Just thought I’d put up a few pictures of #81 as it moves through a few stages of construction.

This sides and back are from a very nice piece of curly Walnut and the top is a very stiff piece of Sitka Spruce with a fair amount of bear claw figure. Unfortunately my lack of skill with a camera doesn’t show this very well.

The binding is Lacewood. Lacewood is somewhat tricky to work with but I like the way it looks on a Walnut instrument. The color and mottled grain of Lacewood reminds me of the Tortoise shell bindings on vintage instruments.

Here are the end blocks and sides getting prepped for lining.

dulcimer81-1

I had added the lining, top and binding a few days ago. This morning I glued on the fretboard.

dulcimer81-2

A close up.

dulcimer81-3

Now I’m off to the shop to do some work on number 82 while the glue dries.