Yep! That's an oldie but a goodie. All original goodies. As John sez, heat gun and gently pry the joints apart, let it cool and dry, and re-assemble. Save the booklets for posterity. Whatever's missing, I know you can make...
Nate, you have a treasure from the 1970's or so! This is a wonderful McSpadden/The Dulcimer Shoppe kit. If you can dis-assemble the joints carefully, and reassemble it per the directions, you'll have a dandy dulcimer. If the glue used was Elmer's glue, or other wood glue, you might be able to warm the joints with a hair dryer or heat gun and pry them apart slowly with a knife. Anyway, yes, this was a good-quality kit originally. It's all as old as it looks, too!
Hello folks, a couple of years ago a friend gave me a half assembled kit dulcimer along with an instructional booklet, as well as"four & twenty" and a plastic sleeve with some strings. The booklet is made by The Dulcimer Shoppe and the strings are McSpadden brand, so the kit might be as well, but I can't say for sure. It was given to my with some of the work already done wrong, my friend tried to fix it without consulting the booklet,
made it even weirder, gave up, and then had it sitting around for years until he found out I play dulcimer so he dug it up to give to me. Between some of the original pieces being lost, and the things done wrong, I still haven't gotten around to putting it together.
I'm hoping some folks here might know more about this kit and maybe just how old some of this stuff is. I cant tell if the books are just stylized to look late 70s folky or if it all might actually be that old. My friend indicated that it could be decades old, but he really had no clue beyond that.
Thanks
Nate
If I'm not mistaken, Gary was making wonderful and modestly priced box dulcimers at a time when almost no other dulcimer builders were making box dulcimers or Tennessee music box reproductions.
Yes, many of us knew of Gary's health issues but you wouldn't know speaking with him.
You are right, I spoke with him last summer to place an order through his store and he was so pleasant and kind. It was his nature. Similar to my dad, fighting a battle, but strong!
Enjoy that special dulcimer!
@marg Gary was a great builder and player! You're fortunate to have acquired one of his mountain dulcimers.
Yes, many of us knew of Gary's health issues but you wouldn't know speaking with him.
I was able to get one of his deep body dulcimers not long ago, it is so easy to fret and has such a great overall tone. It is a treasure and more so now. When I did speak with Gary, after getting his dulcimer, he was so pleasant talking about his dulcimers and shop. He will be missed not only by his family and friends but all of the dulcimer community.
Keeping him and his love ones in my heart
Like Robin, I knew of his health issues. Gary was such a pleasant person, whether seeing him at festivals or conducting business with him through his store. I'm sad to hear of his passing. We lost another great one. 
You ain't getting counted! : )
You ain't getting counted! : )
We old we proud we dulcimer players we bad we nationwide.
I hear there are tens of dollars to be made in dulcimer magazines and websites.
Thanks for putting this here Nate.
I left out in the vid that I surely appreciate the tone/timber of the bigs they are something special.
I hear there are tens of dollars to be made in dulcimer magazines and websites.
My experience with the dulcimer community on this website is a very altruistic desire to share information and music. So many on here have taken quite a lot of time out of their day to write long posts to help me or someone else or folks in general with understanding and appreciating the dulcimer, and I'm really grateful for that. At the end of the day I know that all the help I've gotten is proof that dulcimer people love helping and sharing with others, so I know they will always find a way to do it 
I'm pretty sure she explored every avenue before deciding to close the doors. Things today aren't what they were when DPN started as a mimeographed newsletter all those years ago. Today you need not just writing/editing skills but serious computer saavy. The costs of printing small run publications, especially in the color with the quality we expect today have gone out of sight and subscribers are dropping off as the popularity of electronic media has risen, and the remaining subscribers are less and less willing to pay the costs of production, honoraria for writers, and something approaching compensation for the editor.
The other issue is that a magazine needs in-depth quality material to print, and fewer people these days are doing so. People today seemingly would rather start random "sound bite" discussions on the plethora of dulcimer social media sites.
DPN might... just might... survive as a sort of subscription-based "contributory blog" -- an electronic magazine. Think of a website, similar to FOTMD, where you would pay a monthly or annual fee to read articles, watch short videos, and see photos, but not comment on them except for a thousand words per month (like a letter to the editor). There are already a number of scholarly journals operating on this basis -- JSTOR and Academia.edu come to mind immediately. Subscribers would receive notification emails whenever a certain amount of new material was published. Articles could be read on line or perhaps downloaded for personal use only.
Folks who have interesting things to report about the dulcimer, its use, history, etc, etc. would upload articles with illustrations/photos or video clips (all in appropriate electronic formats) to the editor. The editor would do his/her editorial magic and upload the articles to a website where subscribing readers can access them. Contributors would get paid via Papal or Zelle. There would be paid advertisements interspersed with the articles.
Here again, the question remains whether there would be sufficient interest -- advertisements and people willing to pay a monthly/annual subscription fee -- to support someone doing all that writing, editing, and electronic manipulation, plus support the massive bandwidth and computer resources, etc.
Sad news. I hope his family knows how wide Gary's influence was and how many musical souls he touched.
The dulcimer community has lost another great one. My sympathies are extended to the family and loved ones of Gary Sager.
Though I knew Gary was ill, the news of his death still came to me as a bit of a shock. It was a long-ago visit to Gary & Toni's shop which got me thinking about taking up mountain dulcimer-- and as it happened, Gary & Toni weren't even there that day yet the instruments were and someone else was minding the store. Gary was a great guy, a wonderful luthier, and a really good musician. My heart is with Toni and the Sager family.
That is sad news................I appreciate you posting that and I will surely remember his family and all those grieving his loss.
It is with a sad heart that I share the news that Gary Sager of Prussia Valley dulcimers died this afternoon, March 15, 2023. Gary was an experienced dulcimer maker and an enthusiastic promoter of the mountain dulcimer. I first met Gary and Dave Lynch at the same time at a Harmony Harvest festival in Lancaster, OH. Gary was generous in sharing advice about building and playing dulcimers. He will be missed by all who knew him or shopped at the Prussia Valley Music Store or website.
My sympathy goes out to his wife, Toni, and the rest of Gary's family.
Rest in peace Gary.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I wonder if Ashley tried selling DPN to someone who would continue its publication?
In my conversation with Ashley she indicated she would keep up the events calendar and maybe the club list, but I don't think she was interested in maintaining a digital newsletter. I guess if that is a need for the dulcimer community someone will develop it.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Nate -- there is always the "archive" on issuu.com -- see the link a couple posts below here....
@nate Ashley Ernst has indicated there will still be an online presence of some kind for DPN even after the print editions cease.
I am not a regular reader, but I've pulled up a TON of random articles over time. Sorry is this question is out of the loop, but will there be any type of replacement, maybe a less frequent digital newsletter or something more manageable? It's a real bummer though, for someone like me who isnt really connected to the culture of dulcimer playing, DPN regularly exposed me to ideas I'd never have even known to look for, including techniques, historical information, etc.
Hey Ken, I thought the instrument was super interesting, especially how the traditional ones have handles on the front, so you can basically hold it like a plane yoke while you play. My next one will too. The one I built has the saddle sitting on two coffee cans in a plywood box. I sort of just winged it, didn't really measure anything or use plans or whatnot. Intending to build another one now that I know what to expect.
Ken, who was the geology major, Bob or Janita?
Interesting instrument. IIRC there were several biblical era lyres which used a skin drum as the resonator chamber. Can't really see what you've built, from that vid. Had to go looking.
I found Dennis Havlena's how-to article which, like most of his other homemade instrument DIYs is pretty comprehensive.... Is that what you used to build from?
Then there's me. I'm Un-bidexterous. Can't do anything with either hand 
Haha! Thats why some guy invented the harmonica holder !
Then there's me. I'm Un-bidexterous. Can't do anything with either hand
After reading the story from Janita, I have a vague recollection of her telling me that story. It was at one of the Shenandoah University dulcimer weeks that Maddie Mac Neal and Ralph Lee Smith organized. We were sharing our backgrounds and I asked how a geology major got involved in dulcimers. I had forgotten all about that until Silverstrings posted Janita's response.
Ken
"The dulcimer sing a sweet song."
Well the published story is better than any of those we just made up! Thanks, @silverstrings, for reaching out to Janet.
Oh, @silverstrings , I just love this story and am so glad you pursued learning how Blue Lion Instruments came by their name! Mark and I just finished playing together just a bit ago and I was playing a Blue Lion. <3
https://youtube.com/shorts/Xl1pDlMtGbM?feature=share
The Gambian Kora is a really clever African harp. I think one would probably sound incredible with the dulcimer. Made one attempt and building one DIY style and still have no clue how to play it. Working on building a much nicer, louder, and prettier one using what I learned.
