I recently finished my second banjo. Like the first, it is a fretless A-scale with a cherry neck. Unlike the first, the rim is cut from a 12" multi-ply maple drum shell and it has "real" banjo hardware from Stew-Mac. I must admit using real hardware was probably not warranted for this banjo and it feels like cheating!
The photos illustrate the rather primitive build process but I did use one power tool, a jig saw to cut out most of the neck. The finish is Tru Oil with trans tint dye on the rim to better match the cherry neck. Tuner knobs were dyed with Rit dye.
I first strung it with Nylgut strings but it sounded too much like my bamjo (rice steamer for a rim). So I put on some medium metal strings, it seems to be withstanding the additonal stress ok so far.
As you can hear from the mp3, it is pretty bright sounding with perhaps too much sustain, but it plays pretty well.
The tune is Polly Put the Kettle On, I learned it from this excellent jam: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HrdXAj3A78