Forum Activity for @ken-longfield

Thanks, Matt. That sounds like a lot less work. If you want a round top you could cut a dowel in half or sand it down. Using an overarm router and an extremely small straight cut bit you could rout out the slots for the frets. Just trying to imagine some possibilities.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

For me it would depend upon how deep the scallops are. One method might be to use a variety of thickness of drum sanders. Another method would be to cut kerfs across the fretboard and then use a chisel to remove the wood left after sawing. You might need a file to smooth out the surface a little. Just a couple of quick things that come to mind.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Well, I wish I had paid closer attention to the details back in 1974 when I began my friendship with Lynn McSpadden. I didn't pay much attention to the kits or teardrop dulcimers at the time as I was enamored by the hourglass shape. I guess I built a half dozen or so of them before I started looking at building teardrops.

Ken

The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Okay, time to eat my words and apologize to John for doubting him. I went back and looked at McSpadden catalogs for the late 1970s and early 1980s and found that McSpadden produced a T-K4 kit based on there T-9W dulcimer. The catalog photo, which isn't very good, strongly resembles your dulcimer Marg. It should be approximately  35 1/2" long, 5 7/8" wide, and 2 1/2" deep. It describes the peg head as having "a single leprechaun shoe curl. 

John, I think you nailed it. Again my apology for ever doubting you. You the man!

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Marg, there really isn't a nut as the zero fret serves that purpose. It is a string guide to keep the strings in the right places. I think Wally may be on to something. The peg head looks similar to one I had on a Dulcimer Factory instrument (which I no longer have). On to further searching.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I'm not as sure as John is about the provenance of this dulcimer. The only thing that speaks McSpadden to me is the zero fret. I'll need to look through my McSpadden material to check. I don't know that much about the years from1962 - 1974, so I'll see what is in the files. The material used in making this instrument and sound holes appear to un-McSpadden like to me.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Very nice collection, Peter. At least while the McSpadden's owned the company no dulcimer was made by an individual. According to Lynn McSpadden the person who was responsible for gluing on the backs on a particular day was the one who signed the dulcimer. By that time someone made the fretboard, another worked on bending the sides, another gluing the sides to peg head and tail piece, etc. The last glue up was adding the back to the already completed top, sides, fret board, tail piece, and peg head glue up. After that someone else did the final sanding. Then there was the next step of applying the lacquer finish by someone else. There were at least four or five people who signed dulcimers initially. I think Richard Stolze and Larry McSpadden continued to work for the Dulcimer Shoppe after it was sold, so they continued to sign instruments. If people want to believe that one person made their dulcimer, they can do so, but that simply wasn't the case with McSpadden dulcimers.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I have a video from McSpadden produced in the mid 1970s where Lynn McSpadden says that used aliphatic resin glue in building his dulcimers. This is what I used when I made my first few dulcimers around that time. It came in a can as a powder which you mixed with a prescribed amount of water. Of course, you could make it as thin or thick as you liked, but the thicker you made it caused the glue to crystalize creating weak joints.

Lynn began making a dulcimer in 1962 and finished it in 1963. I don't remember him ever telling me that he used hide glue.

White Elmer's glue has a polyvinyl acetate base. The yellow wood glues contains less water and is aliphatic resin based.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Back in 1974 I would guess that McSpadden recommended using a wood glue like Original Titebond or Elmer's Wood Glue. As John says, they'd only have a drop or two of glue coming from the factory, but if this is a home assembled kit, it is difficult to know what glue was used. I could be white Elmer's glue which makes it very easy to disassemble. You might check at Stew-Mac to see what nut blanks they have available. I'm sure you can find something that will fit your dulcimer. You want to the surface of the nut butting up against the fret side of the slot. If it were to butt up against the peg head side you would be changing the VSL and throwing the intonation of the strings out of whack.

John's suggestion of check at a Guitar Center or local music shop for a nut blank is also a good idea. You won't pay shipping that way.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I agree with John on the 1/8" spacing. Any closer and you are sure to have problems. Depending upon the glue used your should be able to remove the bridge with either water/heat for wood glue or a sharp side ways rap with a hammer for super glue. In the first method I use a little water placed along the bridge where it meet the slot it is in and then use a heat gun to soften the glue. As the glue softens I can pry the bridge out of the slot. In the second method I use a piece of wood the width of the nut, place it against one side of the nut, then hit the wood sharply with a hammer. It doesn't have to be hard hit. Make sure you have the dulcimer securely clamped in place so it doesn't move when you hit the bridge. On hourglass dulcimers I place the dulcimer on its side and can put my right arm in its waist while holding the stick on the bridge. Then I can give it rap with a hammer. Be careful.

I have used very fine wood particles which I save from sanding. I have small bottles of ebony, rosewood, walnut, maple, and oak dust which I use on corresponding bridges. The finer the wood dust, the better. Even though it will harden quickly, I let it set for an hour or so before trying to add new slots.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I'll second John's post. The FolkRoots kit will make a very nice dulcimer.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Strings Attached, you will get more help if you post this request in the General Mountain Dulcimer or Instruments forums. I am not familiar with your dulcimer, so I can offer no other help except to say call New Harmony Dulcimer and ask them. 833-852-4637

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Hello, Jud, that is a very nice example of Jeremy's dulcimer building. He made for traditional styles of playing as he did not include a 6 1/2 fret on most of his instruments. There are two things that make this dulcimer unappealing to modern players; the lack of that fret and friction tuners. I would not like to see it changed as it is such a fine example of his work. Also, Jeremy is not well known as a dulcimer builder outside of the northeastern US. As to a selling price, I hesitate to offer one. If you put it in an auction, it could go for perhaps $300 or more. As a straight sale, I would guess maybe $150 to $200. 

Oh, and by the way, those little blocks are fine tuners.

I hope this helps and gives you something to think about.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

PS - If you send me your contact information via a private message here, I know of someone who might be interested in this dulcimer. Thanks.

It will also make it easier to do hammer ons and pull offs.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

That's great! And one thing I didn't think of. Glad it was such an easy fix. Looking at the photo, do the strings rest in the nut or the slots in the tailpiece? I don't recall seeing that type of tailpiece on a McSpadden dulcimer kit. It's interesting.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

The first thing I would check is to see if the string is seated in the slot in the nut. If it is then I would check the slot itself. Does the string contact the nut in the same place as the rest of the strings? It is possible that in cutting the string slots the point of contact is farther back in that one slot. Is that string binding in the nut? It seems odd that all the other strings perform well and only the one string is a problem. 

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Right now John plans to have the museum open on weekends only from 1 - 6 p.m. At this point I don't know if he will be charging an admission fee or just accepting donations.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Silicone, which is contained in some furniture polishes, makes doing repair work on wood objects difficult. This is the main reason for not using it one dulcimers. It can mess up gluing and trying to match wood patches. I'm not familiar with orange oil other than what I've read online. If it dries hard I don't see why you couldn't use it on a fret board. Generally I do not use polish on my fret boards. They are coated with lacquer and I let the oil in my fingers polish them. On my guitars with rosewood fret boards I use a fret board conditioner. I don't use anything on ebony.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Here are some more photos. It took a good part of the day to get these 38 photos together and in some sort of order. You actually go through the room twice; one to see what's on the walls and once to see what is in the display cases. I did miss some of the instruments on the shelves below the wall hung instruments and behind the cases. You enter the museum room, turn to the left and the story begins.

https://imgur.com/a/4XMeaoY

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Yesterday, Saturday November 9, 2024, the Appalachian Dulcimer Museum opened in Sperryville, VA. About 45 people attended the opening ceremony, but many more came through the museum during the afternoon.

Here is a link to a few photos I took. I do have a lot more and a video, but I really need to organize and edit before I post any of them.

Appalachian Dulcimer Museum photos

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Patty, something must be missing in the link you provided. I get a 404 error when I click on it. It looks like there might be unnecessary spaces and perhaps something left off the end.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thanks for posting this video, Strumelia. I've seen it before, but never saw the original show as I was in college at the time. Back in the old days we didn't have access to TV in the dorm.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I can't find the chart I had either in a computer file or a hard copy. It was something a string maker shared with me. Each manufacturer uses different cores for the various strings they make and none of them (at least that I've been able to find) publish the core sizes, but I'll keep looking. From what I've been able to find as suggestions 0.010 for the first string, 0.012 for the middle, and 0.018 for the bass. You can buy a plain steel bass string.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

For a 29" VSL you'd be pushing it to get the melody string above a 0.012. You can try a 0.014 or 0.013 but be prepared to it break. The same holds true for the middle string. The 0.024 wound string works because the core is thinner and the winding makes up the thickness. You could use wound strings for the melody and middle. Somewhere I have a chart of what the core of various wound strings are. I'll see if I can find it to make a better suggestion.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

The fact that it is number 5 and made for his daughter makes me think that he was an amateur builder so there probably won't be much information on him.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Sorry Rob, I haven't been able to find any information on Larry Shore as a dulcimer maker. Is there any information on a label inside the dulcimer that would at least give a location where it was made? That could help locate him. Maybe someone else will have better luck.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

There are several places where you can download tab for Ashokan Farewell.  Here is one of them: https://www.coloradodulcimerfestival.com/music/ashokan.pdf Jay Unger and Molly Mason do not seem to vigorously enforce the copyright for dulcimer clubs as far as learning the tune. I think if you were to record it for profit or as part of a streaming service regular performing rights would prevail. Just MHO.

Here is a simple arrangement from Digital Traditions: http://sniff.numachi.com/lookup.cgi?ds1=D&ds2=A&ds3=D&ti=ASHOK1&tt=ASHOK1&tab=d

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Like my friend, I don't own, but have played some Bill's dulcimers. They were all of good quality. If I were looking for a new dulcimer I'd certainly look at his. My main dulcimer is a Folkcraft which I play with our local club. The dulcimer I currently play the most is one I built based on the CN Prichard pattern. I have a few what I consider to be historic instruments and a very nice high end dulcimer. I also have a few that I made for myself. I only share this to let you know I have some experience playing many different dulcimers.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I'm glad to hear the it went well for you Ken.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Yes, it's been a great resource. I still use WFRET on an old PC laptop. It's the only program I use on that computer. There is a wealth of information for instrument builders on that site.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Although I already saw this sad news on Facebook I appreciate your sharing it here Lisa. I did not know Judith but as Dusty notes she was a caring person and, of course, she was a member of the mountain dulcimer community. My sympathy goes out to her family and friends.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I'm glad to hear that you are/were safe during the hurricane. Stay safe.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I'm speechless after watching that.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Wonderful story, John. Thanks for sharing it.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Like Nate said, geee is not a dulcimer tuning. The dulcimer you have was meant to be tuned DAAA, but that doesn't mean it has to be tuned in that way. You can use any of the usual dulcimer tunings if you have the proper strings.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Olddog75, I saw your second post after I posted my reply. The 0.10 strings should be good for the d strings. For the A string you probably want something more around a 0.013 or 0.014. The bass string may be a little too heavy, but try it. A 0.020 or 0.022 might be better.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Olddog75 has provided good information.  A good source of strings is juststrings.com . You can make up your own sets. If you find that you don't like playing with equidistant strings you can add notches in the nut and bridge to play with a double melody string. The original tuning from the photo is melody string E, first drone E, second drone E, and the bass string G. If you are tuning to ddAD, the melody string will be d, first drone d, second drone A, and the bass string D. If you find the McSpadden set too loose or too tight you can calculate the ideal strings for your dulcimer using the Strother's string calculator but bear in mind that it tends to be a little "light" with it's suggestions. You can probably go up a gauge or two. http://www.strothers.com/string_choice.html

I hope this helps you. Let us know how the new strings work.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

What a nice find, Jim. It's fun to be reacquainted with things you've enjoyed in the past but forgot about. Have fun with harps. I'm not familiar with Sonny Boy Williamson but I'm going to look him up.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

What a terrible thing to have to deal with Nate. At least you know the hate was misdirected, but I can't imagine the sickly feeling when you read the first one. You are handling it well. It is good to be among friends here where you can receive sympathy and support. We've got your back.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I agree with Wally regarding his statement about Robin Clark not really understanding the place of the dulcimer within Appalachian culture. But, I think that is true of many of us. The temptation is to generalize e.g., because community A had a play party where a few people played dulcimer, all play parties included dulcimer playing. Appalachia is a diverse region culturally. Some religious groups did not allow musical instruments in worship and developed wonderful a cappella singing. Others that had organs and/or pianos developed great choral (choir) traditions. 

When we speak of a specific practice we need to identify its place (Knott County, KY; Galax, VA;  Watauga County, NC; etc.). We cannot generalize that practice to other communities without evidence of that practice in those other communities. We tend to pick up a practice and romanticize it. While historians look for evidence to support various notions we have about the mountain dulcimer, its origins, use, place in community, etc., we continue to tell what we "learned" about the dulcimer as unsupported "facts." We all like good stories.  I think we need to be careful about the stories we tell. Do they share facts or continue myths? I've learned over the years to be careful in sharing my research in to dulcimer history. I ask myself what substantiates what I am sharing. If I can't accurately state something as fact, I will present it as theory yet to be proven.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."