Here are some photographs of things going on in the shop that have been cluttering up my hard drive.
As a dulcimer maker I do a lot of fine, detailed work requiring extreme precision and accuracy.
Perhaps this is why I love using a mallet! Here is my often used mallet resting on top of the form [...]
Category Archive for 'Dulcimer'
I am often asked how long it takes me to make a dulcimer. The answer is that I don’t really know. Someday I will figure it out. I do know that I am not making very much per hour!
Here are some of the things that require my time before making a dulcimer.
Design – It took [...]
Studia Instrumentorum Musicae presents some rare resources for those interested in researching historic stringed instruments. I recommend starting with the on-line museum of historic guitars, zithers, and citterns.
The deeper you dig into this site the more treasure you will find.
Flying With A Mountain Dulcimer
Posted in Dulcimer on Feb 3rd, 2010
Musicians have nightmares about flying with their instruments. Though a mountain dulcimer will almost always fit in overhead storage the instrument is technically too long to be considered carry-on baggage by many airlines.
I rarely have trouble carrying-on a dulcimer. Here are a few things I have learned over the years:
I fly with my dulcimer in [...]
$1.00 Per Album Sale Goes To Haitian Relief Efforts Till February 7th
Posted in Dulcimer, Hammered Dulcimer, Music on Jan 27th, 2010
CD Baby is the firm that handles my online CD and MP3 download sales. They are currently donating $1.00 for each CD or album download towards Haitian Relief Efforts.
This offer applies not only to my recordings but to thousands of independently produced albums.
From CD Baby:
CD Baby will donate $1 toward Haitian earthquake relief for [...]
This post is inspired by a router bit that slipped in the chuck while working on a curly claro walnut and Adirondack spruce dulcimer this afternoon.
When I saw the bit was tearing through the side of the dulcimer a sense of calm came over me. I turned off the router. I looked at the gaping [...]
KMW Winter Dulcimer Weekend
Posted in Dulcimer, Hammered Dulcimer on Jan 8th, 2010
I really should be asleep by now.
I was going to drive to Columbus, Ohio this evening and continue in the morning to Bardstown, Kentucky for the festival.
It snowed all day and into the night. Reason caught up with me. I decided it would be best to drive straight to the festival in the morning. It [...]
The full title of this book is, “Field Book Of American Trees And Shrubs: A Concise Description Of The Character And Color Of Species Common Throughout The United States, Together With Maps Showing Their General Distribution.” I guess they were into long titles in 1915!
Woodworkers and luthiers could not do what they do without tress. This book [...]
My shop used to be a bedroom, a small bedroom. It is what a realtor would describe as being “cozy and intimate.”
I work primarily with hand tools so most of my time is spent standing or sitting by the bench.
I tend to multitask so there are several things in the works in this picture; [...]
This information applies to dulcimers as well as any wooden stringed instrument.
Wood, no matter how well seasoned, will continue to expand and contract with changes in humidity.
One of the primary causes of damage to stringed instruments is dehydration. An instrument can dry out in a remarkably short period of time. As the wood becomes dry [...]