Stick Dulcimer Making part 5.2: Making the neck

Stick Dulcimer Making Season 2

From the 22nd of January 2010 I plan to be releasing an episode every day until the series is complete, sorry for long Hiatus!
I have had to break down the neck making into 4 parts as each section needed to be clear. The plans show a dovetail join and allude to the one piece neck/block) so I have focused on making that clearer in the video. The dovetail method is more tricky and I stopped using it about 3 years ago in favour of this method shown.

Please feel free to comment in the section below or message me,




Please note that I have had to work with no dust extraction on in order to film, plus I have had to remove clamps to get a clear shot as well as raise the bandsaw blade higher. I also don;t recommend working with a camera between you and your work!! It takes 10 times longer :)

The Brass tailpieces are now in stock if you want to buy a set

Disclaimer: Always follow safe practices while working with tools. What is safe for one woodworker under certain conditions may not be safe for others in different circumstances. Viewers should undertake the use of materials and methods as shown in these videos after evaluation, and at their own risk.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• stick
• dulcimer
• luthier
• king
• cherrywood
• pau
• rosa
• mcnally
• strumstick
• plans
• project
• building
• making

[ImperialistRunningDo]

Michael, When you're gluing up at 4:21 those two bits will slide around when clamped. I drive two finishing nails just a bit into the neck and clip it off so that just the slightest bit is left sticking out. You don't want these nails anywhere near where you're going to drill for tuners, of course.

The strongest way to do this would be with a dowel joint,.

[michaeljking]

@ImperialistRunningDo Thats a good tip, I was wondering whether I could use the plastic side dot material as a temporary fitting then remove them

[tit4tat4dat]

hey michael, nice one. just wonder - is the spacing between the frets the same on all dulcimers? i plan to build a teardrop-model but can`t find any plans whatsoever on the net. so here i come across your new clip. are there any rules to measure the frets in relation to the length of the neck? if so please let me know.... cheers...and good luck....

[michaeljking]

There is a bit of variability in the scale lengths, what key do you want to play? There are free Dulcimer plans out there The Thomas Dulcimer for example, though no internal details are given, you can read a teardrop kit instructions on the stewmac website btw I am using a guitar scale length for my sticks and have a teardrop baby octave dulcimer myself in the works..

[michaeljking]

there are free fret calculators online to work out the fret positons for you

[murdelabop]

Thanks, Michael.

It's reassuring that your set square is just as rusty as mine.

[tit4tat4dat]

thanx 4 that michael, gotta check things out. will be back to you. eager to see your progress with the clips...cheers man