Look what I've been up to! BEWARE - dulciporn

John Keane
John Keane
@john-keane
9 years ago
182 posts

Looks great!

Ken Longfield
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield
9 years ago
1,073 posts

That's really nice work Mandy. You made a beautiful instrument which I am sure you will enjoy forever. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Lynn austin
Lynn austin
@lynn-austin
9 years ago
19 posts
Dulciporn indeed!!!....that is one incredibly beautiful dulcimer!!!!....I love the sound holes!!!!!...kudos!
Patty from Virginia
Patty from Virginia
@patty-from-virginia
9 years ago
231 posts

I just saw this. It's a beauty for sureSmile.gif

Mandy
Mandy
@mandy
9 years ago
140 posts

Here's the vid!

Full of wonderful mistakes Grin.gif Grin.gif

I already broke a string, LOL. Too much messing around tuning. I decided to go with DAA on this one. I found some DAD tab for this and didn't like the way it sounded so I winged it.

Lexie R Oakley
Lexie R Oakley
@lexie-r-oakley
9 years ago
229 posts

Great Mandy, we will be watching for it.105.gif Enjoy strumming your sweet dulci.113.gif

Mandy said:

Next few days or so hopefully. I'm working on a song I want to play on it now and once I feel it's pretty good I'll post it. Grin.gif Grin.gif

Mandy
Mandy
@mandy
9 years ago
140 posts

Next few days or so hopefully. I'm working on a song I want to play on it now and once I feel it's pretty good I'll post it. Grin.gif Grin.gif

Rob N Lackey
Rob N Lackey
@rob-n-lackey
9 years ago
422 posts

Mandy, looks like you've done really well. Can't wait to hear it.

Robin Thompson
Robin Thompson
@robin-thompson
9 years ago
1,415 posts
Way cool, Mandy! You've built a treasure!
John Henry
John Henry
@john-henry
9 years ago
258 posts

You did good Gal !

JohnH

john p
john p
@john-p
9 years ago
173 posts

I'm going to be playing this forever and I'm so thankful that I was able to build it.

Great when that happens Smile.gif and such a beauty too.

I've got a beat up old mongrel that I've had for 40 years, wouldn't swap it for the world.

Strumelia
Strumelia
@strumelia
9 years ago
2,248 posts

Terrific!




--
Site Owner

Those irritated by grain of sand best avoid beach.
-Strumelia proverb c.1990
Lexie R Oakley
Lexie R Oakley
@lexie-r-oakley
9 years ago
229 posts

Mandy what a beautiful dulcimer you built. What a great experience to be able to do it in the class.

Really amazing process and will love to hear your dulci sing41.gif

Mandy
Mandy
@mandy
9 years ago
140 posts

Thanks y'all. I love it. Now I just have to figure out what I want to play on the vid. Hmmmm.

Colleen Hailey
Colleen Hailey
@colleen-hailey
9 years ago
67 posts
The grain on the sassafras top is really beautiful too.
Dusty Turtle
Dusty Turtle
@dusty
9 years ago
1,720 posts

Wow, that's great, Mandy. The dulcimer looks great, and I really like seeing all the pictures of the process. Good job! I look forward to hearing it, too!

I did blush a little, seeing a naked dulcimer.9.gif




--
Dusty T., Northern California
Site Moderator

As a musician, you have to keep one foot back in the past and one foot forward into the future.
-- Dizzy Gillespie
James Phillips
James Phillips
@james-phillips
9 years ago
87 posts

That is such an awesome looking instrument! And to make it yourself in that class must have given you a complete sense of satisfaction. I can not wait for you to make a video playing it so I can hear this beauty.

Robin Clark
Robin Clark
@robin-clark
9 years ago
239 posts

WOW that's amazing Grin.gif Well done - what a great experience leading to such a wonderful outcome 113.gif

Cynthia Wigington
Cynthia Wigington
@cynthia-wigington
9 years ago
74 posts

OK, I'll take it. I love the almost elliptical shape. Very sexy indeed!

Mandy
Mandy
@mandy
9 years ago
140 posts

Hey Everyone, been awhile. I just finished a class at the John C. Campbell Folk School and made this beauty.

Here are the woods I got to choose from. - 628_forums.jpg I chose sassafras for the top, butternut for the sides and back, and walnut for the headstock backstrip and fretboard and tailpiece. Here they are with a few cuts - and you can also see the sassafras piece i used under the headstock here also

629_forums.jpg Here's the walnut fretboard piece I chose, I chose the sapwood on purpose because of it's uniqueness and beauty (in my eyes anyway)

630_forums.jpg Here are some assembling pics - don't mind the center strip, it's just a spacer and will come out later. notice my banjo case sitting there too, LOL, had to jam some!

631_forums.jpg Here's the lining strips being glued in to give more gluing surface - you can also see the back piece there with the center strip of walnut.

632_forums.jpg?width=750 My beautiful back - as I was looking at the butternut we had I noticed the grain and purposely cut it so that the grain would match the curve of the instrument. With walnut strip. 8.gif 8.gif 8.gif 8.gif

633_forums.jpg?width=750 Here's the front closeup of head and fretboard, I cut the little curve at the top of the head to just give it a little uniqueness also. The fretboard and head are from the same piece of wood. I loved all the color in the fretboard.

?width=750 Closeup of body - dogwood flower cutout with wood-burning. I would not recommend trying to wood-burn on a wood as soft and grainy as sassafras (lesson learned, but I think it still looks good) more of the fretboard color - there is sawdust everywhere still (LOL).

634_forums.jpg?width=750 Finished front -

635_forums.jpg Overall it turned out beautifully I think. The fretboard is nice and flat and I love it. The instructor for the class was Mark Edelman. He has a shop in Gatlinburg, TN. and is a fine player also. Great instructor and fun week. Hard work too.

Got it home and yanked out my Folkcraft hourglass dulcimer. Side by side I like mine much better (no favoritism or anything, LOL). Seriously though my fretboard is a touch wider and that allowed me to still have plenty of room for the string spacing without ever worrying about pulling a string off the side of the fretboard while playing (which does happen on my Folkcraft). A big surprise to me was that this one is louder than my Folkcraft also. Quite a bit louder. Not sure if shape has anything to do with that. Mine is also a much warmer (less tin-ny) sound.

I'm going to be playing this forever and I'm so thankful that I was able to build it. Thanks to a mentor of mine whom I must give a huge thank you to here - Aubrey Atwater - without your kindness I never would have been able to take this class. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I would recommend Mark's class to anyone and everyone who has the desire to build their own dulcimer (there are a LOT of tools involved). Mark has been building dulcimers and playing for 40 years. He's not much of an internet guy, but if you are ever in Gatlinburg, TN be sure to visit Smoky Mountain Dulcimers and tell him I sent ya.

I'll get a video of me playing this beauty up soon.

Mandy


updated by @mandy: 03/02/19 06:21:38AM