After she saw Jean’s new dulcimer, Lynn and I have worked out most of the details of her new teardrop instrument. Here is the first post of the initial sketches and raw fretboard.
May 2016 archive
May 23 2016
Winding it up
After the finish had dried, I applied a coat of paste wax to help protect the instrument. I installed the tuning pegs and added the strings. (I use medium gauge Vega banjo strings). After a little fine tuning and bridge adjustment, she was all done! Even though the actual time for construction stretched for a …
May 20 2016
Finishing Touches
At last–we have reached the final stage of construction. At the suggestion of the client, I rounded the peg head and attached it. I always do the final sanding of the instrument by hand, because when the finish is applied, there’s no going back. The bottom photo is the first coat of the hand-rubbed polyurethane. …
May 11 2016
Sides and Detail Sanding
I had intended to be further along than this. Unfortunately, this time of the year brings band and choral concerts as well as my own performance in a faculty show. So I pick at the dulcimer as I can. These shots represent the weekend work and tonight’s work on the peg head.
May 02 2016
Heads and Tails
Shaped the head and tail blocks and glued them into position. Then attached the back, insuring that the flanges line up perfectly so that the sides will be nice and square.