Just transplanted 2 acres of pumpkin plants by hand. Countless deep knee bends lots of fresh air and sunshine. I'll be lucky if I'll be able to move tomorrow!... Robert.
Well I know most folks here live in garden zones that ahead of me here in new york. 
But yesterday I was able to pick enough lettuce leaves for us to have a nice salad for dinner. I also put on a generous handful of fresh alfalfa sprouts that I grow in jars in our kitchen all winter. Then added grated carrot and zucchini, sliced radishes, and a few little sardines on the side (yeah I know some of you would hate that, but hey it's healthy and we like it!) We think of canned whole sardines as our own cheap version of English kippers or Norwegian or Danish herring side dishes. 
Anyway, it was a good fresh salad!
I love sardines, I'm picking asparagus, sells so fast never have any for myself. The frozen food company down road is cutting spinach, fresh pea harvesting starts soon. Looking forward to enjoying garden fresh food again.
As @Robert-Schuler explains, it is easier to finger certain chords on smaller dulcimers, which is why my main dulcimer now has a 25" VSL. But there is also a trade-off, as shorter strings in general have less sustain.
Less sustain is not necessarily true. My 26" vsl models tunes to dadd pitch two inches sooner than a 28" vsl so there is less tension on the strings allowing for sustain. There is a lot less chance for string breakage as well. ..Robert
Short scale dulcimers are much easier to finger when playing chords. I mostly build with 26" VSL. It's a happy medium...Robert
Don, I often desire a chromatic. Problem is mine have broken reeds. I have sent them to Hohner for repair which gets a bit expensive. I always think of "someday" learning to repair reeds myself, but someday never seems to come.
This is a great time to get into harmonica since new companies are offering instruments with different tuning options, even custom tuning to order. Sometimes I think Hohner is stuck in the past and is reluctant to innovate... Robert
I use 1/8" . I tried. 3/16 on my first dulcimers but didn't sound as good. I would love to try 1/16 but then you get into bracing, which might restrain sustain. I think thinner wood would be better if only it were stable... Robert.
What kind of pegs do you have?. Are they wood violin or metal type with screw in the end. The metal type can be replaced with new ones for under $30. Robert
This is Fodderwing. She is an orphan who's mom was hit by a car. Not my pet but comes up to the back porch to visit occasionally. She actually came over to greet a deer hunter who hunts my farm!. The guy was dumbfounded to see this deer following him around. To cute to shoot.... Robert
Don't be afraid to try alternative tunings. I have one model tuned to C minor. Another in diatonic on right side matching my dulcimers. With two bows I use left side lower notes as drone notes. Upper strings tuned to flats. And another in classic chromatic. Enjoy your psaltery.... Robert
I recently made a set 9" that I really enjoy. I upped the length from 8" . The longer hammers add a bit more bounce. Different woods, lengths, weights. There's no end to finding the prefect hammer. But its fun... Robert
I make my picks from various plastic lids and containers. They fit my loose style of strumming. No matter which pick you choose always be sure they can't fit into the sound holes. I'm always amazed how easily a pick can fall into one.😂...Robert
Although there is no excuse for poor workmanship, dulcimers are unique among string instruments in that they have two popular fretting setups. Old time traditional dulcimers are fretted in Just intonation. This setup is ideal for 155 tuning like Daa but won't play in tune in ddaD. Equal tempered setups are like guitars etc. And will play in 158 like ddaD and don't sound as well in 155. Before you toss your dulcimer be sure you know which setup you have... Robert
It only takes $50 worth of wood to make the finest sounding dulcimer. The rest is care and craftsmanship. Dulcimer are the most grossly undervalued of all handmade stringed instruments. BC dulcimer price reflects the true value if one were to build dulcimers as a business.
Most small builders like myself build as a labor of love for the dulcimer. I think I speak for other builders on this site when I say the compensation i get is seeing the joy people get from playing my dulcimers...Robert
I build most of my dulcimers with 26" scale. I find it more practical in many ways. Easier fingering and chording are the two best advantages, especially for people with smaller hands. Also your much less likely to break strings.
Many of us play guitar and almost all guitars are universality between 24.75" to 25.5" so transition is easy. Longer scales like 28 to 30" are great for ND but string tension is much greater.
Greater string tension limits a strings ability to vibrant, so a longer scale can actually sound poorer when tuned in D4.
I built a lot of dulcimers and there are many factors affecting tone and volume. First thing a builder learns is what they are and how to build them into a dulcimer. That's the fun part... Robert
Just polish with a good furniture wax. Oil might gunk up over time... Robert
Hello CD, if the fingerboard pulled away from the soundboard then clamp as Ken said. If the soundboard pulled away from the fingerboard, then clamping would warp the fingerboard. If its the latter then add a shim between them. Its a common problem with all dulcimers over time where the soundboard pulls away a little bit from the fingerboard, usually on one side. If your dulcimer plays well as is, then you might want to leave well enough alone. Wood is very fluid over time its all a part of getting old I guess... Robert.
Tomato season ended here November 10th. Longest season in my memory. Got mobbed by customers looking for their last real tomato until next summer. Even the greens went. Ill spend all of January cleaning up. In the mean time I'm sleeping late and learning new tunes... Robert.
I like Walton brand of brass whistles. No tweaks, play great right out of the box. Too bad they don't make them is other keys besides D & C. For less than $15, you can't go wrong. I never played the $200 and up whistles but I'm sure it won't improve my playing anyway. Basically a whistle is a whistle,just a lot of fun on a low budget.
The thing that really blows me away is when I learn a tune and find myself fingering away without ever thinking about where my fingers are suppose to go. Its almost like I'm standing beside myself listening to another player... Robert.
Are you smoking Sutliff Buttered Rum?
My scale length is 28". It is for my "Ugly Stick" I just made. It is called "Ugly Stick" because I built an "Ugly Amp" to go with it.
