McSpadden FM12W care and feeding
Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions
Hi All -
I'm new to the mountain dulcimer and recently got a great deal on a McSpadden FM12W from 1996. It sounds beautiful but I have some questions I hope folks here can help me with.
There's some minor scratches at one point on the fret board ( picture attached ) where a previous player maybe focused an unusual amount of attention. It's not too deep but noticeable. Would some combination of sanding / oil help polish it away?
Looking at the wood, I think it's mahogany, but I'm not sure. Does that look correct and does there appear to be some other finish / staining that I'd destroy if I sanded it? I can't tell just by looking at it, but I'm hoping that someone with more experience would be able to look at the attached photos and know.
All this is strictly cosmetic, so not critical to address, but I'd like to take the best care of it that I can.
It would be helpful to add strap buttons. Is that safe to do? I'm not much of a woodworker, but it seems simple enough. Drill a pilot hole and then screw them in. Is it more complicated than that? Any advice would be appreciated.
Finally, while this is a four string, the nut has slots for six. There are even six grooves in the bridge and tail block. I'm guessing they manufactured those parts for either four or six string instruments and so that's why they're there, but I was curious if there was some way to string this with six that I was missing.
