What’s On The Bench 11/11/2025

On the bench is a prototype dulcimer waiting for a few days of scraping, filing, sanding, and detailing.

It looks very much like the dulcimers I have been making for several years, but there are some differences in both the design and methods of construction.

On this dulcimer, the soundboard is significantly thinner than I usually go with Adirondack spruce, and the bracing is different to accommodate this.

The fingerboard is built up in laminations to keep it stable. I have laminated the fingerboards using 2 pieces stacked, and if using ebony or another exotic wood for a fingerboard, a third layer. On this dulcimer, as on the last several dulcimers I have made, I’ve also laminated side pieces to the fingerboard. To my eye, it looks nicer, and it also adds stiffness and stability without adding any extra weight. The difference on this dulcimer is the fingerboard is less tall, which makes it weigh less, and my thought is it will provide stronger transmission of the vibration of the strings through the fretboard into the soundboard.

The back has a center reinforcement strip and two light cross braces rather than the 3 or more cross braces I usually use, and it is built to have more flex than usual. As per usual, I plane an arch in the back braces and force the back flat while it gets glued on to add strength.

I’ve gone back to a smaller peghead, similar to the size I used in the past, but the block the peghead is mounted to is more massive. I like the way it looks. The spacing of the tuning machines is asymmetric, which is what I typically do, but I modified the design so drilling a hole and adding another tuner to turn a 3-string into a 4-string is possible.

There are some other things. I’ve moved the zero fret slightly to adjust the intonation at the first fret because, due to the compromises of equal temperament, there are certain chords using the first fret that never sound quite right to my ear. The hitch pins for the strings will go on top of the fingerboard behind the bridge, like I used to do years ago. I think it adds a bit of tension, slight though it may be, on the soundboard that adds some power but without the shorter sustain that can happen with a floating tail.

My ability to work has been more limited lately; my back issues missed me and have come to visit, and the hope is to avoid another surgery. With this comes fatigue, and on some days when my body feels up to working, my mind is sometimes a little too foggy to do accurate work with sharp tools. I have learned, repeatedly, that when I decide to work on those days, I don’t do my best work and end up doing it over, so it is best to take a break.

I’m still coming to terms with these limitations, as I have for quite a few years. Generally, I’m okay with it, and I find that though I make fewer dulcimers than I once did, it is easier to enjoy the process of making the ones I do get to make!

It has been a long time since I have built one dulcimer at a time, and I enjoy working this way. I have usually started three dulcimers at once, gotten the woodworking done, and then gone back to working on each dulcimer individually. Once this prototype is completed, I might try working on two dulcimers rather than three.

I’m no longer taking advance orders, but I do have a waiting list, so if you are interested in having one of my dulcimers, please feel free to contact me about getting on the list. As dulcimers become available, I’ll contact whoever is first on the list, and if they aren’t interested, then the second person, etc.

I do this work because I love to do it, and I plan to do it for as long as I can!