We Think About Lumber A Lot
Good Morning, Y'all - Happy Friday!
Great news! We have found a domestic supplier for the lumber we use to build our new mango dulcimers!
Evidently, Florida is "tropical enough" for mango trees to grow well in Florida, and it just so happens that we have a connection with a mango farmer!
The founder of Folkcraft Instruments, David Marks, grows mangos on his Florida mango plantation. He started the plantation four years ago, and so far has one mango tree:
David planted this beauty from a single mango pit four years ago, and even though the trunk is only about seven inches in diameter, I'm pretty sure there's enough lumber there for at least one mountain dulcimer.
This is very exciting. In another 10 years or so, there should be enough lumber in that single tree for half-a-dozen dulcimers!
You'll notice that there are a LOT of mangos on this tree. I'm informed that they're delicious! But really, the fruit is just a byproduct of growing mango lumber for dulcimers. We need to convince David to go into business, growing mangos, so we have a steady supply of mango lumber for dulcimer making.
I'm being a little silly, of course. Although I have been thinking about lumber, a lot, this week. Most of our woods are domestic (primarily the USA, but we do use plenty of lumber from other North American countries - Canada and Mexico).
Where We Get Our Wood These Days
Ever since the virus (2020 - 5 years ago now!) we've had all kinds of difficulties with our African lumber suppliers. We can still get sapele mahogany from them, but our sources for ebony and other exotics have totally dried up.
We use a lot of ebony, and we've been using ebony from India lately. And we use a LOT of rosewood, and the East Indian rosewood we get (from India, as you guessed from the name of the wood) is also from India. I try to keep a great stockpile of both woods here at the shop, in anticipation of the next supply chain disruption.
Our number one wood, for volume of instruments, is black walnut. Luckily, black walnut grows all over the Midwest of the USA, and Indiana is a leading supplier of black walnut. Our number two wood, by volume of instruments, is Northern cherry. Michigan and Indiana are the number one and number two states for this tree's lumber, although we pay extra to get cherry from Pennsylvania, since it has more of that "cherry" color that we want to see in a cherry dulcimer.
And don't get me started on butternut. Butternut is in the walnut family (it is actually called "white walnut"!), so it has a great growing range. But there's a butternut blight that's been killing butternut trees all over the country, so we're down to a single supplier of butternut lumber these days.
A Tree Of A Different Color
We've got a new dulcimer to show you - made out of beautiful, book-matched red oak - which we have in stock today. (Just click on the photo below of me (Richard) holding the dulcimer to find out more.)
Shopping For Dulcimer-Making Parts
Sourcing materials seems to be a constant battle, and I'm often spending way too much money to keep supplies of critical materials (not just lumber, but machine heads, tiny router bits, and other specialty items) on hand. If we were bigger, we would have a fancy ERP system in place, and a staff of buyers, traveling the world looking for the things we need.
But buying? Just me! Lumber, of course. Also boxes for shipping. And fabric. Pam uses a lot of fabric, and last week I used the forklift to unload a semi truck that delivered a pallet of fabric. Each roll of fabric is fifty-two inches wide, is about a foot in diameter, and holds fifty yards of cloth. A pallet containing rolls of fabric is HEAVY!
It never ends, but that's good, right? I think so. Having to buy lumber, fabric, lacquer, glue, and all the other parts? That means that Y'all are still buying new dulcimers.
So, thank you! Thank you for keeping our doors open, and thank you for making me buy more lumber.
And thank you for being patient, as we wait for David's mango tree to mature, so we can get a few more mango dulcimers...
Richard Ash, luthier-who-should-have-started-a-walnut-tree-farm-thirty-years-ago
FOLKCRAFT® DULCIMER PLAYER OF THE WEEK: KNOX WELSH
Folkcraft: How long have you been playing the dulcimer?
Knox: My name is Knox Welsh and I live in Tauranga, New Zealand. I have been playing the dulcimer for a number of years.
Folkcraft: When did you get your first Folkcraft dulcimer?
Knox: I purchased a Folkcraft dulcimer in 2017. It is beautifully made with a lovely tone. It has 4 strings, a butternut top and walnut back and sides. I think it is my most treasured instrument.
Folkcraft: Where do you enjoy playing your dulcimer?
Knox: I enjoy playing the dulcimer on my own and creating tunes with other musicians who play guitar and mandolin. I find Bing Futch’s playing inspiring.
Folkcraft: What other hobbies, or interests, do you have besides playing the dulcimer?
Knox: I also play guitar — finger-style and classical — and banjo.
HELLO FOLKCRAFT® PLAYERS - WE LOVE HEARING FROM YOU!
While we don't have a new player to add to our online global dulcimer community this week, we are still glad to be able to re-feature Knox Welsh. How ya been, mate?
Who's Going To Write In Next? Keep The Family Growing?
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 receiving your submission & 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?
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). IT'S REALLY SO EASY TO DO!
This Week's Featured YouTube Video:
This week we'll take our 1,4,5 chords and work on muting certain beats. No tabs needed, chords will be on screen for you. You can work on this exercise in a lot of different ways. Have fun! Just click on the image below to listen & learn.
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.
THE BAKER'S DOZEN - VOLUME 3: OLD TIME SONGS
by Shelley Stevens
Discover the secret gems of old-time music with Shelley Stevens' "The Baker's Dozen, Volume 3: Old Time Songs." This collection features 13 great tunes, including "Poor Ellen Smith" and "Bury Me Beneath The Willow." Arranged with passion and skill, these hidden treasures are perfect for any mountain dulcimer player. Add them to your repertoire today!
All songs are in DAD tuning, and include standard notation, dulcimer tablature, and lyrics.
This book is published by Fingers Of Steel, and is made available here as an authorized, licensed download.
SONG LISTING:
All Good Times Are Past And Gone • Beautiful Brown Eyes • Bury Me Beneath The Willow • Home On The Range • My Mother’s Bible • The Old Oaken Bucket • The Old Spinning Wheel • Poor Ellen Smith • The Prisoner’s Song • Shoo Fly (Don’t Bother Me) • The Sunny South • There’s Music In The Air • The Wabash Cannonball