Lacquering, Polishing & Final Setup

Last week, I talked about how much sanding was involved in making an instrument - but that is only part of the story.

After I finish sanding, I give the instrument to Richard for finishing. We use a spray lacquer, and each instrument gets multiple coats with about 20 minutes of sanding between each coat.

After the instrument is lacquered, it then needs to be polished!

Richard polishing a dulcimer.

Our local hardware store must wonder what we do with all the steel wool we buy!

Our instruments have a "hand rubbed" finish, which basically means that the final coat of lacquer is polished with steel wool to give it an even sheen. It takes a lot of sweat and sore hands to get the right look!

After the dulcimer is all polished up, it's time to dress the frets, add machine heads and add the strings.

Our finishing station where we dress frets and add hardware and strings.

Richard has all kinds of files, drills, and other hardware to make sure each instrument is set up exactly right. This is the most finicky part of making an instrument - everything has to be exactly right or else the instrument won't "feel" right.

A huge selection of strings to choose from!

The final step is to add strings and then teach the instrument a song or two!