I lived there myself and have family there.  There were more than a few dulcimers around there.  I have one that is supposed to come my way, it was built in the 1940’s and is fully fretted.  Chet lived outside of town, not sure exactly where.  He said his first one wasn’t very good.  Didn’t start building seriously until he moved to Dayton.

If life allows, it'd be fun to go to Chillicothe and try to find any early instrument(s) Chet Hines built.  (I have deep family roots in Ross County, Ohio.) 

Great find!  I own two of Chet’s instruments.  Yours was called his Masterpiece dulcimer.  Ron Ewing apprenticed under Chet and can tell you more about him.  There is a bio of Chet in Jean Ritchie’s book Dulcimer People.  He built his first dulcimer in 1935 as a teenager in Chillicothe, Ohio. 

Oh, cool, @dedicated-dad!  The mahogany looked lovely in the photo.  Enjoy! 

That's wonderful. What a great find. Enjoy.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Well, I got the instrument, and it's a beaut! Gorgeous curly mahogany and in perfect shape. I looked more closely at the signature in better light, and found that he had signed "Chet" before the part I photographed. What I thought was a "C" before the "Hines" was really part of the "t" in Chet. So, it's definitely by Chet Hines.

Yup, I just ran that signature pic through some photo editing filters and compared it with the one on amazon where you can buy his book.........I'd say that despite some differences, after all writing on wood and paper are two different things you are correct.

I believe I'd buy that dulcimore if I were you and it was priced a bit less than a good kidney.

Chet wrote a book on dulcimer building and provided the pattern that is the shape of that dulcimer. It is possible it was made by someone using Chet's book.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Yay, @dedicated-dad!  Good sleuthing.  Chet Hines was an Ohio maker.  :)

Thank you, Robin!  When I read your response, I googled "Bill Davis dulcimer" and found several pictures and forum postings about Mr. Davis and his dulcimers.  They were similar to my dulcimer, but not exact.  One of the postings said that this shape was used by Bill Davis and by another maker, Chet Hines.  I checked the signature, and I think it appears to be "C. Hines."  Mystery solved!  

What a cool instrument!  I'm throwing out a guess-- Bill Davis?

I have an opportunity to buy this dulcimer, but I can't quite make out the maker's name.  Any ideas who the maker might be?  Thanks.  

updated by @dedicated-dad: 10/27/19 12:02:25PM