Official Luthiers Forum!

I've built a few guitars in the past but I've been becoming more and more interested in folk instruments. Lately, I've been entranced by the charms of the hammered dulcimer but I haven't been able to find much information on building them. I know this is the "guitar" part of the forum but i didn't exactly know where to post this. I'm pretty sure that just about every string instrument has been built by at least one forum member here so I know its out there haha.

Anyone got any info on building hammered dulcimers?

The GAL (Guild of American Luthiers) carries a plan drawn by Deb Suran.

They also have one by Al Carruth.

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Mike Lindstrom

I built this one from the blueprint from Music Maker's - http://www.harpkit.com

They also sell end pins and wire for the project

Pretty simple to make, but stringing it takes a long time!

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John Ressler

Don't let Hesh and Lance keep you down!! If we keep it up, eventually we'll get our due representation in this forum!

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

Hey Jonas,

I am glad that I am not the only one who keeps wandering down the road less traveled.

I recently completed my first hammer dulcimer. I was approached during a local music festival and ask if I could build one. I had had the information on building one for years but had not gotten around to building it.I used a book by Phillip Mason "How to Build a Hammer Dulcimer".
I also obtained "The Hammer Dulcimer Book" by Charlie Alm. Both will get you there but I prefer Mason's . I obtained my copy of Mason's book from LMI some time ago But they no longer list it in their catalog.
I was published by Crying Creek Publishers P.O. Box 8 Highway 32, Crosby Tennessee 37722
Phone 423-487-5543

Charlie Alm's book Is available from: Woodworks P:.O. Box 428 Brookstone, IN 47923

I love the sound of these things. I hope this helps.

Cecil

I've built two myself, and i'm in the process of building one of theese;

i've gotten plans from a fellow in Indiana.

It's a fun process to go through and if you've built instuments before I'm sure you will be able to build one.

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Tomasz Cudzich

Just curious Tomasz, What would you call that instrument.
It looks like a first cousin to a hammer dulcimer but it certainly has some differences.
What is the function of the pedal?

Cecil

This instrument is typically called a cimbalom and the pedal is a damper pedal/sustain pedal similar to a piano one.

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Tomasz Cudzich

Nice to know there are others here who like HD's. I've built 5 myself, and just started my 6th. If you'd like, I could take a few pics and post them.

BTW, here's a dulcimer building sub forum you might find helpful:

http://everythingdulcimer.com/discuss/viewforum.php?f=5

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Regards,
Phillip Patton

http://www.pattonblades.com

The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of low price has faded.

https://hoosierbladesmith.wordpress.com

Andrew Bird fixes them.



The character with the blue hair broke the hammered dulcimer of the character with the pink hair. Dr. Strings fixed it.
(I have kids)

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sorry it took so long to reply back. Thanks for all the feedback, i'm convinced i could easily build one now. Would it make a tremendous difference in the tone if i used ply instead of solid? I don't have too much money on hand at the moment.

Dulcimer people are welcome in the Mandolin Forum ANYTIME !!

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I've always wondered if it would be worth restoring this old hammered dulcimer, it's fairly solid, looks
to be around the turn of the last century...

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Bruce Herrmann
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

Don't use plywood for the pinblocks (don't ask me how I know this ), but you can use it everywhere else. Won't sound as good as solid woods, but the sustain should be less, which some people prefer.

In my opinion, HD's are easier to build than guitars, so anyone should be able to do it.

Have fun, and post pics.

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Regards,
Phillip Patton

http://www.pattonblades.com

The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of low price has faded.

https://hoosierbladesmith.wordpress.com

For soundboards I like to use western red cedar, which I get at Menards in the form of 4x4s. Just resaw it, plane it, joint it, and glue together. Makes a better sounding (and looking) soundboard than plywood and isn't much more expensive.

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Regards,
Phillip Patton

http://www.pattonblades.com

The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of low price has faded.

https://hoosierbladesmith.wordpress.com

I disagree. I use an all maple plywood for the pinblocks of my banduras and it works very well. Softer ply probably wouldn't work.

Why waste your time with a plywood top?

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

You're absolutely right, I forgot about hard maple plywood. But you can't get that at Menards or Lowes. I used some birch plywood, for pinblocks, and the dulcimer wouldn't hold it's tune. I knew that was a possibility before I started, so I wasn't too surprised....

Plywood makes a better HD soundboard than it would for a guitar, and it's a great time saver. I made one with plywood, and it sounds almost the same as the one's I've made with WRC.

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Regards,
Phillip Patton

http://www.pattonblades.com

The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of low price has faded.

https://hoosierbladesmith.wordpress.com

I actually have some solid maple laying around and its the perfect size for pinblocks. What thickness and type of ply should i consider for the soundboard? I've heard others say that ply is the way to go for both the blocks and boards, that might just sound more appealing to me cause of the price and local abundance though haha.

1/4" seems to be the standard thickness for HD soundboards. I used 1/4" Baltic birch for mine.
I strongly suggest using only hard maple for the pinblocks, whether it's solid or laminated. Osage orange would probably be great for pinblocks too, but it's not as easy to work with....

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Regards,
Phillip Patton

http://www.pattonblades.com

The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of low price has faded.

https://hoosierbladesmith.wordpress.com