Merry Christmas
Tuesday, day 25. December 2007I hope everyone has had a merry Christmas. I’ve had to set a few bowed psaltery projects aside for the past few days, but I should hopefully be back in full swing tomorrow.
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Microplane Sanding Discs
Thursday, day 20. December 2007Well, I hate to make this “tool review week,” but I just couldn’t resist. I’ve been using a new product (new to me at least) for several weeks now, and I now feel confident enough to comment on it.
What I’m talking about is a 5″ stainless-steel sanding disc meant to fit all hook-and-loop 8-hole […]
Tools and Equipment | 0 Comments »
A Burled Walnut Ring
Tuesday, day 18. December 2007I used a nifty new tool today to cut a burled walnut rosette ring. It is very similar to a standard circle cutter for a drill press, but instead of one cutter, it has two - one on each side.
By using two cutters, I can cut out both the inner and outer diameters of the […]
Tools and Equipment, Building | 1 Comment »
Crop Circle Rosette
Friday, day 14. December 2007I’ve always been fascinated by the patterns of crop circles. I think that some of them are incredibly beautiful and complex patterns.
Naturally, I began to think of ways to somehow apply this to bowed psalteries. I just wanted to have a little fun with it. So, I inlaid a giant purpleheart disc in the middle […]
Building, Experimental | 0 Comments »
A Psaltery’s Weight
Wednesday, day 12. December 2007So, what does all of this stuff weigh??? Here’s some of my own measurements, to help you get a perspective on things:
60 tuning/hitch pins - 1 pound, 1.4 ounces
30 wound strings - roughly 2.5 ounces
Bridge - between .5 and .9 ounces depending on the wood used
Saddle - .1 to .3 ounces
So, you can clearly […]
How-To, Experimental | 0 Comments »
A Black Walnut Beauty
Monday, day 10. December 2007Here is a picture of a recently completed psaltery with a bookmatched black walnut back. I think the hard maple binding does a good job of framing this wood’s beauty.
And, for those curious, here is a picture of the top of the psaltery, with a sitka spruce top.
Building | 0 Comments »
A Mother-of-Pearl Rosette Strip
Friday, day 7. December 2007I was busy gluing together strips of mother-of-pearl (MOP) to form a rosette, and thought I’d take a picture of the process:
You can see from the picture that MOP obviously does not come in giant pre-manufactured rolls because it is harvested from the shells of small mollusks - so it’s more like 1″ long strips […]
Building, How-To | 0 Comments »
Kerry’s “Santa Fe” reproduction
Wednesday, day 5. December 2007In the attached picture you can see the progress on a psaltery made of Padauk. I made a very similar psaltery a few months back that I had named “Santa Fe,” and this psaltery will end up looking very similar to the original.
As of right now, the frame is assembled, and all of the side […]
Building | 0 Comments »
Phantasy Psalteries v2.0
Monday, day 3. December 2007I’m in the process of revamping my website a bit, as I get time. I’m planning on adding more options, and also editing some areas for clarity and brevity. Hopefully the navigation - particularly on the Woods and Materials page, will be much cleaner and easier to use.
I’ve got several new changes to the bowed […]
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A Rear Soundhole Rosette
Saturday, day 1. December 2007Here is a picture of the back of a psaltery I am working on for Tim.
What is seen is a curly maple back, with a rear soundhole and an inlaid ring of Cocobolo around the rim. Since it is freshly sanded the Cocobolo looks light brown with streaks of yellowish orange, but it will […]
Building | 1 Comment »
