Posted on June 13, 2024May 15, 2025 by Dale Phillips Hammer Dulcimer Pinblocks Hammer Dulcimer Pinblocks by Michael Mann Originally published as Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #197, 1981 When I first started building Hammered Dulcimers I had trouble deciding just how to fabricate my pinblocks, since I could not find any maple thicker than 3/4". Taking the advice of Sam Rizzetta in his leaflet “Making a Hammered Dulcimer” (Leaflet #72-5, free from Division of Public Information and Education, 5303-B MHTB, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560), I started building up my pinblocks butcher-block style. I still make them this way, and I have designed and tried several different types. Building up pinblocks is a little more work, but there are several advantages. First, a built-up pinblock is more crack resistant than a regular thick pieces of wood, due to the fact that the string pressure exerted on the zither pins is dispersed equally between two or more slabs of wood. (This, however, depends on the thickness of the wood that you are building the pinblocks with.) Butcher-blocked wood is stronger and more warp resistant than a single piece of wood of the same size. Another reason, and very important to some, is that butcher-block pattern, especially if made with contrasting woods, is very beautiful. Yet another reason is the fact that by building up a pinblock, one can eliminate the need for expensive tools such as a router or rabbet plane with which to make a ledge for the soundboard to rest upon. A ledge board can simply be glued to the inside surface of the pinblock (see Figures 2, 3, and 5). Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on June 13, 2024May 14, 2025 by Dale Phillips Dulcimers as a Business (or Running Dogs, Part 2) Dulcimers as a Business (or Running Dogs, Part 2) from his 1975 GAL Convention lecture by J.R. Beall Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Newsletter, Volume 3 #4, 1975 I believe that a luthier ought to be able to make a living at what he does, if at all possible. I build dulcimers in the summertime starting (depending on how I feel after Christmas) February, maybe March. Every year I design and put out a new model, and that’s purely to alleviate the boredom, with also an eye toward improving the breed a little bit. It will last up until fall, maybe September, October by the time I finish building dulcimers, and by that time I’m ready to finish building dulcimers. Then I go on to building other things. Folk Philosophy I think to me at least, it seems the important thing about an instrument is that it plays and sounds well. If one spends too much time in decoration, you get into a financial situation where you can’t afford to sell it for the amount of time you’ve got into it. And again, this is my basic philosophy: To build things and build them well, and yet build them fast enough that you can make a pretty good living doing it. Now, there are probably some other people who’ve built dulcimers fairly rapidly. But frequently you can see signs of that in the inferior quality of the product. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on June 6, 2024May 5, 2025 by Dale Phillips Dulcimer Gluing Jig Dulcimer Gluing Jig by Tony Pizzo Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #70, 1978 and Lutherie Tools, 1990 This is a fairly easy-to-make jig for gluing dulcimer sides to bottoms, end blocks, and scrolls. It is adjustable in three planes (length, width, and with minor changes, depth) and adjustments can be made to adapt it for gluing psalteries, scheitholts, or any other type of non-necked chordophone. The jig consists of a sheet of 1/2" plywood fitted with movable dowels running along a series of parallel channels. Shafts of 1/4" threaded rod running through the dowel centers allow the dowels to be tightened in a prearranged pattern. Angle iron brackets which rest on the top of the dowels can be tightened down to hold the sides down against the bottom during gluing while at the same time ensuring that the sides are held in the pattern already set for them. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on March 7, 2024May 14, 2025 by Dale Phillips The Santur The Santur by Javád Náini Originally published in American Lutherie #92, 2007 Also see, Introducing Santur by Javád Náini The santur is a traditional Persian dulcimer which is played with two light wooden hammers. Its isosceles trapezoidal shape, tuning plan, and playing methods are similar to the American hammered dulcimer and East Indian santoor. Origins of the santur trace back to ancient Persians in the Middle East, India, and perhaps ancient China. Modern santur design, however, is most likely no more than two centuries old. In this article, we focus on the design that is most popular in contemporary Iran or Persia. The santur provides over three octaves of musical notes (e–f ´´´ or ≈164Hz–1396Hz), with eighteen unison courses of four strings. The strings in each course share the same chessman-style bridge. There are two columns of nine bridges; bass courses are on the right, treble courses on the left. Treble bridges divide each course into a higher and middle octave. This provides two consecutive octaves of notes, with one additional overlap note. The strings running to the right side of the bass bridge are not played. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on April 21, 2023May 22, 2025 by Dale Phillips The Two-Storey Dulcimer The Two-Storey Dulcimer by Roger Alan Skipper Originally published in American Lutherie #101, 2010 I read John Calkin’s “Dulcimer 101” in AL#98 with interest, but with little expectation of practical application. I’ve never built a dulcimer; I’ve never wished to build one (sung to the “Purple Cow” jingle). Within a month, though, my best customer and great friend Dr. Gerry Snelson asked me to do exactly that. Perhaps anticipating my reluctance to regress to such a basic instrument, Gerry came armed with photos of high-end dulcimers, video clips of accomplished players, and with his normal bundle of challenging demands and fresh ideas. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
