Mon, 02 Apr 2007
Here’s a few photos of the copmpleted cocobolo duclimer.
This story is from the
[/music/lutherie] department
permanent link
Mon, 30 Oct 2006
I just put the first coat of shellac on the new Cocobolo dulcimer and the colors are insane! This is the best looking dulcimer I’ve ever made.
That’s so cool!
This story is from the
[/music/lutherie] department
permanent link
Sun, 29 Oct 2006
I’m almost done with the dulcimer that I need to finish this week. Then it’s full time onto my OM cutaway guitar.
The bocote binding came out really nice.
The cocobolo back looks amazing
The fretboard went on last night
And it’s looking great
The flash kind of washed out the colors in this photo. But the inlays look really good. The fretboard is really black
The next step is to attach the headstock. Then it’s time to start the finishing process.
The next photos you see will be of the completed instrument with the finish on it. It should look amazing.
This story is from the
[/music/lutherie] department
permanent link
Fri, 20 Oct 2006
Wow, What a couple of weeks! We were getting ready for the bluegrass festival, we added an extra rehearsal last friday (was it only a week ago today?) and then did the festival on Saturday. On Sunday Merja and I went downtown to the Auburn Antique Street Fair on Sunday and just walking around wore me out. I guess the last couple of weeks are really starting to catch up with me.Then it’s back to teaching. I’m starting to pick up some more students, in fact, I had 2 new students just on Tuesday. I just got a call a few minutes ago from Michael at Lake of the Pines Music with another potential student. This will make 3 at LOTP (4 starting in November) and 20 at Music And More.
It’s starting to feel like a real business and that feels great!
Dulcimer Build
Now that the Bluegrass Festival is done I need to get back to work on the dulcimer I’m building.
I finished the fabrication on the fretboard today. The fret slots are all cut.
And the underside of the fretboard is hollowed out to make it more resonate:
although with the grain of the bocote it’s hard to see that the fretboard is hollow.
AND SPEAKING OF GRAIN!
I wiped some alcohol on the wood to show what it will look like with some finish on it.
Check out the grain on this fretboard:
And here’s the view of the side of the fretboard:
Then I routed out all the binding channels and installed the first binding edge
This is the first instrument I’ve made where I bent the binding at the same time as the sides. The fit of the binding is so perfect. It really makes binding the edge much easier.
OK, enough of this computer stuff. Time to get back to work.
See ya!
This story is from the
[/music/lutherie] department
permanent link
Sat, 30 Sep 2006
A Cool New Dulcimer and what’s wrong with EBay?
Here I’ve wiped some alcohol on the wood to show roughly what it will look like with some finish
on it.
And another glamour shot of this beautiful wood.
And here’s a top down shot that will show how the grain will lay out on the back.
The fretboard is laid up. It’s a bocote base with an ebony fingerboard divided by a veneer of maple.
Why the veneer of maple? Because it gives a fine white line between the two different colors of wood.
Here’s an example of what a dulcimer looks like with a bocote base for the fretboard, the maple veneer,
and then a purple heart fingerboard . . .
. . . and yet another view that shows off the bocote.
But what’s wrong with EBay?
I put 2 Tenessee music boxes up on EBay for only $150 and neither of them sold! Only $150 for an instrument!?
Is that too expensive??? I re-listed one at $130 and it finaly sold.
So then I put a BEAUTIFUL walnut dulcimer up for $325 and after listing it twice it still didn’t sell.
Now it’s back up there again
at only $300 and I don’t have a single bid. I really hope that SOMEBODY buys this instrument. It’s really quite nice.
So I had hoped to expand my reputation by selling on Ebay. I had visions of placing a beautiful hand made instrument
on EBay, people would swoon, hearts would break, Dulcimer players worldwide would rush to their computers to
bid on this piece of beauty . . .
. . . and nothing happened.
<sigh>
So we’ll see if it sells this week. I just can’t believe that only $300 is too much for a hand made dulcimer.
Stay tuned.
This story is from the
[/music/lutherie] department
permanent link
