I like to rough the staple board and let it set in the shop for about a year, you will know if it's going to have any movement in it by then. I too relieve the bottom with a forstner bit.
Maxwell was friends with John Rice Irwin.He did a lot of work on the music display @ the Museum Of Appalachia in Norris Tennessee. There are several pieces of his displayed.
Thanks Dan, the soak and heat process was in my mind. Did you notice any advantages to the curved back other than looks?
Yes they are pretty, but I couldn't distinguish any tonal quality changes. The center of the jig is "proud" of the frame, when you tighten the bolts it bends the panel into place. Wetting the panel in hot water in the bathtub, then using a hot air gun whilst torturing the panel in the jig. Hope this helps, always fun to experiment!
I did a few Virginia pieces years ago, there didn't seem to be any interest in them then. I wet the panel and placed it in a clamping jig drawing it to shape with the help of a heat gun. I let them dry for a few days and it worked quite well. Mike Slone and Kevin Messenger were gifted the pieces in Hindman that year.
"That makes sense. I am fascinated that there are well preserved dulcimers that old! Do you know where I could find visuals, recordings, or anything like that of dulcimers of that era?"
I've played several traditional pieces well over one hundred years old and no warping issues! The zither is a very different animal than the lute, requiring very different approaches to design.The truss use came about with the introduction of steel strings cir. 1830's ish for the guitars? I don't know of any one using truss rods for dulcimer traditional or contemporary. I'm sure some one has tried about every thing......
Less sales, I think folks are holding on to their money for good reason. I'm still active in the Dulcimore Den, just working on my own projects!
I'm going to suggest a large Galax with heavy strings drawn up tighter than a banjo.......like a MawHee on steroids?
I saw that piece and thought it was quite interesting. (Still do!) There are a lot of pieces out there that were made one off. If the maker didn't sign it, we may never know?
I'm going to suggest a large Galax with heavy strings drawn up tighter than a banjo.......like a Mahhee in steroids?
Not really needed. I make my staple boards with them on the Kentucky pieces because the old masters did. Like Bobby said, we strum about staple 14, a few inches beyond the hollow.
The wheel fiddle looks really nice Dan .... was it built to a specific plan?
No, just my own design, "keep it simple" two string, ten key.
Wheel fiddle I made out in the shop a short time ago, been working on an embellished Go Tell Aunt Rhody because it is an easy tune.
The CEO is buying us lunch today!!!
I work at a Medical Supply Distributor and when face shields or goggles come in we all stop, process them and right out the door they go! Other than that, blessed to be in the right job at the right time.
“We sometimes say they’ve taken out all the wrong notes, because it does not have all the sharps, flats, all the keys that a piano has, but we have enough notes to play in a particular key and play a song without hitting too many wrong notes,” Johnston said.
I love it!
Irene showed us how to do this @ the Berea Gathering!
Walnut is beautiful!!! Happiest Birthday to ya!!!
Yes.
I clean with distilled water, gently wiping with a soft cotton cloth (an old t-shirt) and Q-tips. Dry air is not good for any instrument so some sort of humidifier would be good. Making them playable would have to be determined by a luthier, depending on whether "you" are O.K. with altering them from an original state, maybe museum pieces?
Our beloved John Henry, thank you for sharing!!!
I greatly enjoyed this interview with my young friend Hunter Walker. I think Hunter was thirteen or fourteen when we met in-person at the Vandalia Gathering in Charleston WV. (First, we met online at Everything Dulcimer.)
Can't find credit for the young lady with him?
You are right @dusty-turtle, it will catch on and you will be able to order any color you want. I suspect any more than an overlay would start inherent problems with tonal qualities, but less is more! IMHO
It's on my calendar for 2020. I will not schedule any overseas trips near the date again. Originally my trip to Italy was to start on May1, but the tour company had to move the starting date to May 8 which meant coming back on May 19 rather than May 12. Had the original schedule worked I would have arrived home on Sunday and left for Berea on Wednesday. I'm looking forward to next year.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Wonderful to hear this Ken, we have you scheduled to teach the History class next Gathering!
I've heard the name, but don't know any thing about him. Google only had his Obit and it list him as a guitar maker?
https://www.hornbeakfuneralchapel.com/obituary/3012647
Sorry I can't be more help.
The first link says the exhibit features dulcimers made by Ernest Combs. I'm not familiar with this luthier. I could be wrong but from this bio he didn't seem very passionate about dulcimers
https://www.blueridgeheritage.com/artist/ernest-combs/
Still there is probably more to the exhibit and either way I am glad they are even doing a dulcimer exhibit.
I believe he made about 7 of them, no not a passion....
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I don't measure! I "feel of" the wood panel as I'm thickness sanding to the right thickness. Flexing the panel and from experience knowing the right mass I'm looking for for a particular tone. Harder denser woods can be sanded much thinner than a softer less dense piece.
As for sustain? Panel thickness is just one variable factor in a multitude of factors involved. String selection, nut and bridge hardness or softness, nut and bridge placement, over all mass of the piece, wood selection, possibly the finish, intonation, and so on.
If sustain is what you look for, I'd try harder more dense woods sanded to around .090 if you can, harder nut and bridge, and possibly a zero fret?
Some place to start....
Yes I know all too well about "ideas" gettin' in my head, I got a fire barrel chop full of great ones.... Wonderful work John, I'll play you a door chime folk tune at the Gathering!
I've ordered a piece of 6061 aluminum bar stock. I'm going to put together a prototype extreme dulcimer, (ED) this weekend.
Lisa, the old style traditional pieces with oil or shellac finishes hold up pretty good in the cold, but I don't know of anything that will be good in the heat. String tension against most plastics will win out in the extreme heat of a car.....maybe aluminum?
