Hope that it made it to a good home. Thanks once again for all of the advice. I might have bid on it and taken it to a local luthier, but I fought back the impulse. Trying to keep my DAD in check.

There were eleven bids. It sold for 114.50 plus 25 for shipping.

That crack looks simple to repair.  Bob;s right, the rear two tuners need to be swapped as they are on backwards.  I don't think there was another Nut.  I think the builder used the edge of the tuning head as the nominal nut.  If I had a hundred bucks I's ure bid on it.  That's a good price for what appears to be a very nicely built dulcimer.

It looks like a relatively simple repair to me. Certainly worth it if the price stays low, although at the moment it is just under $100 with the shipping.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thanks for the advice, Rob. I think that I will pass on it, as I'm fairly lazy and non-handy and it sounds like a bit more work than I'm willing to do. It's sure pretty though... The wood looks gorgeous and the duck head is so nicely carved.

Colleen, the crack in the photo looks like it might be reapairable to me.  I would try to flow a small amount of super glue into the crack and then clamp it closed for a few minutes.  On thing about a crack like this is that you may end up needing to sand and refinish the area around it, or you may find you need to refinish the whole top after you fix it.

Also, take a close look at the tuning machines.  The two closest to the nut are on backwards, which might make it a little difficult to keep in tune.  The tuners are designed so that the string tension will pull the shaft tight against the worm gear on vertical post.  In this case the tension pulls the round gear away from the worm gear which could loosen the tuner.  This is also easily repairable.  You can probably flip-flop the tuners from one side to the other.

If the price stays low, it might be worth a try.

I mean nut, not bridge.

Here is the link. I notice that it also doesnt have a bridge... 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BEAUTIFUL-BIRDS-EYE-MAPLE-DULCIMER-CARVED-BIRD-HEAD-/281753750919?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4199d50d87

Can you post the link to the offering?  We can tell you more if we can see the damage.  Is it an open crack, or just a split?  Open cracks would need filling with a sawdust/glue mixture; a split can be flexed open to put glue on the edges then released so the edges touch while the glue dries).   How big is the nearby soundhole (for accessing the underside of the fretboard).

Generally simple splits can be readily fixed with Titebond glue (accept no substitute!) and some painter's tape.  An open crack will need filling, which isn't hard either.

It's a longways crack that goes from the edge of the dulcimer, slightly angled down.  It ends about 3/4 of an inch away from one of the top soundholes.

Where is the crack situated ?  (in relation to the soundholes, for instance)

JohnH

Hi, I'm looking at an instrument on ebay that has a small, 3 inch crack in the upper soundboard. Is this the sort of thing that should be a dealbreaker for a non-luthier, non-handy sort of person?  The dulcimer is priced cheaply, but is quite pretty and has a unique headstock.  I have other dulcimers, so this wouldn't be my main instrument.  I wouldn't normally consider purchasing on ebay, but this one is tempting me.. Is this something that can be fixed?  Would it affect the sound?