Has anyone made a comparison of hollowed out fretboards compared to solid ones as far as warping is concerned? ? I know solids are quieter and it seems the hollow fretboard would be less prone to warpage than the solid one. Also the wood grain , and flat sawed or quarter sawn has a lot of influence on warping.
Although I have forgotten this sometimes (I hope not here at FOTMD), what is called "The Golden Rule" is how I have tried to relate to people in person and online. I understand that most world religions and philosophies have some form of it as part of their doctrine: do to others as you would have them do to you. I try as much as I can to walk in the others shoes.
Here at FOTMD I feel we all try to do that. Thank you everyone for a delightful place to share our love of music and the mountain dulcimer.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I am not familiar with the Fremont strings. I'll have to look into them.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
As I reflect on my experience with FOTMD and the folks who are associated with this site, I can say that I have felt encouragement and acceptance. I am allowed to lumber along at my own pace without denigration or derision. What a pleasure to be within a group where I am not expected to be an expert but can contribute according to my abilities. Thank you Strumelia.
Indeed, I have treasured FOTMD since I discovered this site as a friendly, encouraging oasis in the social media desert of mean-spirited ridicule. This is a place where all are welcome, where we can share our love of this oddly-shaped instrument with too few strings and too few frets, and where, by eschewing anger and aggression, we implicitly celebrate our shared humanity. We are, as the name of the site explains, friends.
You are kindly welcomed Ken. I took a bit of a chance, and was glad that the chance paid off. Even with the goof up, the owner after I emailed him emailed me back and said, you were right, and agreed to partially refund the difference between what I had originally ordered and had gotten. I'll eventually take a picture of mine, after I take it to the local shop that I have do my restringing for me. This was sent already in low G ukulele tuning, but with D'Addario unwound low G and I prefer Fremont blackline ukulele strings. Got turned onto those by someone on a ukulele forum and they are the cat's meow as far as I am concerned for strings. But to each there own 
To echo what Robin said, I appreciate this posting, more than you probably know or realize. It is a testament to this site, you and the moderators to try to keep things going in a friendly, inclusive environment. We all come from different backgrounds, but what unites us is our love of music and the mountain dulcimer (even though we all can not agree on what style or tuning is right LOL.) I have always appreciated that fact, and that in theory we should be able to put our political differences aside at the door. My best.
I greatly appreciate this posting, Strumelia, more than you know. My heart is broken by both overt cruelty and casual cruelty I see displayed elsewhere on social media by people I know, both friends and relatives.
FOTMD has been a music home for me since its earliest days. And I always want the best for the site-- kindness and respect and encouragement among its members!
Take care and hugs to all!
Thank you Strumelia, a great reminder and a wonderful message. I value this forum (and the guitar forum where I moderate), because they are safe places to talk about our love for music and instruments. At each place, the members are kind and supportive. We are lucky when we can be a part of groups like these, especially during these stressful times. Hugs back to you and to all the members. 
And by reflection, I mean as in examining ourselves in a mirror.
We are all living through very trying times- both in dealing with this relentlessly long and difficult pandemic, but also through the current pandemic of political strife, division, and violence that has become a stain on our great country. It seems that intolerance and bullying have become almost as natural online as breathing.
I strive to make FOTMD an oasis where all members can temporarily escape from fighting and ridicule due to politics, religion, sexual orientation, race, or country of origin. But FOTMD does not exist in an isolated online bubble.
People sometimes forget how interconnected their online behavior actually is. When someone behaves in an unkind way on one site or network, it becomes known on the other sites they are connected to. All sites we belong to are connected and affected, and our actions on other sites can echo to represent us here as well. Ask yourself if your various online presences are reflecting the human values you want everyone to know you by. Are you a friend to others?
It's easy to get swept up by the current of division and intolerance that has spread through our society. But please look inside yourself and see if there is room for a little more more kindness and less aggression. Can you reach out and give a friendly hand to someone instead of belittling them? Can you bring someone closer rather than push them away? We each need to look inside ourselves. I hope for this new year that our goodness and kindness will shine and prevail.
Stay safe, and hugs to you.
What a cool instrument James! Enjoy playing it. I think they sound really good. Thanks for sharing your new acquisition.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Dusty, I get it. I am stretched between playing a few instruments, so I have to take time for specific instruments. Example was I had out my Kala tenor guitar for the first time in a while the other day. So I am juggling between playing dulcimer, tenor sized ukulele, 6 string guitar and 4 string guitar. Even before the whole pandemic I hardly went out, and the fact is we don't have cable tv - just basic Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime, so I'm not beholden to practicing at a certain time.
That's pretty cool, James. And if you take it rafting, you can always use it as an oar, too!
I have a couple of ukes, but I have to confess that I rarely play them.
I went to the site, James-- those instruments are just doggone cool. Have lots of fun with yours!
I got it yesterday. It was actually supposed to be the carbon gold model, but there was a boo-boo and they sent along the wrong uke, but you know, I like this translucent color. I emailed them earlier and told them I would take store credit or something and use it for a shirt or some stuff from there merchandise page. Another company I had heard of was KLOS guitars that also does ukes, and they do black colored carbon fiber travel guitars and ukes. I went with Outdoor just because I wanted to see what this all was about, as I actually have 2 Kala tenor ukes that I really like. Plus with this being so durable and having good tune, it is a perfect take to a park instrument.
I believe one should avoid keeping count after an even dozen. After a dozen it does it really matter? 
I also believe that no one can call you a 'collector' unless you have more than a dozen of something.
James do you have it yet, or is it being shipped? Hey, I'm thinking with that uke, it doesn't matter if the weather is cold during shipping!
Now you've done it. I just met a woman who has 28 ukuleles. After 3 your spouse can't keep track.
James that ukulele you got looks pretty amazing. I can't believe how it is so weather proof, but sounds great. I like how it's sort of translucent.
What made you decide on the white one? Colors are always such a hard choice for me.
I wound up getting a ukulele yesterday from Outdoor Ukulele, a site I had never really heard of until I saw an advert in the side column on Facebook. I got the tenor size, moonshine gold model. For being of man made material, this really sounds great, and something to check into if thinking about the time when it is safe to jam with people in person again. It didn't sound fake, had good projection and good action. Here is a link to there site for anyone wanting to learn more https://www.outdoorukulele.com/
Thanks for posting this, Robin. That was so interesting and adds so much to the history of the culture of building folk instruments. Dulcinina
A Fingerboard can easily account for 25% of the soundboard. So raising it has to make a difference. You only need to raise it a couple millimeters. I prefer to hollow out under the Fingerboard and leave 4 mm. on each side glued to the top. I add a soundhole on the fingerboard like I've seen on some Galax dulcimers, that might help tone a bit and looks cool too.
I think restraining the top with a glued fingerboard can actually help in making that very intimate tone that is unique to dulcimers. Although I welcome those who push the envelope we better be careful not to end up with dulcimers that sound like skinny guitars....Robert
Sorry about the "Eww". sometime my fingers work faster than my brain.
These photos are a recent build so you see a little of what I am talking about.
Eww, metal dowels? I use a wooden dowel at the head and a true bridge placed so that the fret board is properly tensioned and does not warp, takes some practice. The fretboard floats about a 1/4 inch above the soundboard. The fretboard becomes part of the vibrating part of the instrument and adds (or detracts) from the sound. This is different from the neck of a guitar.
As far as the soundboard goes, yes, you need to practice bracing so that you emphasize the sound you are looking for. If you are building a standard (treble) dulcimer, try thicker and more bracing. This will dampen the bass and give you clearer melody notes. For a bass (my favorite), try longer thinner bracing so that the bass can vibrate. (The shape of a MD allows for much longer bracing than most other instruments, a difference that can be used.)
If you have difficulty placing the bridge properly, try a second bridge under the seven fret. A wooden bridge still transfers vibration to the soundboard. I prefer lighter wood like cedar for my bridges, but like everything a luthier does, whatever works for you is best.
If you are going to try this, you might want to subscribe to American Lutherie. This magazine focuses on the guitar, but you will find lots of articles by people who have been shaping bracing for years.
That would work, Dusty. I am working on a version of Ken's plans as soon as the lockdown ends and I can get into the hardware store to buy a 4" bolt. I had already checked out the listing on Amazon and was not impressed with the customer comments.
I'll post a photo of my creation once I get it made.
Thanks everyone!
Check out the capo FOTMD member @martin-oesterle made to play this fun tune.
Thank you all for the response on floating fretboard. I am going to attempt one
Starfire, if you are talking about comments left on your profile page, then there should be a link under their comment that says "comment back", which takes you to their profile page- you can then leave them a responding comment on their profile page in their comment wall section. :)
Anytime you click on someone's namelink here, it will take you to their personal page.
If you have other questions about how to use the site, you may find answers HERE (look through the threads of commonly asked questions) or start a new thread to ask a new question there about how to use the site. :)
Thank you to all the beautiful people who have post kind welcome messages. I have been trying to answer with a comment but I’m struggling to figure out how to use this site. I guess it’s gonna take me awhile to figure out how this works.
Dusty is correct in that my Fingerstyle, the recent parallel braced dulcimer being played by Butch Ross and the latest X-braced dulcimer supplied to Aaron O'Rourke all have bolt on fretboards that are raised above the soundboard on posts. The entire soundboard is free to vibrate. Although I have never done a direct comparison, with and without gluing the fretboard to the top with everything else being equal, the instruments with an elevated fretboard are clearly more responsive and have more volume potential. The overall character of the tone is also altered because of the large vibrating plate that results. There is a shift to enhance the mids and lows relative to the high end. The resulting sound will not be what everyone is looking for. As we build more of these dulcimers we are learning more about how to alter the sound profile to achieve a particular desired response. Adding braces in particular patterns and using different top thicknesses is opening up a world of new possibilities. I expect that over the next few years, a lot will be learned about how to reach the full potential of these instruments. Aaron, Butch and I are attempting to learn all we can and push the envelope as far as possible. The results of our efforts will be detailed in the blog section of my website, stephenslutherie.com.
I am currently in the process of relocating my shop from South Carolina to Wisconsin, so there will be a gap in progress for the next four or five months. The new shop will be focused solely on instrument production and should be much more efficient once it is up and running. Between Aaron, Butch and I we have plenty of ideas to keep the new shop busy.
This is an example of an arched fretboard that I built with only one pier between the nut and tail end.
There are at least a couple of builders who do not glue the fretboard to the soundboard at all. My octave dulcimer by David Beede has the fretboard screwed into the dulcimer with three metal dowels, but it sits entirely about 1/4 inch above the soundboard. His logic is that the top is free to vibrate that way. And I think FOTMD member @bob-stephens also makes dulcimers with floating fretboards. In this discussion he specifically says that his "fretboards don't touch the top." I think he also uses metal bolts to attach the fretboard to the dulcimer and allow it to sit above the soundboard.
Any suggestions on the best place to get a capo? I'm in Canada, so shipping costs will be a factor.
Terry's capo is a modification of the Spider capo. And he offers a version with a D'Addario tuner attached to it. It's a nice idea, especially if you have room left of the nut to leave it attached when you're not using it. That way you have a tuner and capo always available. If I didn't already have a bunch of capos and a bunch of tuners I would probably get one.
That's really nice inlay on that Blue Lion. Enjoy.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song." (and I'm sure this one will)
I think Terry's Capo is the best out there. I have the Ron Ewing and the original Dudley and like Terry's the best.
Joe Besse
Why not try indented markers that are slightly below the surface. They would be tactile and not interfere with a noter!
Ken,
I realize the fretboard is glued to top somewhere, I was thinking along the lines of gluing the fretboard only at the head and tail blocks and making the top a braced single unit with just a fraction of clearance between it and the fretboard and setting the bridge on the top instead of on the fretboard
Wow, @sgarrity! You're in for a treat. In addition to being beautiful, your Blue Lion will be smooth to play and will, I imagine, will sound as great as it looks.
