This is all fascinating! The fact that it's number 99, when he started recording them at 100 is such a neat coincidence. And also the fact that it's unfinished! The reputation of that luthier precedes him, so it seems to me that you have a very awesome opportunity to finish building a dulcimer that was done up most of the way by a master.

Thank you to Dwain for providing all the awesome context

Hi Dwain, pleasure to meet you. Thank you so much for all of your insight. It is all so cool! Seems like a long-lost instrument, and I would love if you added it to the registry, absolutely!

My name is Michael Lipari. Ironically enough, I bought it as-is on Facebook, just yesterday 7/23/24. The top was just kind of resting flat on the body and latched but not glued, like you said. I knew it was incomplete but I didn't know exactly how incomplete until I starting looking at more dulcimers.

It was from a woman named Michelle Bobroff Lee, who said it was a "kit" and was her grandfather's. She made some mention of Lorraine Lee Hammond as well. I forget exactly what the relation was, but I believe it was a familial connection.

I will absolutely check out your website and send a private message your way as well. Feel free to let me know if you need any other information on it, happy to help. Thank you!

Hi MJ, this appears to be a Standard Teardrop, AD2. The signature is genuine Walter Martin.

How was the dulcimer supplied? Was the top separate? or did you disassemble it? It is unusual is several regards:

• 1. It is an unfinished instrument.
  • The saddle slot has not been cleared and cleaned
  • There are no string pins
  • The pegholes have not been reamed
  • The top linings show signs of being prepped for gluing the top on, but there is no evidence that the top was ever glued on then removed, in the area you photographed. Walt used wood glue (aliphatic resin) which is not easily reversible when applied to redwood (a wood very prone to splitting under any such separating pressure).
• The hook latch on the tailblock holding the fretboard in place is not placed to hold the fretboard firmly, nor in its correct position

Unfortunately, Walt did not begin keeping a registry of his dulcimers until he had built 100, so yours is the last unregistered Sunhearth. If you like, I can add it to the registry. I'll need your name, date of acquisition, and if possible, who you acquired it from (perhaps the original owner).

You could assemble the instrument and outfit it as originally designed if you like. You may be able to find enough detail at my website, bearmeadow.com, to do that. Several people have written me over the years to say they used the info under the various menus to build their first dulcimers. But putting together a Sunhearth is essentially what is described there, and illustrated. Or send me a private message message with your email and I'll send you details.

Sounds like a plan! Ken, I will definitely take you up on that. Really appreciate it 🙏🙏 Sending you a private message now.

Well, my memory isn't very good. I took out my Sunhearth dulcimer and it has four strings. Here are four photos of that dulcimer. They may help you as you work on restoring yours. As you can see it has fine tuners; the black things between the saddle (bridge) and the end of the dulcimer. Also, it has three feet on the bottom as early dulcimers were meant to be played on table tops and not on laps. I'd be happy to try and answer any specific questions you have. I knew Walt Martin and visited his shop. I have two articles written about him and a Sunhearth brochure from 1974. If you send me your email address in a private message here I'd be happy to send them to you as pdfs. Just click on the link under my name and that will take you to my home page where you can click on Send A Message.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I second the suggestion to contact @dwain-wilder.  

Thanks a bunch for your help Ken! Sorry about that, I used the regular iPhone photos with photo attachment function on the message template, I think they just came out too big. 

I updated the post with all the photos combined into one!

The photos you uploaded are too large to really see the instrument in question. Dwain Wilder who is a member here studied with Walt Martin who made the Sunhearth dulcimers. With good photos he should be able to answer your questions. I have a very nice Sunhearth teardrop dulcimer and I may be able to answer some questions as well. In the first photo all I can see a little bit of the top. The second photo shows the tail end and no top on the dulcimer. The third photo shows the saddle end of the fret board. It looks like there are two slots. Maybe one wasn't correct and the builder cut another slot to correct it. The fourth photo shows the strum hollow and perhaps where a slot for the saddle was going to be cut. The fifth photo shows part of the peg head. I have no idea what the sixth photo is.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Hello everyone! This is my first post here. I’m relatively new to dulcimers but have taken a keen interest in them. I am a life-long guitar player. I had a unique opportunity to purchase this Sunhearth dulcimer and I’m looking to get it back to its working state. 

I believe it is a 3-string instrument and possibly a DIY kit? The construction of it is just a bit confusing to me. It’s missing the tuning heads, nut, and bridge, and I was expecting to see nails or nail holes for loop-end strings, but there is nothing like that on it. Just a latch and one nail. The whole top part also comes off. 

I set up guitars pretty regularly but I want to get some advice on this dulcimer before I buy or do anything. It seems to be in great shape and I would love to give it life again. I sincerely appreciate any and all advice / insight you can provide. Thank you for your help, looking forward to hearing from you!! :) 

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