I found this photograph both inspiring and comforting. It illustrates the way most  projects seem to go.

progress

I currently have 5 dulcimers in the works and all are near completion. They start out as a trip to a sawmill and hours of sorting through wood to find lumber that appeals to me. Then comes milling the lumber, resawing and thicknessing the wood. Each dulcimer uses stock in a variety of thicknesses anywhere from 2mm to an inch thick.

It is a somewhat lengthy process but I enjoy every stage of the work though some I enjoy more than others.

The work progressively moves from rough to fine. I start out hand planing rough lumber in preparation for milling and resawing and end using small scrapers, files, brushes and rags.

I am always amazed when I play a completed instrument for the first time; a part of a large plant has become something that makes music.

Here is walnut board that has been squared up with hand planes and ready for resawing next to a dulcimer that is nearly complete

walnut board and a dulcimer

A tree and a song would show the process from beginning to end!

But wait, there's more!