DIY Network

Handmade Dulcimer, Part 4: Steel Strings and Dulcet Tones From "Handmade Music" episode DHMM-108

	Gary Mahoney and Brian Hartzog string the newly made dulcimer and set it up for playing.
	The hands that made the dulcimer now make music.

The handmade dulcimer is now almost finished. So far in this episode of Handmade Music, luthier Gary Mahoney has built all the components needed to make a dulcimer -- the back, top, fret board, curved sides, peg head and tail piece. Once he had all the parts made, he assembled and glued up the pieces and added a wood finish to the newly made instrument. All that remains is to set up (i.e., string) the dulcimer and then let the music begin.

Materials:

Rosewood dulcimer-nut and saddle
Drill
Luthier's kerf saw
Tuning pegs
Peg reemer
Dulcimer strings
Straight-edge ruler
Carpenter's pencil
Safety glasses or goggles

Safety Alert: Always wear safety goggles or safety glasses when
working with wood, power-tools, saws, drills, routers, etc.

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Setting Up the Dulcimer

• Gary begins the set-up using a peg reamer to shape the peg holes so that they will fit the tuners (figure A).

• He then installs the tuning pegs (figure B).

  Figure A

  Figure B

  
  
• Next, Gary uses a cordless drill to drill four small holes through the tailpiece (figure C). The holes are very small because eventually the strings will be thread through them.

• A rosewood nut (figure D) and saddle are added next. Gary purchased both of these elements from a luthier-supply shop. This is one of the most critical steps of dulcimer making. The sweet dulcimer sound is affected most by the shape and placement of the nut and saddle.

  Figure C

  Figure D

  
  
• Gary then marks the nut for the notches he will cut for the string (figure E).

• He then cuts four grooves into the nut (figure F) using a kerf saw. The grooves will guide the strings from the fret board to the tuners. The depth of each groove should be half the diameter of a string.

  Figure E

  Figure F

  
  
• Each string is threaded from the tailpiece over the fret board, across the nut's groove and into the hole of a tuning peg. Gary places the saddle under the first string and threads the other three strings into their pegs.

• The first step in tuning the dulcimer is to set the position of the saddle or bridge (figure G). The note from the open string should be the same as the note heard when pressing the midway fret. Gary adjusts the saddle until he hears that note at both positions.

• The distance from the seventh fret to the nut, and the distance from the seventh fret to the saddle should be about the same. It's a 26-1/2-inch fret scale. So with the bridge and the nut are 26-1/2 inches apart (figure H), the open string and the seventh fret should make the same note. With just a little more fine-tuning, the dulcimer is now ready to play.

  Figure G

  Figure H

  
  

  	The completed dulcimer.
  	Luthier and professor Gary Mahoney plays a traditional tune on the newly made Appalachian-style dulcimer.

RESOURCES :

Stewart MacDonald's Luthier Supply Shop
Website: www.stewmac.com

Luthier's Mercantile International, Inc.
Website: www.lmii.com

Pioneer Valley Luthier Supply Company
Website: www.pioneervalleyluthier.com

GUESTS :

Gary Mahoney, Luthier
Associate professor, Technology and Industrial Arts
Berea College
Berea, KY

Brian Hartzog, graduate assistant, Technology and Industrial Arts
Berea College
Berea, KY