Hey all,
Don't see too much about dulcimers on here, so I hope I'm not stepping on any toes posting this, but there seemed to be a little interest, so here goes.
This was a replacement for one I had built a few years ago, and given away. I didn't know it at the time, but the glue I was using then was not good for instruments (Titebond II). So since hammer dulcimers can have around 2 tons of tension, the glue joints started creeping, and it wouldn't hold a tune. Now I'm using Titebond Original. I was tempted to use hide glue, but I don't have much experience with it yet...
Here's the original instrument:
Actually, it’s ashes now, but this is what it looked like just before going into the woodstove.
I salvaged the hitch and tuning pins, and I’ll be using them on the replacement.
So, on to the project. The old one had a plywood top and back, and also baltic birch plywood braces. The new one will have a plywood back, but a cedar top, so the tone will be much better. It will have maple braces and pin blocks, and mahogany trim.
The first step is to cut the back out, and then draw the locations of the pin blocks and braces on it (it’s upside down here):
Then make the pin blocks. It’s important to use hard maple for this. Anything softer will not grip the pins, and your instrument won’t hold a tune. I used baltic birch plywood once, and it didn’t work...
Osage orange would probably work too, but maple is so cheap and plentiful, and much easier to work with. Mine grew a few miles away from my home.
I cut out four pieces:
Then planed them clean and flat. Here they’ve had two holes drilled for dowels to keep them lined up when gluing, and the glue has been applied:
Then apply clamps and leave overnight:
Next a ledge is cut on what will be the inside edge of the blocks. The edges of the free floating sound board will rest on these ledges. I used the table saw for this step.
