I haven’t checked in for awhile, but I wanted to express some gratitude again for someone in this group suggesting Dulcimer Camp in the Wallowas (Oregon) when I asked about west coast camps last year. I had such a great time, and I’m all set to pack up and go again in a few days. Anyone in the group also going to this camp?
Lorilee - I like that a lot! I have said for many years that I can be having a bad day, and a little time with one of my dulcimers just makes it better!
Stable. Horses. All good 😀
My stable. They help keep me "stable," Also I'll use a horse reference whenever I can!
Mine! Mine! That's Mine. That too! Mine. Mine!
I was going to say the same thing, Ken...
Mine, mine, all mine!
Mine! Mine! That's Mine. That too! Mine. Mine!
Whenever I clean up, the couch becomes the temporary home of what I affectionately refer to as "the hoarde" as they are a horde I've hoarded. haha
@ StudentofRhythm it's so wonderful that you gave your little daughter a penny whistle. I hope she figures out a simple couple of tunes on it and that it sparks the joy of making music in her! 
Maybe the two of you will work out a simple tune duet on whistle and dulcimer! (I found "Bear Dance" to be a great choice of tune for total beginners of various instruments to work on. You almost 'can't go wrong' with that tune.)
Welcome @Buckeye67 ! My very first mtn dulcimer was a new walnut hourglass McSpadden exactly like yours, which I think i got somewhere around 1995-96... so it may be a sister/sibling to yours. 😸 It has a voice like an angel, i gave it to my younger daughter years ago. Enjoy it! McSpaddens are a great choice, and they retain their value over time.
Welcome Buckeye67 and Student! I'm a primarily Celtic music (Child Ballads) player on the MD, although I also play a little tin whistle and mirliton flute.
I'll recommend to you both the booklet I wrote years ago for new dulcimer players, called I Just Got A Dulcimer, Now What? It's an illustrated glossary of dulcimer terms (so we all speak the same jargon) plus answers to many beginner questions about the tuning, playing, care and feeding of your new friend. You can find it here:
Ken Hulme's "I Just Got A Dulcimer, Now What?" Article - Strumelia | fotmd.com
part way down the discussion. Thanks to Lisa and Dusty for fixing the link...
Can't go wrong with Irish music. I gave my daughter a whistle for Christmas (she's eight) and maybe I should borrow it from her more, but she has succeeded in playing a scale on it so I can't keep it away from her too much.
We have a bird here (you probably have them too) called a Whisky Jack, aka Camp Robber, aka Canada Jay, aka Gray Jay. Whisky Jacks like to hang around where folks are camping and help themselves to whatever unguarded food scraps they can find. A really comical bird, fun to watch, can wile away lots of down time when relax camping. Not nearly as rare as hummingbirds in this neck of the woods. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_jay
Thanks Benjamin and Dusty for your response. Talking about seeing wild birds, I had a new bird come to our feeder a month ago: it was a male Rose-Breasted Grosbeak. I had seen them in bird books but to have a visit by a real one was a great treat!
And your hummingbirds won't need a nap, as I would if I enjoyed some whisky before breakfast.
It's a joy, isn't it, when we can lure wild birds to our garden.
Every morning before breakfast I look out at my whiskey barrel planter with a fuchia plant in it. I have been waiting for humming birds to discover it. I am glad to announce that two came this morning for the first time. I now call this exciting moment: "Whisky Before Breakfast".
If it were my dulcimer, I would just clean it up and string it with three strings rather than six. As long as the fret board is not warped, it should be playable. I might go a little lighter on the string gauges as well.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
As Dwain says, now that we know why that gap is there at the tail and those arches between the rest of the fretboard and the top, do not fill any of those gaps, Give it a gentle cleaning and a new set of strings, and start playing. Dwain suggests leaving the string pins where they are, I suggest moving hem onto the tailblock. Your choice.
@ken-hulme I cant help but wonder what the intention was, since I'd Imagine it took some effort to do. Then again, maybe the piece of wood that became the headstock was originally cut for something else, and the maker repurposed it. Ive done that with furniture pieces a couple times with some strange looks.
@dwain-wilder Am I understanding you correctly that you are saying the string pins should be mounted to the tailpiece like in this drawing, so to not apply upward force to the break?
thanks,
Nate
On closer examination it seems you are most probably correct! And if so, closing that gap would be disastrous for the top.
And thus the pins should remain where they are too.
@nate there are two strings still on this dulcimer that I assume are between 50 and 60 years old but I did tighten them up a tiny bit and “played” the dulcimer and it actually had a really nice tone-one of the reasons I am now becoming excited to get this dulcimer back in working order.
I gather that my best course is to have a piece of appropriate wood glued into the gap and then put the screws for the strings on the base part.
@nate the gap is not rough. I need to give this poor baby a good cleaning. Did you check out the last three closeup photos I sent? Also if you look at the photo of the whole top attached to my initial post you can see little scroll cutouts on either side of the tail-there has been no separation of the tail at those spots.
I also noticed that the 'f holes' that run along the edges of the fingerboard terminate at big round holes on the side pieces. Does anyone know anything about this?
I hadnt heard of this 'floating bridge' concept until just now. I was able to find this older FOTMD post about a 'howie mitchell floating bridge'
https://fotmd.com/forums/forum/instruments-discuss-specific-features-luthiers-instrument-problems-questions/35304/dulcimer-queries
So now I understand a bit better what I'm looking at with this dulcimer, and I am very curious if it's better. I have recently been really interested in how anchoring the strings in different ways and places affects tone.
@nate the gap is not rough. I need to give this poor baby a good cleaning. Did you check out the last three closeup photos I sent? Also if you look at the photo of the whole top attached to my initial post you can see little scroll cutouts on either side of the tail-there has been no separation of the tail at those spots.
I am a bit confused. Visually, to me the gap between the tailpiece and the box looks very jagged and rough, like when glued surfaces get pulled apart. It also looks like there is some residual glue visible in the pictures, but that might just be dust and lighting. There is a chewed up little ding on the corner where I assumed they would connect, which I assumed is what split them.
Thank you all so much for helping me. I’m going to try to find a luthier in my area-I don’t think I can find one with loads of dulcimer experience but at a minimum maybe I can find someone to replace the nut and maybe take care of the strings at the tail. Thank you all again for your insights.
You're right. That is a Howie Mitchell "floating tail" gap and it is supposed to be there. Combined with that 'severely' arched fretboard the intent is to free the soundboard and allow it to vibrate freely. Many builders arch the fretboard for both that and aesthetic reasons.
That said, moving the string pins down onto the tailblock is still not a bad idea, as doing so will still prevent the fretboard from potentially pulling up.
One last close up of the tail from the side.
I feel like an idiot. I realize now that that gap at the bottom is supposed to be there. The entire fret board is raised up and is attached to the body in four places. I’ve attached a photo of the side view near the tail. That gap is supposed to be there. I don’t think it would do to move those pins to the bottom piece of the tail.
@ken-longfield
I’m afraid you may be right. I tried to gently press the fretboard down and there were a lot of creaking noises. Plus, when I look at the fretboard from the bottom at eye level I can see that it curves upward at the bottom slightly. I don’t know if either of these things necessarily means that it is warped.
The crucial thing is whether the fretboard's upper surface curves up. There should be a very slight concave 'dish' to reduce string's buzzing against frets.
I’m afraid you may be right. I tried to gently press the fretboard down and there were a lot of creaking noises. Plus, when I look at the fretboard from the bottom at eye level I can see that it curves upward at the bottom slightly. I don’t know if either of these things necessarily means that it is warped.
@Nate, yes that is the general idea. But those thin pins would themselves be under severe bending tension. I would recommend 1/8" brass rod rather than the brads. And mount them with only about 1/8" showing above the surface at about -15° from horizontal, so the strings tend to seat at the pins' base rather than at their ends.
If one wants to accommodate both loop end and ball-end strings, one end of the brass rods can be turned (or filed) down to a diameter to fit inside the strings' ball-end. That is the arrangement for my Standard Series dulcimers.
Has anyone else considered that the peg head may have been broken, smoothed a little bit and refinished? Also, did you check to see if the fret board is straight and level? The force of six strings tuned to pitch could have warped it. Just a couple of thoughts from looking at the photos.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
The more I look at it the more I wonder if the dulcimer was intended to be hung on a rod. The headstock almost resembles a clothes hanger hook. I doubt well ever know, but I do like the idea of the builder having rows of their creations across a wall.
@ken-hulme I cant help but wonder what the intention was, since I'd Imagine it took some effort to do. Then again, maybe the piece of wood that became the headstock was originally cut for something else, and the maker repurposed it. Ive done that with furniture pieces a couple times with some strange looks.
@dwain-wilder Am I understanding you correctly that you are saying the string pins should be mounted to the tailpiece like in this drawing, so to not apply upward force to the break?
thanks,
Nate
Interesting notes from Ken, Strumelia and Nate. Definitely a legacy dulcimer, worth some work.
A further improvement at the tailblock would be to move the string pins down, below the break. Where they are now, the string tension tends to re-open the break rather than reinforce the repair.
AFAIK, that tuning head shape is unique to this dulcimer. A one-off design by the builder, probably. In those days a strap would often be tied at the head end, with a loop over the tail button for "quick release".
I find the headstock really interesting. The shape of the cutout seems very specific, as if it was for a purpose. I cant imagine it would be much good for hanging the dulcimer as the notch seems really shallow. Maybe it was for hanging one specifically on a shaker peg or something like that? Also, I see a knob at the bottom for a strap, but none at the top. Anyone have any ideas? Is that type of cutout on other dulcimers as well?
I agree with Ken and Dwain that this looks to be more likely from the 1960s or early 70s. Definitely not from the 1940s.
It's a cool dulcimer!- and seems like it'd be worth restoring.
Also, I wanted to add that the odd shape head makes a great “handle” for carrying the dulcimer-its kind of a neat design feature.
Wow! Thanks for the rapid response! I’m not sure whether I have the skills required for these repairs so I might try to find a luthier in my area. I don’t have a huge investment in this so I don’t mind spending more to have a working instrument.
I’ve attached photos of the head and pegs from the top.
Dwain has given you good advice on fixing the 'cut-away' tail which, if I remember correctly, was a Howie Mitchell design concept from the 60s Revival era.
That, those tuners, plus the 6+ and 13+ fret layout makes me think that this is a 1960s dulcimer, or at least influenced by Howie Mitchell's book called The Mountain Dulcimer: How To Make It and Play It, after a fashion. The instrument with its under curled tuning head certainly in an interesting build -- probably a one-off which would explain no builder's label.
You might begin by applying a clamp to the tailpiece and drawing it down to where it almost touches the bottom of the tailblock. The easing a folded length of 100g sandpaper and clamping just enough to enable the paper to be drawn back and forth, getting some clean wood. Then you can relax the clamp, brush in some glue and re-clamp to fully join the break.
That break was likely caused by the design feature of a cut-away top along the sides of the last few inches of the fretboard, intended to increase the volume perhaps.
Further fasten that break by drilling a tapered hole for a screw long enough to engage about an inch of the bottom half of the tailblock break. Tapered screw drills can be purchased at good hardware stores. Your photos don't show any sense of the actual size of things, but a #8x1-1/2" screw might be about right.
Interesting design, otherwise! Especially the peghead. A top view of that pegbox might disclose another place where some preventive re-design would help, as it looks like the slot for the interior of the pegbox might extend right to the end of the peghead, in the view you supply!
