We're Getting Our Steps In
Good Morning, Y'all
Happy Friday!
We've been busy this week - making pieces of dulcimers, parts of dulcimers, and then putting the pieces, and the parts, together. Assembling, sanding, lacquering, then setting up with strings and hardware.
It's a process, and we go through the "make parts, assemble parts" process almost every day. In this newsletter, I'm going to show you what I was working on as the "gotta write the newsletter deadline" approached, and also what Cheyenne and Dad were working on as I realized it was TIME to get this "In The Shop" segment written!
Parts And More Parts
My job today (in addition to answering emails, writing my part of the newsletter, packing orders, and rubbing out instruments, of course) has been to make parts for cardboard dulcimers. A lot of schools and libraries are working on their summer programs, and we've seen a lot of orders coming through for our cardboard (corrugated) dulcimers. I've been making parts (the cardboard parts) for the past couple of months, and by the time June rolls around, many of the parts will be packed and on their way.
I have to make tops, backs, sides, fretboards, and side guides. The side guides glue to the tops and backs, and provide support for the sides, holding the sides securely. Each dulcimer requires eight side guides. Here's what one looks like:
It is the length of a dulcimer, about three quarters of an inch wide. Our laser cutter can make about 10 side guides in an hour, so making enough side guides (plus all the other parts) for an order of 20, or 40, cardboard kits takes a long, long time. Not much hand work for the cardboard parts, mostly machine time, but my phone's alarm feature is used a LOT when I'm making corrugated parts, reminding me to insert a new sheet of cardboard for the laser to cut into smaller pieces.
Here's Cheyenne. He's making a resonator dulcimer. Walnut back, sides, and top, padauk head and fretboard. It's going to be gorgeous! In this step, he's glued up everything but the back, and he's using our sanding table to flatten the sides and head, in preparation for attaching the back.
If you look closely, you can see that the dulcimer body is touching a 24" x 36" flat surface. We've glued sandpaper, face up, to the perfectly flat surface. Moving the dulcimer body over the sandpaper is pretty physical, but gives us a perfect gluing surface. There's no machine to get this level of flat, so I suspect this'll always be a job that involves a craftsman's back and arms.
Dad's Been Frettin' Around
Dad's working on fretboards, as is often the case. Here, he's using a belt sander. See the orange-ish colored material underneath the fretboard that he's holding? That's the sanding belt! The fretboard is upside down in this photo. Dad has recently glued the position dots into their holes, and now that the glue has dried, he's sanding the dots and the fretboard veneer totally flat and flush, so that the look and feel is "just right."
You can see the triple-inlay stripes in this fretboard! The fretboard itself is cherry, the three stripes are padauk, maple, and padauk. With the two pieces of cherry, plus the fretboard veneer (also padauk), he has six pieces of wood in his hands. Plus seven position dots, but you can't see the dots, since they're on the "bottom" side of the fretboard in this photo.
Coming Up Next Week...
Pam will be packing all the parts for cardboard kits, and shipping them to customers.
Cheyenne will be assembling instruments using the fretboards Dad made today.
Dad will be making fretboards for Cheyenne to assemble the following week.
And I'll be kit-ting? I'll be making more cardboard kit parts (probably lots of tops, next week!), and likely ordering more lumber, so that Dad and Cheyenne don't run out of work to do...
There are a lot of steps, and we're plugging away at them.
That's all for now. Y'all - have a great weekend - make some music for me, okay?
Thanks for reading!
Richard Ash, luthier-who-dreams-of-making-dulcimer-parts
FOLKCRAFT® DULCIMER PLAYER OF THE WEEK: BETH HALL
Folkcraft: How long have you been playing the dulcimer?
Beth: I am a newbie. Started playing in February 2024.
Folkcraft: When did you get your first Folkcraft dulcimer?
Beth: I picked it up from Richard at the Evart Funfest in July of 2024.
Folkcraft: Where do you enjoy playing your dulcimer?
Beth: I play at home, indoors, outdoors, and once in a while I gather the confidence to play with the Ortonville (MI) Jam Group. And my good friend Anne (a fellow newbie also afflicted with DAD syndrome) and I spent a couple days at her cabin in Oscoda (MI) just playing our dulcimers. Her husband commented that we had our own mini Woodstock!
Folkcraft: What other hobbies or interests do you have besides playing dulcimer?
Beth: I have enjoyed playing the ukulele for about six years and joined a group, The Sweet Beats, and we play concerts in parks, libraries, retirement communities - whoever wants to enjoy our music! They invited me to play the dulcimer because we are not...
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF BETH'S INTERVIEW AND ABOUT OTHER FOLKCRAFT PLAYERS LIKE BETH & YOU!
HELLO FOLKCRAFT® PLAYERS - WE'RE WAITING TO HEAR FROM YOU!
No new player to add to our online global dulcimer community this week, but we're happy to re-feature Beth today. How've you been, Beth?
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:
Let's have some more 1.5 Fret Fun. This week Mandy shows you how to play in the key of G easily - using your 1.5 fret! And you’ll add the beautiful Em chord as well. Which will give you a 4-chord progression that is found in a lot of songs. 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.
DEJA-NEW
by Dana Gruber
Take a musical journey with Dana Gruber's latest collection "Deja-New," a blissful selection of mountain dulcimer arrangements - with guitar chords & some with harmony parts, too. A fantastic fusion of sound, this book is packed with fresh and exciting arrangements that will take your breath away. Take a break from the ordinary and immerse yourself in a musical experience you'll be deja-vu-ing over and over again!
A collection of classic and traditional songs - with a new twist. For mountain dulcimer with optional guitar chords. You will need a capo for some of the songs. (54 pages)
This book is published by Fingers Of Steel, and is made available here as an authorized, licensed download.
SONGS INCLUDED:
Barlow Knife • Home Sweet Home - Sir John Howard Payne & Henry Bishop • June "MacIntosh Apple" (June Apple With A Scottish Flair) • Largo • MacFarlane's Lament • MacPherson's Lament • Moscow Stockade Blues (Columbus Stockade Blues In E Minor) • My Old Kentucky Home • Oh Susannah • Over The Waterfall Duet
Seneca (Adapted From Seneca Square Dance) • Soldier's Lament • Sourwood Blossom (Wildwood Flower In E Minor) • Star Of The County Down • The Blackest Crow • The Water Is Wide • Turkey In The Straw • Vodka Before Breakfast (Whiskey Before Breakfast In E Minor) • Wild Mountain Thyme