THE APPALACHIAN DULCIMER

Sometimes a person needs to remove themselves from academics and do other things that can be equally as enjoyable as the usual university life. For the fun of it, I'll describe how I build an Appalachian dulcimer and maybe you can take a break while you read the text and look at the figures.

Figure 1. Homer Ledford Dulcimer

Homer Ledford is a somewhat famous dulcimer maker and craftsman. The figure was taken from the internet and was an instrument that was being auctioned. A note glued to the bottom sound board, inside the sound box and visible through the sound hole indicates that this is No. 2150 and Mr. Ledford is said to have made many more dulcimers than that. The tuners are traditional peg tuners. For more information and construction notes about the Ledford dulcimer see, Dulcimer Maker The Craft of Homer Ledford, by R. Gerald Alvey, Second edition, The University of Kentucky Press, 2003.

Figure 2. Wood

Select wood for the dulcimer top, sides and bottom. From left to right several samples are shown. The first two have been cut from the same board and glued edge to edge to make a book matched sound board about 1/8 inch thick. The board should be at least 3 and ½ inches wide and that will give a 7 inch section to work with, although some dulcimers are narrower than that. The woods are; 1) cherry, fresh cut but kiln dried and obtained locally from a mill. It will be used for the bottom of the dulcimer described here, 2) yellow poplar, a very old board that was salvaged from shelves in a pantry. It came from the center of the tree and is quite green in color, 3) walnut, this particular board may have too many knots for a sound board, but can be used for other parts, 4) wormy maple, a highly figured board that will make a nice book matched sound board, 5) zebra, an exotic wood that looks like its name, 6) bloodwood, a dense exotic wood that is blood red when finished, 7) cedar (given to me) , cedar is very attractive when finished, but tends to have knots unless it is western cedar. There are many woods to choose from, butternut, western spruce (a species without so many knots), maple, pecan, ponderosa pine, hackberry, sweet gum or what ever pleases the maker. I have a suitable piece of purpleheart, which is deep purple when finished. Some woods are said to be better tone woods than others, but dulcimers have been made from any and all woods. The early dulcimer makers used whatever was available.

Figure 3. Tools - Jointer

Old tools can get the job done. The jointer pictured here belonged to my grandfather, who passed away in the 1970's well past 80 years of age. Thanks to Perry Melton, who put new bearings in this one so that it could serve my purpose for another 50 years. A rough cut board straight from the saw mill, then to the kiln and sold as is, will have to be dressed. The jointer can dress one edge, then the table saw can be used to cut a 3 and ½ to 4 inches wide board. Before you can edgewise cut a 1/8 to 3/16 inch layer from the board, at least one side will need to be flat and true or it will bind between the saw blade and fence. The jointer is the tool of choice to work the face of the board to a nice flat surface. I have much respect for the early craftsmen who worked without power tools.

Figures 4 and 5. Fret Board

The fret board is the most important piece of the dulcimer. If the frets are positioned in error the dulcimer will not be playable as a musical instrument. I made a jig that is shown in use for sawing fret slots across the fret board. The jig is made from anything that is available. Layout the location of the fret, saw the groove across the board. When all frets locations are sawed out, cut the board in half lengthwise. The fret board in the figure is laid out with 28 inches between the upper nut and the lower nut. That is, the open length of the dulcimer string is 28 inches. The location of the frets is based upon the length of the open string.

Thanks to Jack Larwa, www.dulcimercraft.com, I got the straight information on how to figure the fret spacing. I wrote the following computer program for computing the fret location measured from the upper nut. The process goes like this: The open string length is divided by 17.835 and the result is subtracted from the string length, that is 28./17.835 gives 1.569 and subtract that from 28. to give 26.431. 1.569 would be the distance to the first fret, measured from the nut. Take the 26.431 and divide by 17.835 and that gives the distance from the first fret to the second fret. Then, repeat the process.

C COMPUTE FRET SPACING
C
DIMENSION DIV(100),D(100),T(100),FRET(100)
OPEN(UNIT=6,FILE='FRET28.OUT',STATUS='UNKNOWN')
NO=30
C=17.835
CDEFINE OPEN STRING LENGTH
DIST=28.
D(1)=DIST
T(1)=0.
DO I=1,NO
DIV(I)=D(I)/C
T(I+1)=T(I)+DIV(I)
D(I+1)=D(I)-DIV(I)
ENDDO
WRITE(6,*)'FRET SCALE FOR STRING LENGTH OF',DIST
DO I=2,NO
WRITE(6,*) I-1,T(I)
ENDDO
END
 

The output file for an open length string length of 28 inches is as follows;

FRET SCALE FOR STRING LENGTH OF28.00000

1	1.569947
2	3.051867
3	4.450697
4	5.771096
5	7.017460
6	8.193941
7	9.304458
8	10.35271
9	11.34218
10	12.27618
11	13.15781
12	13.99000
13	14.77554
14	15.51702
15	16.21694
16	16.87761
17	17.50124
18	18.08990
19	18.64555
20	19.17005
21	19.66514
22	20.13247
23	20.57360
24	20.99000
25	21.38305
26	21.75406
27	22.10426
28	22.43483
29	22.74687

For a dulcimer you don't cut the frets that are numbered 1,3,6,8,13,15,18,20,23,25 and 27. They represent the black keys on a piano, so a dulcimer has no sharps or flats, truly an eight note octave. This still leaves 18 frets. For dulcimers with a shorter open string length, fewer frets may be used.

Figure 6.Install Frets

I use a small fret wire that is made for dulcimers, mandolins and banjos. It can be purchased from Luthiers Mercantile International, Inc., www.lmii.com. Cut a piece of fret wire 1 ½ inches in length (the width of the fret board), add a drop of super glue and tap the fret into the slot. File the ends of the fret wire flush with the side of the fret board. Other views and discussion of fret board construction will follow.

Figure 7. through Figure 13. Pegbox Notes

The dulcimer discussed here has a layered, carved and shaped pegbox. There are several methods used to make a decorative pegbox. I am using a idea taken from a book by Chet Hines. Figure 7 shows the three pieces of cherry spot glued together. You can see that the overall length of the block is about 9 inches. The inside block is 0.75 inches and the outside layers are 0.5 inches. The total thickness is 1.75 inches. Usually the pegbox and fret board have the same width. I made the fret board 1.5 inches and that is standard for a four or five string dulcimer. For my dulcimer the peghead slot must be wide enough to use a standard guitar tuner and have sufficient width for the tuner to bear against the peghead. So, my peghead is nonstandard and of my own design. There is no standard for dulcimer design and construction. The pattern for the peghead can be of your own choosing, you can see mine in Figure 8 and it is traced onto the cherry block after the layers are glued together. A band saw is not a requirement, but it speeds up the work as shown in Figure 9. Figures 10 and 11 show the three pieces of the peghead. The center piece has a cutout and will be the slot for the tuners. The interior of the scroll is cut out using a jig (or scroll) saw as shown in Figure 12. Figure 13 shows the pegbox after the scrolls have been cutout, shaped, sanded and glued back together. Note, the holes for the tuners are drilled before the pegbox is assembled. Figure 13 also shows the bottom of the fret board, a slot has been sawed out, making the fret board somewhat thinner just below the strings. Some dulcimer makers claim that the slot will improve the sound. The fret board is made of a cedar strip with a cherry section glued to the top. A laminated fret board is probably stronger and less likely to warp with age. The cedar used here was taken from a cedar plank fence that had been in use for about 40 years.

Figure 14. Tools - Jig Saw

The jig saw shown here is the forerunner of the scroll saw. This one dates, at least, to the 1940s. My first recollection of seeing this saw in use, I was less than 10 years old. It was later given to me. It serves my purpose very well.

Figures 15 and 16. Soundboards

These figures show a homemade pattern being used to layout the shape of the hour glass soundboards, The top and bottom sound boards are the same. The cherry board shown in Figure 2 is used for the bottom of this dulcimer. Later figures will show the book matched pattern.

Figures 17 and 18. Sound hole

A pattern for the sound holes is useful. Figure 18 shows the lower sound hole and the rough sawn top sound board.

Figures 19 through 21. End Block

The end block can be of your own design. The primary function is shown in Figure 21 where the string holes are being drilled through the end block.

Figure 22. Sides

The hourglass sides are cut and planed to about 1/8 inch in thickness and put in a mold for later use.

Figures 23 and 24. Slots for Sides

Before the sound boards are glued in place the slots that hold the sides need to be sawed out. A band saw is a great help for the job.

The top sound board is glued to the pegbox and end block, then the fret board is glued on top of the sound board.

Figures 25 through 27. Soundboard and Side Connections

Strips about 3/8 inch by 3/8 inch are prepared by sawing slots into the strip so that it can be bent to shape. The strips are glued in place as shown and will be used to connect the sides to the top. Figure 25 shows the sound holes in place and a series of holes drilled under the hollow in the fret board. Some dulcimer makers remove a strip from under the entire length of the sound board, I didn't because of structural integrity. So, I drilled a few holes rather than remove all the material. Figure 27 shows the slotted member and the slot in the peghead where the side will eventually be fitted.

Figures 28 and 29. Bottom soundboard

Strips are glued to the inside of the bottom. These figures show the reinforcing strip that is glued down the middle of the bottom sound board where the two bottom pieces are joined. Also, if you want to sign and number your dulcimer, now is the time to glue the message in a position under the lower sound hole.

Figures 30 and 31. Connect the Sides to the Top Soundboard

The sides are glued to the top soundboard first as shown in these figures. Figure 31 shows the side fitted into the peghead slot.

Figure 32. Dulcimer Clamps

Clamps can be made using a ¼ inch bolt, two washers, two sections of wooden dowel and to sections of cork. The assembled clamp is shown. The cork protects the surface of the dulcimer. (Kimball, pg. 23)

Figures 33 through 36. Attach Top Soundboard Assembly to Bottom Soundboard

Hopefully, everything fits together and the dulcimer clamps are to hold everything together while the glue dries. White glue probably sets up too fast for this operation. The glue that I used (for a slower setting glue) is shown in Figure 28.

Figures 37 through 40. Finishing the Dulcimer

Sand the dulcimer with various sandpapers. Much of the sanding has been done during the building process. Finish sanding with 220 grit sandpaper. The finish that I use could be called French polish, but I call it hand-rubbed shellac. Figure 27 shows the materials. The shellac directions will say you can use the shellac as is. I prefer to cut the shellac about 4 to 1 with alcohol. The finish is built up with several coats. In between the first few coats, lightly sand the dulcimer with something like 380 grit sandpaper. Then change to a fine steel wool. Figure 38 is a nice view of the scroll, the finish makes the grain show up. I prefer shellac, even though it may be a bit time consuming, because each layer of shellac, because of the high alcohol content, dissolves the layers beneath and becomes a part of that layer. In the end, there are no actual layers, just a solid finish. Finishes, like polyurethane, do not have such a feature. Careful, the shellac finish can always be marred by alcohol, any kind of alcohol. So, after about 5 or 6 coats of finish, when the finish begins to build up and look shinny you probably have gone far enough, a final light coat of paste wax is a good idea. The paste wax protects the shellac finish and gives the dulcimer a nice warm glow. Figures 39 and 40 show the contrast between the cherry and cedar and the strum hollow, the point where you strum the strings. As mentioned previously, the cherry wood used in this dulcimer was fresh cut and kiln dried. As the cherry ages it will darken and eventually be almost as dark as the cedar. This series of figures show the upper nut and the lower nut. They are made from maple, but can be made from any durable, tough, hard wood.

Figures 41 through 45. Hourglass Dulcimer

These figures show the finished dulcimer with tuners and strings. This four string dulcimer has three 0.012 inch strings and one 0.022 inch string. The strings are tuned D D D G. The two inside strings (closest to the player) are played as melody strings and the outside strings are drones. There is a center slot so that the inside melody string can be shifted to become a drone. Figure 45 shows the bottom of the dulcimer and the book matched pattern. This cherry board was purchased rough saw mill cut so it was not possible to identify a nice figure in the board ahead of sawing out the parts. As it turns out, the book matchedpattern is pleasing.

Figures 46 through 48. Teardrop Dulcimer

The dulcimer shown here was made from Ponderosa Pine purchased from a lumber yard. The dulcimer turned out very nice, but the wood is not very distinctive. The peghead and end block were made from a log of a hackberry tree that died and had to be removed from my yard. The top of the fret board is cherry that had aged for many years. The board was salvaged from a set of cupboard shelves, so it is naturally dark with age.

The End

A Note and Some References:

My construction method probably follows Robert Mize, Foxfire 3, more than any other reference.

References

Alvey, R. Gerald, Dulcimer Maker The Craft of Homer Ledford, Second edition, The University of Kentucky Press, 2003.

Bailey, John, Making an Appalachian Dulcimer, Cecil Sharp House, London , G.B., 1966.

De Paule, Andy, Country Instruments Makin' Your Own, Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York, 1979.

Hastings, S.E., "Construction Techniques in an Old Appalachian Mountain Dulcimer," Journal of American Folklore,Vol.83, 462-468, 1970.

Hines, Chet, How to Make and Play the Dulcimore, Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, Pa., 1973.

Kimball, Dean, Constructing the Mountain Dulcimer, David McKay Co, Inc., New York , 1975.

Mitchell, Howard W., Mountain Dulcimer How to Make and Play, Folk-Legacy Book, Sharon, Connecticut, 1966.

Mize, Robert, "Dulcimer Maker," Foxfire 3, Anchor Press/Doubleday, Garden City, New York , 185-207, 1975.

Seeger, Charles, "The Appalachian Dulcimer," Journal of American Folklore,Vol.71, 40-51, 1958