Getting Things Done In The Woodshop

In The Folkcraft Shop - September 30, 2022

Hello, Everyone!

Wow - what a week it has been! As I'm writing this, it is only Wednesday, September 28, 2022. Dulcimers are going out the door, as usual - and we're gaining on the backlog, finally! It is a good feeling.

I've included several photos for you here, just to show you some of the things we've gotten accomplished the first few days of this week. This first photo is of a hickory fretboard we're working on for a customer in Michigan. The customer grows maple trees, and produces top-shelf maple syrup from the sap, so she requested a maple leaf on her newest dulcimer. We obliged with an engraved maple leaf at fret five. It is plenty visible, but I can barely feel it. I'm really pleased with the end result.

engraved maple leaf on folkcraft dulcimer fretboard

The second photo is of a dulcimer top (made of Western red cedar) for an instrument we're building for Wendy Songe. The flame sound holes are her unique design, and I'm experimenting with filling the engraved sections (where 1/16" of the wood is cut away by our laser engraver) with a red-dyed CA glue. It looks really sharp, here. After this photo was taken, I gave the whole top, including the sound holes, another coat of nitrocellulose lacquer. Hopefully this dulcimer will be shipped to Oklahoma by the time you get this newsletter on Friday.

flaming sound holes for wendy songe folkcraft dulcimer

The last photo is me, in my "hat model" persona. We added a new product to the Folkcraft.com website this week - a "dad cap." I'm still stumped as to why it's called a "Dad Cap." I don't have kids, and it fits my head just fine. My wife (Aly) is clearly not a dad, but she's already claimed my hat. Our supplier doesn't make "Mom Caps" - I checked! Regardless, it's pretty nice. Made by Champion, with quality stitching and materials, and with a nice brass slider for size adjustment. The embroidered logo looks sharp, too. Here's a link to the "Dad Dap" (couldn't they just call it a baseball hat/cap?) on the Folkcraft website. The professional photo at Folkcraft (not my selfie, standing in the wood storage area of the shop) shows better color and detail.

richard ash modeling a folkcraft dad cap

Sorry, we've since SOLD OUT of "Dad caps." Anyway - thank you for reading - I hope you have a music-filled weekend!

Richard Ash, Dulcimer Builder and Former Hat Model