Bass dulcimer

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MaineGeezer
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Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Bass dulcimer

Post by MaineGeezer »

My next project is going to be a bass dulcimer, as requested by The Boss. I was able to borrow a bass dulcimer made by Blue Lion to look at and take measurements from. I'll be copying the dimensions of the box fairly closely, but I'm going to change the design of the headstock. I don't particularly like the look of the headstock on the Blue Lion bass dulcimer. I think I can do better.

I'm going to use cherry for the box, headstock, and tail block. The top will most likely be engelmann spruce, or however you spell it.
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
MaineGeezer
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: Bass dulcimer

Post by MaineGeezer »

Here's a picture of the headstock, in progress. The square section on the right still needs to be contoured to match the curve of the sides. The two dados merely locate the shoulders that the sides will butt against. The right-hand section will get cut down to the level of the bottom of the dado, curving out to match the sides.

It's a block of cherry made of two pieces of a 1" thick board glued together. The board came out of a tree that was cut down in our back yard when I was in high school, 50+ years ago.

I did all the shaping on my milling machine, except for some basic initial cuts on a table saw to get the two pieces I glued together, then to square up the sides so I could use them for reference.

It's the same design I used on my first dulcimer, slightly enlarged to (I hope) be suitably proportioned for the slightly larger bass dulcimer. I'm going to use Waverly planetary banjo tuners.
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Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
MaineGeezer
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

The body mold

Post by MaineGeezer »

Here's a photo of the body mold. I hope it works. The idea is, the sides will extend beyond the ends of the mold and be glued to the sides of the headstock and tail blocks.
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Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: Bass dulcimer

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

It looks good. I like the mold.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
MaineGeezer
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: Bass dulcimer

Post by MaineGeezer »

It's made from a 3/4" x 24" x 48" piece of plywood. I ripped it the long way, then cut it long enough to make the mold (28-1/4"). That left a piece 19-3/4" long, which forms the base the two sides of the mold are bolted to.

I'm going to see if the piece I cut out to make the mold shape can be used as the spreader.
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
MaineGeezer
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

The spreader

Post by MaineGeezer »

The cutout works pretty well as the spreader. I ripped it down the middle, ripped off another 1/2" or so for clearance, and put a couple of threaded inserts in the edge of one of the pieces. With a couple of 1/4" bolts threaded into the inserts, the two halves can be pushed apart by unscrewing the bolts so the heads bear against the other half of the spreader.
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Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
tippie53
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Re: Bass dulcimer

Post by tippie53 »

word for today
Neatarooskie
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
MaineGeezer
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: Bass dulcimer

Post by MaineGeezer »

We'll see. The mold does seem to have come out rather well, given that I made it up as I went along. I hope I don't encounter a Fatal Flaw in the design as I build the dulcimer.
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: Bass dulcimer

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

You worry too much! You are much too precise for a fatal flaw. Now, I'VE definitely produced a fatal flaw, as you well know, but you've never had anything happen that you can't fix. Relax and enjoy it.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
MaineGeezer
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

The case

Post by MaineGeezer »

I made the case while I'm waiting for the wood to arrive for the dulcimer. The outside is covered with heavy-weave cloth. I still haven't figured out the best way to attach the covering. I suspect it's spray-on adhesive, but ever since I inhaled some of the stuff and subsequently coughed up crud for a week I have been reluctant to use it indoors. This time I tried Elmer's glue, but it soaked through the cloth and darkened it in random patches. To try to fix that I put a coat of polyurethane over the whole thing. That worked, sort of, but it's not what I had in mind.

The sides are 3/8" poplar from Lowe's. The top and bottom are 3/16" plywood. It's not as heavy as one might suspect, but it's not exactly light, either.

The lining is 1/4" foam sheet with adhesive on one side, covered by a velour cloth. The foam sheet is this:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-foam-sheets/=11kbro9

The foam is softer than I would have preferred, but it will work. I put the adhesive on the side opposite the cloth, so the edges of the cloth wrap around and stick to the adhesive. The sheets of foam and cloth are stuck to the inside of the cast with a combination of the adhesive on the foam and, where required, double-sided tape.
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Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
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