Forum Activity for @john-c-knopf

Yes, Don, a Keith Young dulcimer is valuable and collectible.  Keith is no longer with us, but he did excellent work.  I expect he used lacquer on his dulcimers, but I can't be sure of it.  Lacquer is a fairly common finish to use on dulcimers.

I also thought of gun cases.  They're durable and long, and might work very well.  The only possible problem might be taking them onto aircraft.  After all, what would YOU think was in that case?  

John, that would be Bill Davis of Davis Dulcimers, who was actively building in the 1960s and 1970s.  That is his trademark "violin" design, which was also used by Chet Hines of Ohio (he wrote a book about it) and has been perpetuated by Mike Clemmer in Townsend, TN.  The late Jean Schilling of Cosby, TN was married to Bill Davis at one point, and their photo appeared in a National Geographic magazine years ago.

That's great news, Richard!

Maybe try a heat gun/hair dryer to warm up the glue on the ends?  Sometimes that will soften the glue.

Ray, the scale starts at the third fret and goes up.

That's great that you could pick up that dulcimer "for a song".  McSpadden/Dulcimer Shoppe makes a nice kit, and I've assembled several of them.  Mine came out well each time. The plans are clear and the materials are good, unlike some other kits that I won't mention.  Congratulations, and enjoy the newest addition to your family!

Lisa, that's an IMPOSSIBLE question for me to answer.  I love so many songs and hymns!

"Next to the Word of God, MUSIC deserves the highest praise..."  (Martin Luther)

Sometimes the fiber washers are the culprit on that type of tuner.  There should be 2 to each tuner, and they tighten against the wood of the pegbox to hold the string in tune.  Try Ken's idea first -- it's easy and might do the trick.

Perhaps a member, or a group of members, can consider taking the reins of ED in the future?  Is this a possibility?

Thanks, everybody.  

Dan, the existing holes were carefully tapered with a violin reamer, and the new pegs shaved to fit with a violin peg shaver. Ken, I think they are old banjo planetary tuners, as you said.                                                                                        Jim, the planetary tuners were installed slightly cockeyed, with large external-tooth lockwashers.  I'm quite sure that John Tignor originally equipped his dulcimers with the walnut pegs I reproduced here.  And whoever restrung this dulcimer put 3 wound steel strings on it.  When the correct strings were mounted, the action was very high throughout.  The string spacing is consistent with the old J. E. Thomas and Amburgey noter/drone dulcimers.  They put the drones close together, at the far side of the fretboard, so it would be easier to play the melody string alone.

Here are before and after photos of the Tignor pegs:

Volha, that's a very beautiful dulcimer!  And a very big crack, too!

If the wood is still all there, it can be glued with Franklin Titebond wood glue (or a similar woodworking glue) and clamped well.  It shouldn't be a difficult repair to accomplish, even though it looks very bad right now.

Hope it goes well with you and you once again have a wonderful instrument!  Happy Easter.

Great story, Jim.  There are several ongoing mysteries about dulcimers and their builders.

I called the owner of the Tignor, and he said it would be OK for me to deepen the existing string slots, so I did, and it was a big improvement. That dulcimer sings sweetly now with a normal playing touch.  He has yet to pick it up from me, but I'm sure he'll love it now.  I'm sure the late John Tignor would approve as well.

Well, Ken, at least it'll SMELL good, even if it doesn't loosen the glue!  

That sounds like the same sage advice I gave somebody here a few days ago!

Unfortunately the nut has been re-glued with what looks like Gorilla Glue... might be a job to remove.  Thanks, Dan!

A young couple came to my home yesterday with a beautiful old Tignor dulcimer that had some problems.  The fist thing I noticed is that it bore a striking resemblance to an Uncle Ed Thomas dulcimer.  I think John was a protege of Jethro Amburgey, wasn't he?  Anyway, I brought my latest Thomas upstairs and laid it next to their dulcimer.  Apart from the Tignor being a couple inches longer and slightly wider, they looked like twins.

The 3 tuners on it were shabby-looking planetary models, inexpertly mounted by somebody, and all 3 strings were the wound steel ones we use just for bass drones.  I found reference photos of what Tignor pegs should look like, and set about to reproduce them in old-growth black walnut.  They came out very well.  I then went to string the dulcimer with the proper gauge strings, when I noticed the "mile-high" action.  The tone is nice, but pushing the melody string all the way down to the staple fret really stretches it out of tune!  I'm not sure if I should lower it or leave it as-is.  Any thoughts, my fellow historical luthiers?

It really is a beautiful dulcimer, but it strikes me as a non-Stanley Hicks instrument.  It seems to me to be a dulcimer built in the Stanley Hicks style by somebody else (David Love).  The Stanley Hicks label inside the soundhole seems to be out of place somehow.  Maybe Stanley acquired it from Mr. Love, and put his label of ownership in it?   There is plenty of room inside the heart cutout to affix a label after the dulcimer was completed.  Just my musings...

You could make a new nut and bridge, carefully knock the other ones out, and cut the new notches any way you want.  This is assuming that you're handy with tools, measurements, etc.

Dan the Man!  It would be great to see you and the others in Berea or Hindman (or the Museum of Appalachia, for that matter).  The Dinner Bell restaurant has the official "Kentucky Hot Brown", which I learned about down there.  

I'm flexible as far as dates and times.  There are several inexpensive motels around there that I know of.  The big question is if we can find an indoor space somewhere to inhabit for a while.

I'm currently planning to still go down there personally, to see the guys at the shop. 

Berea can work for me.  I always look in on Warren May when I go through there.

It doesn't ring any bells with me, unfortunately.

Well, it's official now... I'm heading to Hindman!  

I can't miss the opportunity to see you fine folks again, as well as some of my wonderful customers!

Don't know yet if I'll be a vendor -- I don't seem to fare too well at dulcimer selling there.  I plan to bring my newest walnut Thomas though, and a black poplar one if I can put one together in time.  We'll see.

Ken, you did it!  Fabulous job on that lyre.  (The pegs look good too)!

Hope to hear you play it sometime.

Why hasn't this weekend been listed with the upcoming events and festivals yet?

At least post the dates for folks to set aside on their calendars.  Time's a-wastin'!

Maybe it's a slot to lose your pick down...?     No?  Then it's probably a soundhole. 

Virginia dulcimers in particular were bad to have small round soundholes drilled all over them.

But I believe Jack Lyle is/was a dulcimer builder from Waynesville, NC.  I visited him in his Balsam Gallery many moons ago. 

He had a thing for maple leaf soundholes and red stain, which were beautiful.

It helps to heat the fret with a soldering iron, if you're set on removing it.  Heat melts any glue that might have been used, and also gets the wood to "let loose of the fret" easier.  Fewer splinters occur.  But maybe just leave it in?

Kusani, just slap some black paint on it like Mr. Thomas did.  Paint covers a multitude of errors.

I've been using words from the Bible, usually the Psalms, as names for my new dulcimer builds. 

It's getting more difficult to find words that can be names also! Mephibosheth? Maher-shalal-hash-baz?...

Richard, David Bennett has posted videos of himself playing his walnut Thomas replica on his page here ("Down in the Valley", "Holy Manna", "Send the Light") , and Robin Clark posted a couple with his poplar Thomas replica on his page, including "Coleman's March".  Robin also did some soundtracks with it ("Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss", etc.)

Another possibility would be Richard and Denise Wilson of Manitou Beach, MI.

They did a variety of soundhole shapes and inlay work, including seagulls.

A real note of congratulation and appreciation for your virtual opened doors!   

Thank you for creating and maintaining this important dulcimer forum, Lisa.

 A sharp-looking group.  But where are the madding crowds thronged around to listen?

Their loss, I guess.

Sounds from the wording like the reply came from "offshore" somewhere, like the phonecalls I sometimes get!

I just went to Cedar Creek's website, and they list sassafras as an available soundboard wood.

Could be that.  Does it seem like dense, heavy wood or is it lighter?  Sassafras is relatively soft and light.

George, you sit on one end of a long thin plywood paddle, put a dowel in the hole to hold the puppet, and hold it so that the feet just touch the paddle.  Now you go to thumping the paddle, and the feet of the puppet go flying, and the arms flip back and forth.  Talented folks can beat a rhythm to the song being played by another, and the puppet will appear to dance along with it in a comical way.  It's a lot of fun, especially for young kids.

Hi, Tom!  Welcome to the site.

It would help if we knew what kind (or make) of dulcimer you have and what tuning you'd prefer, but a good starting point would be a set by C. F. Martin, D'Addario or GHS.  The strings tend to be plain steel (.012" - .014") and wound steel (.022" - .024").

An intriguing puzzlement!  I would not have believed that Homer Ledford would leave one of his dulcimers unmarked.

Probably just another "dulcimer history mystery"...

There is some sad news from New York.  Legendary luthier Dennis Dorogi, 82, passed away Tuesday night at his home in Brocton.  Here is a link to the funeral home in charge of the family arrangements:

http://themorsefuneralhome.com/obituaries/

George, put on your swim trunks, pinch your nose and jump in!  Fortune has smiled upon you, my son...