Musician and Appalachian Mountain Dulcimer Maker
I have been thinking of writing this post for some time. I love old woodworking tools. They have an aesthetic beauty that many modern tools are missing. They come from a time when form, function and beauty were equally important parts of design and manufacture. My shop is in what had been a small bedroom [...]
Posted in Thoughts on Dec 1st, 2008
Some people talk about progress as being “one step forward, two steps back.” I find the learning experience is more often two steps forward, one step back, some thought, two steps forward, one step back, rinse and repeat. My learning curve seems to be more of a spiral. I think this is a good thing, [...]
I am happy to announce that Elderly Instruments now has several of my dulcimers in stock. I first began making dulcimers by putting together a kit I bought through the mail from Elderly Instruments when I was a teenager. I never imagined that I would end up working at Elderly for many years nor did [...]
Posted in Music on Nov 15th, 2008
The Internet Archive has something for everyone. Books, music, film and more, usually copyright free or opensource. It was here that I found this book: “The Music of Nature, or, An Attempt To Prove That What is Passionate and Pleasing In The Art of Singing, Speaking, and Performing Upon Musical Instruments, Is Derived From The [...]
Posted in Tools on Nov 13th, 2008
From “Handy Man’s Workshop and Laboratory – Scientific American Series” compiled and edited by A. Russell Bond – 1910
If you work with tools and wood then you probably know what I mean by “a near miss.” For a brief moment some of my deeply ingrained shop safety rules went out the window. I was very, very lucky and was not injured, not even a scratch. I was resawing at the bandsaw. The blade [...]
Posted in Thoughts on Oct 31st, 2008
I would like to encourage you to vote regardless of your opinion about who or what will be best for the United States and the influence the United States has over the rest of the world. I know many people who are discouraged from voting because they feel their vote won’t count or because of [...]
I found this photograph both inspiring and comforting. It illustrates the way most projects seem to go. I currently have 5 dulcimers in the works and all are near completion. They start out as a trip to a sawmill and hours of sorting through wood to find lumber that appeals to me. Then comes milling [...]
Posted in Dulcimer, Hammered Dulcimer, Lutherie, Tools on Oct 24th, 2008
Physical therapy is a wonderful thing. It has helped me continue to play dulcimer and hammered dulcimer as well as standing at the bench and working with hand tools. I have a chronic physical challenge I have to deal with but many aging musicians, woodworkers and luthiers face a similar issue; doing something you love [...]
Posted in Dulcimer, Hammered Dulcimer, Lutherie, Tools on Oct 15th, 2008
Paul Nooncree Hasluck wrote books and articles about a wide variety of handicrafts around the turn of the last century. If you look him up at Google Books or The Internet Archive you’ll find many of his books available as downloads. “Violins and Other Stringed Instruments – How To Make Them” is available from Google [...]
