Here’s a couple of photos of a custom bowed psaltery that I’ve just recently completed. You can see from the back that this is the same psaltery that I had written about earlier regarding the linseed oil finish. The back is made of Canarywood with Bloodwood binding.
For the soundboard, Sitka Spruce was used, along with [...]
Author Archives: Eric
Spruce and Canarywood Bowed Psaltery
March 10, 2010 – 3:00 pm
Custom Quilted Maple and Purpleheart Psaltery
March 9, 2010 – 8:35 pm
Here’s a couple pictures of a custom psaltery that I just finished up. On it I used up the last of my quilted maple, which for some reason the camera always flatters. It’s funny, because usually I’m frustrated that the camera can’t capture the full beauty of the wood grain, but with quilted maple, it’s [...]
A Duo of Tuning Wrenches
March 3, 2010 – 3:56 pm
Here’s a couple of custom tuning wrenches that I’m working on. The one on the left is made of Katalox, with Kingwood endcaps, while the one on the right is Olivewood, with Lacewood endcaps.
The wrenches are actually for an pair of autoharps, though the pins are the same. The style is a T-wrench, with an [...]
Bringing Out the Wood’s Color and Grain
March 3, 2010 – 12:59 pm
The pictures above show the before and after shots of a wonderfully colorful and figured bowed psaltery back made of Canarywood. While it’s true that applying just about any type of finish brings out the color and grain in the wood, one of the best finishes for doing this, in my experience, has been Boiled [...]
Quilted Maple and Purpleheart
February 12, 2010 – 12:42 pm
Here’s a couple of pictures of a custom bowed psaltery that I’m currently working on. As you can see, the photos were taken at an intermediate time: after I had routed the ledge for the binding, but before I had actually cut and installed the purpleheart binding. As a result, you can get a peek [...]
Resawing Bloodwood
February 5, 2010 – 6:23 pm
Now that I’ve got a carbide-tipped bandsaw blade, I decided to do something that is almost suicide on a regular steel blade: I was resawing some Bloodwood sides/back for an upcoming psaltery that I’m working on.
I admit that when I first saw Bloodwood—with its amazing blood-red coloring, and its astounding hardness, I was enamored. I [...]
East Indian Rosewood Bowed Psaltery
December 18, 2009 – 5:01 pm
Here’s a couple of pictures of a custom psaltery that I recently completed. As you can see it’s very dark. About the only time I can remember a darker colored bowed psaltery was the one made of Wenge, but even that had curly maple binding, so this may be the darkest colored one yet.
The top [...]
Making a Star of David Rosette
December 3, 2009 – 2:57 pm
Earlier this year, I made a “phantasy psaltery” that featured a star of david rosette on the soundboard, and I’ve got several inquiries and requests about it.
Now, I’m currently working on a special order psaltery that will have this very same rosette style, so I thought I’d take the opportunity and show the process of [...]
Safari Redux
October 16, 2009 – 4:38 pm
Due to the positive response that came with the original “Safari” psaltery that I made about a month ago, I decided to make a replica.
In case you’re wondering, the original psaltery was #PS-60, about which I raved: “easily in the all-time top five, maybe even the top three. This psaltery has excellent volume and sustain, [...]
New Bocote and Cocobolo Sets Listed
October 6, 2009 – 11:43 am
I just listed a few new back/side sets in the Treasure Trove. If you were looking at doing a special-order psaltery, then these may be just the ticket!
Brilliant Bocote!
September 11, 2009 – 4:27 pm
After keeping my eyes open for quite a while, I was finally able to get my hands on some really nice Bocote locally. Currently my favorite exotic hardwood is Cocobolo, but with pieces like the one pictured here, Bocote is certainly giving Cocobolo a run for its money! I love the symmetric figuring that emerges [...]
Faster Turnaround Times
September 4, 2009 – 12:36 pm
I’ve recently begun a new system where I have the frames for custom ordered psalteries already pre-built. You can see a few of the finished frames from the treasure trove in the picture above. (You can also spy out the completed edge sander that I was building in a previous post.)
It feels a bit odd [...]
A New Oil Finish
August 29, 2009 – 7:26 pm
Here’s a new finish that I’m trying: it’s called Tried and True Oil, and I’m using the Varnish Oil blend. It Linseed-Oil based, and so far I’m pleased with the results. (Note, I still use Shellac as my standard finish, unless otherwise noted on any given instrument.)
One of the best things about this finish is [...]
Mahogany and Cherry Psaltery
August 7, 2009 – 7:00 pm
Here are a pair of pictures of another finished custom psaltery. As the title explains, it has a Honduran Mahogany top, and a Cherry back and sides. I posted about this psaltery earlier, and this is the finished product. It’s been a great while since I’ve done a Cherry back/side in gloss, and I really [...]