Fretboard Failure Fiasco
Good Morning, Y'all!
We've been working on making fretboards this week, and had a disaster!
I'll start from the beginning, though...
When we make fretboards (absolutely the most important, but also the fussiest part of making a dulcimer) we go through a lot of steps. We start with a plank of wood that's been sitting in our shop for at least a few months. The plank is fully acclimated to the temperature and humidity we keep in the building.
Next, we determine the grain of the wood, and cut a fretboard "way oversize" (that's a luthier term), and let the 'fretboard blank' sit for a few days. This gives a fretboard blank time to move if it wants to, and to relieve any hidden stresses in the wood.
After that we'll joint two adjacent faces, creating a perfect right angle on one corner, and let the blank sit for another day.
Then we'll re-joint the two faces if necessary (this is usually not necessary, though), then use the band saw to trim the two unjointed faces closer to the actual finished size. Then we let the blank sit for another day.
At this point, if the two jointed faces are still perfectly flat, then we'll sand off the remaining excess material (generally less than 1/8" at this point), and have a finished fretboard blank in our desired size. Typically, this is 32" long, and either 1 3/8" wide, 1 1/2" wide, or 2 1/4" wide, depending on the final dulcimer we're making.
So... We did this entire process with a batch of African mahogany starting the week before last, and finishing up late last week. At this point, we've made twelve fretboard blanks in all.
The fretboard blanks were finished last Friday morning, then Dad started putting in nut slots, bridge slots, fret slots, and position dot holes. He then installed the position dots (seven dots in each fretboard, times twelve fretboards, so eighty-four dots in all), then the frets (twenty-two frets in each fretboard, times twelve fretboards, so two hundred and sixty-four frets in all).
This took Dad most of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. On Sunday afternoon, he put in the strum hollows, put a dado slot down the back of the fretboard (to lighten it up), and put in an angled cut going from the bridge to the tail end of the fretboard.
I came into work early Monday morning to finish off the fretboards with FolkRoots® Dulcimers logos (engraved with our CNC laser), only to find that all twelve of the fretboards had twisted. They're totally unusable, and destined for the trash bin.
A perfect fretboard - sitting on a totally flat surface.
There's no gap between the fretboard and the surface.
Two corners of each (originally perfectly flat) fretboard have risen (or two have dropped, but it's the same result), which would create inevitable fret buzzes if we tried to use these fretboards on an instrument.
This corner of the fretboard lifted up. It should be sitting flat on the surface of the metal.
Why did this happen? African mahogany is generally VERY stable. I've never had this problem with mahogany. Other woods, yes, but not mahogany.
Most likely, there was an issue with the way the plank of lumber was dried by the sawmill. Or it could have been a slow-release instability in the grain of the wood. Or it could have been a humidity thing in our shop. Maybe it was elves. Or sunspots.
We're lucky to have caught this "twisted fretboard" problem when we did. Those fretboards were destined to be turned into finished dulcimers over the next few weeks. Disposing of a couple hundred dollars in materials, and several days of work is awful. But not nearly as awful as losing complete instruments, with all the other parts and the assembly/finishing/setup labor.
It could be worse, then, but it's still annoying. And expensive.
So we're moving on, and starting another batch of fretboard blanks this afternoon.
Wow, that's a long-winded story about failed fretboard fiascos, isn't it? Problems like this are rare, but inevitable. We once had a batch of hickory that would ALWAYS split, months after an instrument was assembled and lacquered. And we once had a batch of walnut that would warp like crazy, just as soon as we cut and sanded it for tops and backs.
This'll be the last newsletter of 2024. Our next newsletter will be sent out on January 3, 2025. Hopefully, we'll have a new batch of fretboards (that stay FLAT) done by then.
Thanks for reading, Y'all - Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!
Richard Ash - luthier-who-usually-loves-working-with-mahogany-but-not-today
FOLKCRAFT® DULCIMER PLAYER OF THE WEEK: CHRISTINE TERESINSKI
Folkcraft: How long have you been playing the dulcimer?
Christine: I have been playing the dulcimer for almost 4 years now.
Folkcraft: When did you get your first Folkcraft dulcimer?
Christine: I purchased my first Folkcraft dulcimer in 2020. I have purchased three more since then, and I am currently awaiting the arrival of my new custom dulcimer. I'm not "too" addicted.
Folkcraft: Where do you enjoy playing your dulcimer?
Christine: I enjoy playing at home, for family, and at camp.
Folkcraft: What other hobbies, or interests, do you have besides playing dulcimer?
Christine: I enjoy camping, spending time with my family. I also play ukulele and guitar.
CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT OTHER FOLKCRAFT PLAYERS LIKE CHRISTINE & YOU!
HELLO ALL YOU FOLKCRAFT® PLAYERS - COME JOIN THE FAMILY!
No new player today, but we're glad to re-feature long-time member, Christine, this week. How ya doing, Christine?
Who's Going To Write In Next? Be The First Featured Player In The New Year?
It really is super-easy to join our online dulcimer community. Just three easy steps:
1) Send an email to: newsletter@folkcraft.com
2) With the answers to the four questions below
3) Attach a photo of yourself with your Folkcraft dulcimer(s)
We look forward to hearing from you and featuring you in our newsletter real soon!
1. How long have you been playing the dulcimer?
2. When did you get your first Folkcraft dulcimer?
3. Where do you enjoy playing your dulcimer?
4. What other hobbies, or interests, do you have besides playing dulcimer?
FOR JUST A LITTLE WHILE LONGER WE'RE OFFERING A $25 FOLKCRAFT GIFT CARD TO ANYONE WHO ANSWERS THE FOUR EASY QUESTIONS LISTED ABOVE, AND SENDS IN A PHOTO (OF YOU WITH YOUR FOLKCRAFT DULCIMER)
This Week's Featured YouTube Video:
This week Mandy will show you how to play in the key of A - without needing to use a capo! You’ll learn your 1,4,5 chords in the Key of A and how to play them all in one area of your fretboard. She'll teach you how easy it is to play along with others by using your 1,4,5 chords for the key you'd like to play in. We don’t always “have” to use capos to play in other keys. Have fun! Just click on the image below to watch.
We have a slew (that's a fancy luthier word for "bunch") of videos for you to watch on our YouTube channel. Click here to see the full list. Be sure to comment on a video, and subscribe to the channel - either action helps us a LOT with YouTube's suggestion algorithms.
LULLABIES
by Dana Gruber
Maybe you've got some new babies to serenade to sleep this Christmas? (Your newsletter editor's family was recently blessed with two new arrivals!) Well, sweet new babies or not, here's a really sweet book with some of the most beautiful melodies you'll ever hear. Arranged for mountain dulcimer solo (plus a few duets and ensembles tossed in for good measure), these are great songs to help you - or anyone within earshot of your dulcimer - to relax after a stressful day at work (or on the golf course!).
Songs from around the world, arranged by one of the very best. Enjoy! (55 pages - capo needed for some tunes)
This book is published by Fingers Of Steel, and is made available here as an authorized, licensed download.
SONGS INCLUDED:
A Celtic Lullaby • All The Pretty Little Horses • All Through The Night • Bayushki Bayu • Brahm's Lullaby • Bye Lo Baby Lo Baby (Prairie Lullaby) • His Eye Is On The Sparrow • Hush Little Baby Waltz • Lavender Blue (Dilly Dilly) • Lullaby For Benjamin • Sleep My Baby • Slumber My Darling • Tente, Baby, Tente • Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star • Wiegenlied Fur Zachary
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