I was in a funk today and needed to snap out of it. I love making dulcimers but making dulcimers is also one of my jobs and I needed a break from working so I decided to go for a drive. I ended up at an antique mall. My definition of an antique mall is [...]
Tag Archive 'dulcimers'
I started making dulcimers on my parents’ kitchen table when I was 17 . When I left home I worked out of a few different shops, houses and apartments. Sometimes where I lived and worked were the same place and occasionally the same room. I was young and the world was mine. I stopped making dulcimers when I [...]
Dulcimerville is going to be wonderful! Though it is only the first year of the festival it is being presented by Lois Hornbostel and Lois knows what she is doing! Lois has been organizing well-known, fun and successful dulcimer gatherings for almost 25 years. I am usually somewhat frantic the day before a road trip. [...]
Since I make dulcimers primarily using hand tools almost everything takes place on the bench. The rest of my small shop contains mostly tools and wood that get used on the bench or stuff that is drying or curing between visits to the bench. Here are a bunch of pictures I took during the past few months of various [...]
I have mentioned before that my shop is very small, what realtors would describe as “cozy.” I have enough room to comfortably work on three dulcimers at a time during the primary steps of construction. As the dulcimers come closer to completion I work on each one individually until it is time for the finishing [...]
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 – [...]
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 [...]
I did not work on dulcimers for about two weeks. I was recovering from gallbladder surgery followed by bronchitis. None of this is a big deal but I had to take it easy for a while. But now I am back to my old tricks and have picked up where I left off on three [...]
I am often asked which species of wood makes the best sounding dulcimer. Any answer would be very subjective at best. Each tonewood has the potential to become an instrument with a fine, unique voice. There are some generalizations as to the potential tone of various woods but the outcome is dependent on the design [...]
Balancing Instrument Making and Instrument Playing
Posted in Dulcimer, Hammered Dulcimer, Lutherie, Music on Jul 31st, 2009
I find instrument making and playing to be intimately linked together. I enjoy doing both equally. Sometimes I lean more one way than the other for a while but the focus always swings back and forth and more or less balances itself out. I also find myself focused on different instruments as well and the [...]
Contact
-
Recent Blog Posts
Twitter
- I'm about to put binding on a dulcimer and will start making the peghead while the glue dries. Lutherie multitasking! 1 day ago
- Making sawdust. 2 days ago
- Just got back from a trip to the sawmill. I came home with some beautiful quartersawn cherry and walnut. 3 days ago
- I have a pile of odd dulcimer tops, sides and backs left over from resawing. None match the others. I'll make a patchwork dulcimer someday! 4 days ago
- More updates...
Subscribe
