Bob, one of my dulcimer repairs is documented on this site.

Look up "John Tignor Dulcimer Rework" on page 8 of the "Forums" archive here.

I don't know how to link to it, so you can look it up that way.

Hey, folks! 

I've got this little teardrop dulcimer that was gifted to me by a retired school teacher up on Northern, KY. She'd had it as a decoration in her classroom for... at least the past decade and a half. It's in pretty good shape, all things considered. But even with some new(ish) strings and some TLC, it had this awful ring to it that sounded expensive. 

With a limited budget and limited tools, I wanted to get this thing sounding good enough to play until I can actually get it fixed. It's mostly just for when the roommate's little nephew comes by so he has something to bang on. After an improv session with one half of a clothes-pin, a knife, and some scrap canvas fabric, I've got a brand-new nut that plays... just about better than you think it should. It looks really good next to a pencil and rubber band capo, I'll tell you that. 

I know I'm not the only one who has ever done a less-than-ideal fix to an instrument. So, I wanted to hear about what sort of "repairs" you all have done in the past!