Saturday, August 8, 2009

Dulcimer Build Finale...

Got a day off, so I decided to head out to the shop and really get after the dulcimer project. I had a lot less work to do than I had originally thought. Final sanding, Tung Oil finish, and tuners/bridge/nut installation. Waiting for the Tung Oil to dry a couple times was the longest part of the day.



The coolest moment had to be when I finished installing the tuners and got ready to string it up. It reminds me of the feeling you get when you rebuild a carburetor and you jump behind the wheel to fire it up for the first time (will it start or will it burst into flames?). Same kind of feeling here. When I put some tension on these strings, will it make a joyful noise or fold like a cheap chair into pieces on the shop floor? No folding here.



This project has been a really great experience. I've been doing set up/repair work on solid body electric guitars for myself and other folks for several years now. But I've yet to try my hand at any acoustic instrument construction. All in all, I'm pretty happy with the results.



So...here it is.

Hourglass/Walnut #1



















Currently listening to: The Black Keys-Rubber Factory.