One more Christmas present

[Mark Yundt]

I'm cross pollinating again. But this belongs here more than in my usual woodcarving threads. I've never made anything close to this and started with the most basic knowledge. I'm not a musician so my understanding of music and what it takes to produce it is very limited. And so with a limited base of finding out that the length of strings are divided into fifths to determine the placement of the bridges and knowing the side angles I had the
basics to start building this out of scraps around the shop. It's Birch, Maple, Cherry, Walnut , African Walnut and the top is Spruce.
The top , by the way, isn't fastened in as it is free floating. I know you can build these by just gluing a top over the whole piece but I can't do things the easy way. It's supported only at the side edges and sits on two 1/4 inch supports that sit directly under the main bridges. The tension of the strings keeps it in place and allows it to move. The top is 1/8 th inch.
I also forged the tuning pegs as well as the tuning tool and the hitch pins. I made a machine to allow me to make my own strings ( not the .20 wire,, the looped ends) I made the hammers two sided , one is bare wood and the other is suede for two different sounds. The two 2 inch rosettes are my initials overlapping each other, and the other is taken from the design of the inlay.
I also used brass rod on the segmented bridges and on the side frets.
Finish is old school Nitro Cellulose Lacquer , hand rubbed after many coats. Man, that stuff is wicked but great for instruments so I've been told. And 24K gold to indicate the keys on the bridges.
I have construction shots if anyone is interested.
All told it was a fun project and I am planning another with more strings for a broader range. And ,,, it'll have carvings on it for sure!

[Abi Parris]

Beautiful work Mark! Your skills never fail to impress.

[Roger Bullock]

That is impressive. I like your use of wood combinations, carvings and inlays. If you don't play I can only assume that this is going to someone near you that does. What was their reaction and what was their comment on the sound quality?

[Phil Thien]

That is outstanding work. I, for one, would enjoy seeing construction shots.

And (oh God), can I ask what the name of that instrument is? You probably figured nobody would be dumb enough not to know. I am. Sorry.

[Mark Yundt]

Thank you gentlemen!
Ha,, my choice of woods! It wasn't so much a conscious choice, but more of what I had at hand from past jobs. Each species represents a different carving job I've done this past year or so. I love all the woods so I figured I'd love to see them all together. It does seem to make it interesting looking. I thought that if it ultimately didn't play well,, at least it would look decent! But even rubber bands wrapped around a shoe box makes some kind of sound. I'd make it work.
No, I don't play, and neither does my wife but I'm learning. It's like playing with a vertical version of a child's xylophone. I'm picking out songs quite easily with it as a starting point. She'll have to wait for Christmas to play with it. I don't think I'll get it back , so I have to build another,, bigger,, and carved one for myself. It's addicting! Hopefully she'll love it. She knows I've built it,, but she hasn't seen it yet, only the very early stages of construction. I tried to keep it all a secret,, but I failed miserably at that.
The sound quality? Well,,at this point,, it's nothing short of amazing to hear. This thing can produce volume,, it has a beautiful resonance and sustain, and sounds ( depending which side of the hammer you use) very much like a harpsichord,, and on the other,, reminds me of steel drums with a hint of bells? Now I've been told that as the strings take a set,, and the wood settles down, and the finish does it's thing,, it will ultimately keep a tune for a long time and after about 6 months or so it will find it's final voice. I can't imagine what that will sound like as it's impressive as it is.

And what's this thing called? My fault, I didn't assume everyone would know the answer. It's a Hammered Dulcimer. I posted another story about a statue,, wrote a piece about the Dulcimer for my blog with shots,, posted this here and on another thread,, by that time I was brain dead. That and the fact it was late,, having a Scotch or two,,and I simply forgot to give the name.
Google it, and you'll find plenty of references as well as places to hear them played. Check it out,it's quite nice to hear. Very interesting Medieval / Renaissance sound.

[Belinda Barfield]

Beautiful work, Mark. I''ve always wanted to learn to play one of these.

Preferably this well . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELWbrfZ2OL0&feature=relmfu

[Ed Morgano]

Scrap wood?!?!? Are you kidding ?!?!? I burn my scrap wood. I'm sorry but you're going to have to come up with a different name for that wood. Maybe "Select Hardwood Remnants? Beautiful work Mark. It's guys like you who are an inspiration to the rest of us. Thanks for sharing. BTW, I read this post this morning and I too was going to ask what that instrument was because I'd never seen one before. And (I'm ashamed to admit) I briefly majored in Music in College. :-)

[Mark Yundt]

Belinda, thank you very much. Here is a link to a World Champion that you might find interesting as well. There are places to listen to his music as well as basic lessons , as well as more advanced and things as simple as playing the scales,, he does it in great fashion.
http://joshuamessick.com/
His site is chock full of information. There are also many videos showing basics on Utube as well. Sure,, wouldn't we all love to play like that? Well , I have to start somewhere but I don't think my feeble mind can keep up with my hands like she can play. Oh well, at least I have carving to fall back on!

Ed, hello and thanks.
Scrap wood. Well it all depends what projects were worked on to be considered scrap.In these cases, yes, it was scrap. I burn or give away blocks and pieces like this. I generally don't have a use for them with what I do.I can only keep so much and when a new project comes in, I just buy more. Bits and pieces get in the way over time.
I don't know how inspirational I am considering the work I've seen on this site as well as many others. All we can be expected to do is give it our best shot and hope for the best. But thank you again
Don't be ashamed not knowing what this instrument is. Lets face it, it's not a guitar or piano and it is a bit obscure in a way. And now you know and if you click on the links that Belinda or I listed you'll hear it as well. Different and maybe not everyone's cup of tea, but unique and doesn't take years to learn to play. Well at my level at least. I now know Edelweiss,, and a few others. I'm having fun just banging on it like a trained monkey.