Musician and Appalachian Mountain Dulcimer Maker
Posted in Dulcimer, Hammered Dulcimer, Music on Aug 28th, 2008
Today many boxes of CD goodness showed up on my doorstep. They will be available for sale very soon via the internet. The albums will also be available as downloads through several web sites.
Here you can see many trained professionals working diligently to make this happen as quickly as possible. I have complete trust in [...]
I have great admiration for the traditional woodworkers around the world who create beautiful work with a relatively small number of tools in a simple shop.
Tools and techniques appropriate to different cultures developed enabling the woodworker’s entire body to become involved in the work.
I would be delighted if I could take my work outside on [...]
Robert Fludd was one of the Renaissance men who viewed the micro-cosmos as an expression of the macro-cosmos. Fludd viewed all aspects of being as interrelated; the sciences, the arts and mysticism all flowed from one source and these outpourings could be followed back to their source.
Fludd wrote about everything from medicine to music. Like [...]
In my post titled “Why Would Anyone Steam Walnut?” I wrote about my disappointment with the effect steaming has on the color of walnut lumber.
I have read of various options for enhancing the color of steamed walnut. On this dulcimer I decided to try garnet shellac.
I sealed the grain with 1lb cut blond shellac and [...]
In 1998 I participated in a recording called “You – New Sufi Music.”
From the publishers web page:
“This recording is an attempt to share the spontaneous heart-music of the Sufis. Such expressions of love may often disregard the formalities and glossy varnishes of the conventional world. Yet, Sufi music is essentially a music of luminous inner [...]
Hide glue has a relatively short open time compared to modern woodworking glues. I consider this an advantage most of the time but there are times when I find it to be problematic.
I have read about several methods of extending the open time of hide glue. Adding a small amount of urea to hide glue [...]
Posted in Lutherie on Aug 12th, 2008
I used to wonder why some places where I shopped for wood tended to have walnut lumber with awful coloring. The grain might be beautiful but the color was muddy.
The sapwood in walnut is very light in color, at times almost white. Many people find this to be a problem. They want only the darker [...]
I started the day gluing up the back of a dulcimer with hide glue. Birds sing outside. The fragrance of walnut shavings is in the air. The glue pot occasionally makes a soft, rolling sound as the thermostat trips to keep the water at the proper temperature.
I find a unique happiness in these moments.
My wife and I spent several days at Clifftop in West Virginia. It was a chance to play a lot of clawhammer banjo and hang out with old and new friends.
Wayne Rogers of Gold Tone and I spent some time playing banjo duets and that was lots of fun. I played fretless and he played [...]