarmer that press-fit snugly into the head, which made it possible to play outside, inside, warm weather and cold, humid and dry. Since the whole thing, including the neck (except the formerly soggy head, of course) was steel, it could also have been used to hammer spikes. It was fun to play and very loud when warm:)