Howdy Jim. I play too. I've been playing about 25 years with various jug, blues and dixieland bands. I like the looks of your design. My first one was a trial and error design that was improved upon by studying every picture I could find of a Gutbucket player. Today I play a gutbucket made of a plastic paint bucket and weed whacker cord that has greater volume, better tone and a greater ability to play in tune than any other washtub bass I've heard. I have a website with the plans on how to make one yourself at http://www.homestead.com/oldmusic/bucket.html in recent years I've begun pulling the stick and plucking with one hand, while playing the washboard with a harmonica rack with the other, while always keeping a pair of bones handy. This only works on tunes with VERY simple chord changes though. If the tune has a complex structure I have to put one down, and concentrate on either Bucket or Percussion. The bucket seems to be regarded as a somewhat "whimsical" instrument by other musicians, but I take it seriously(i.e. I practice).My wife and I also play in a band with the inventor of the bucket that's on our website, in which he plays the gutbucket, and I'm stuck on guitar and vocals.