Gluing on the Binding
Wednesday, day 28. November 2007Here you can see how the trim that borders the top and bottom of the psaltery (also called the “binding”) gets attached.
The psaltery in the picture is a spruce top, with walnut back and sides, and hard maple binding.
You can clearly see the blue masking tape contrasting with the wood. Pulled tight in both directions, […]
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Yes, Psaltery begins with a P…
Monday, day 26. November 2007I remember telling my aunt about my website, and I wrote down the address on a sheet of paper and handed it to her:
www.phantasypsalteries.com
She gave me a puzzled expression. I said, “do you understand what I wrote?”
“It says, fantasy pee salteries? I don’t get it” she replied.
So, just to remind everyone: yes, psaltery begins […]
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An Inlaid Rosette
Friday, day 23. November 2007Well, there’s not all too many exciting things going on in the shop right now, so no finished products to display as of yet. Instead, I’ll share an in-between picture of a work in progress:
This is a Western Red Cedar top with an inlaid 10mm width rosette. This is the same top that can […]
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Happy Thanksgiving
Wednesday, day 21. November 2007I’ve been sick for the better part of this past week, so I’ve not been able to make a whole lot of progress on building. I hope to be back in full swing right after Thanksgiving. But nonetheless…
Happy Thanksgiving
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New Bow Size Available
Monday, day 19. November 2007I’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback on shorter bows, and I’ve decided to include 1/32 size violin bows as an available bow option. As a result of this, I am shifting everything to the shorter end of the spectrum. Now, the 1/16 size will be standard, with the 1/32 being the small size, […]
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Grapejuice Dragonfly
Friday, day 16. November 2007All done.
Well, in case you can’t see from the pictures, this psaltery was made with both Purpleheart sides and trim - which reminded me of grape juice. The rose is a laser-cut plywood circle in the shape of a dragonfly.
This was my first time buffing Purpleheart up to a high gloss, and I […]
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Lois & Jerry’s Psaltery
Thursday, day 15. November 2007Here is another psaltery I am working on, with the back and sides made of black walnut.
The bookmatched Walnut looks great, with a lot of character. The hard maple binding has not yet been added, but you can still see that this will be a handsome psaltery.
So far I just have the frame and […]
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Sharon’s Psaltery
Wednesday, day 14. November 2007Here’s a quick update on one of the psalteries I’m working on.
It is made of cherry for the back and sides, and a western red cedar top (still unattached) can be seen sitting next to the frame.
I tried to find the darkest, reddest cedar I could find to match the cherry. Cherry will darken […]
Building | 1 Comment »
Glass Bowed Psalteries?
Monday, day 12. November 2007A while back I became aware of an interesting instrument: a glass bowed psaltery. (You can see for yourself here - about 3/4 the way down on the right.)
Now, reasoning that the bowed psaltery has sort of a “glassy” tone, you’d think that an all-glass psaltery would be a great idea. It perhaps would have […]
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Tuning Pin Jig
Friday, day 9. November 2007When making a bowed psaltery for the first time, one of the most tedious tasks is laying out and measuring all the pins. Thankfully, there is an easy way to do this: with a jig.
Basically, I took a 1/2″ piece of plywood, cut it to the size of the psaltery, and inserted sharp self-piercing sheet […]
Tools and Equipment, How-To | 2 Comments »
Tim’s Psaltery
Wednesday, day 7. November 2007Since I forgot to update this blog on Monday, I guess I’ll make up for it today by making two posts!
I finally got my thin-kerf bandsaw blade in the mail today, and I was finally able to saw up the curly maple board I had wanted to use for the back of this psaltery. Since […]
Tools and Equipment, Building | 0 Comments »
Becky’s Psaltery Pt. 2
Wednesday, day 7. November 2007I thought I’d give one last update before I finish this psaltery.
Basically, all the building is done and all that’s left is the finishing, buffing, and stringing. (This usually takes between 7 and 10 days.)
Here’s a shot of the quilted maple back, with a centerstrip of purpleheart.
Hopefully, if there are no hiccups, the psaltery should […]
Building | 2 Comments »
Standoffs for Finishing Psalteries
Friday, day 2. November 2007 When applying the finish to a bowed psaltery, it can go a lot faster if you can do both the front and the back at the same time. Ordinarily, with a psaltery being two-sided, you’d have to finish one side, let the finish harden, and then finish the other side.
What I’ve found that is […]
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