Body upgrade for a $3 dulcimer

[johnpipe108]

My friend, Mimi, brought a dulcimer to me, for which she had paid $3, and it had a body of corrugated cardboard; she asked me to make a wood body for it. Here is what I came up with:

I used 1/4 Oak 2 x 4 foot precut, with one side birch, which I used out for the face, with the oak out for the sides and back. Here are the back and construction shots, a side is clamped for attaching the glue-lining strips; the detail shows them, and the cardboard box-body may be seen in the background.



I could not bind the raw 3-ply edges, I had no suitable materials and don't have the skill to do a clean job on that anyway. However, my friend is an artist and can decorate the edges with her art skills.

regards, johnpipe

 

[ScottM]

John, showed this to a good musican freind. The guy can and does play almost anything with strings. He was very impressed. He said you seldom see that shape. Most are teardrop or hour glass shaped. Your's is unique. He did offer that for best tone quality the top is normally spruce and the mahogany back and sides really project the sound. So if you make another I would try those woods.

 

[johnpipe108]

John, showed this to a good musican freind. The guy can and does play almost anything with strings. He was very impressed. He said you seldom see that shape. Most are teardrop or hour glass shaped. Your's is unique. He did offer that for best tone quality the top is normally spruce and the mahogany back and sides really project the sound. So if you make another I would try those woods.

I would have liked to do that, but unfortunately I haven't any good woods on hand, no way to go out and get them, either. No planes or skill with them as well, and I could just re-saw a 4-inch wide piece on my ten-inch bandsaw, which would cut it a little close on this shape (8-inches wide at bottom, 4-inches at top) when butterflied.

The shape comes from the dirt-cheap construction of the original; don't know where it was actually made, but it was signed by a chap with an apparently Italian name, and the number 12. Curious to see someone sign their name in a product literally made of corrugated cardboard! The cardboard for the original was die-cut, meaning it was produced in bulk.

If I could work with good woods, I'd also attend to the finger-board in decent wood as well; there's no easy way to know what the original wood is (my guess is , maybe Phillipine mahogany, or something cheaper, perhaps).

I have considered making another, from scratch, but, my nature is such that I very rarely make two of anything. When a project is finished, I lose interest, and the next item of interest becomes the next project, and all those "I think I'll make another" end up at the very end of the list!

At any rate, it does sound a lot better now, than it did with a cardboard body.

regards, John

 

[PChristy]

Nice job John:icon_thum

 

[LeftyTom]

John, oak and birch are unique tone woods.

Scott, I am surprised your friend didn't notice......this is the Bo Diddley signature series dulcimer. :gar-Bi