Once a year, I try to make an extra-fancy bowed psaltery that I list on the for sale page as a “Phantasy” psaltery. (For instance, one such psaltery from 2007 can be seen in my gallery: it’s the top two pictures on the page, with the tiered rose design.) This year, I’m working on another [...]
Author Archives: Eric
Ten Coats of Shellac?
May 5, 2009 – 6:13 pm
I just heard about a guy who turns giant vases and similar vessels out of enormous 2,000+ pound tree trunks. And on top of all that, his Bloomington shop is only about 10 minutes away from my house in Minnetonka. (Haven’t visited yet…) Check out this video. His website is http://virgiltreeart.com/ One of the things [...]
Supersized Rosette Ring
April 27, 2009 – 2:57 pm
I’m working on a new edition of “Candyshop,” and one of the features that I wanted to have was a giant rosette ring that spilled over the sides of the psaltery’s soundboard. First, I had to cut out a giant disc. In this case, I used some musk burl veneer that had been laminated to [...]
Curly Redwood and Wenge Custom Psaltery
April 11, 2009 – 3:34 pm
Here’s some picture of a custom psaltery that I recently completed. The top is Curly Redwood, with a laser-cut Padauk rose and a Curly Maple rosette ring. The binding and bridge are also made of Curly Maple. I love the look of curly woods: it almost reminds me of draped fabric, and seems to beg [...]
The Log: A Test Psaltery
April 6, 2009 – 6:04 pm
As I mentioned earlier, I’m in the process of developing a 3-octave psaltery. After crunching the numbers in a spreadsheet, and drawing up the plans in CAD, I was just about ready to go… Except I’d never gone this low before: that is, I’d never strung a psaltery to be played as low as the [...]
What Might Have Been…
April 3, 2009 – 10:01 am
I was going through some of my old notes and drawings, and I laughed at some of my early thoughts. Some ideas were good, and turned out really well. Some ideas were, well, not so good. (Like experimenting with glass soundboards…) One feature that stood out quite early was the actual shape of the psaltery;s [...]
Revamped Custom Order Page
March 31, 2009 – 5:29 pm
In an overhaul that probably took me way too long to finish, I’ve re-made the custom ordering page, which is titled “Find Your Own Psaltery” on the Phantasy Psalteries navigation menu. I’m hoping that the new order form will be more user-friendly, as it now uses larger font, and is mostly visually oriented. I’ve tried [...]
Now that’s what I call CURLY
March 26, 2009 – 12:30 pm
Pictured to the left is another custom bowed psaltery that I’m working on. I’ve just applied the first few sealer coats of shellac, and the figure in the wood comes alive. And, that’s what I call curly! The top is curly redwood, the binding is curly maple, and the rosette ring is also curly maple. [...]
A Pair of Psalteries Finished
March 19, 2009 – 7:45 pm
Today I finished up on two custom-ordered bowed psalteries, probably the first time ever I’ve finished two in the same day. The first one finished was the one with the Western Red Cedar top and Figured Cherry back. The second one has a dragonfly rose, along with Ebony binding and bridge, and ammonite shell halves [...]
Custom Tuning Wrench and Psaltery
March 16, 2009 – 6:01 pm
To the left is a picture of the handle of a custom tuning wrench that was made to match the woods of a custom bowed psaltery. The main body of the wrench (and the psaltery as well) is made of figured Myrtle. The wrench has a strip of Mango in the middle, which was taken [...]
Fresh Herringbone Card Scrapings
March 10, 2009 – 3:48 pm
I was scraping a centerstrip of herringbone-style banding flush with a Wenge back when I thought it might make a cool picture. When a card scraper is sharp, and it hits the back just right, it will peel off a nice layer of material. Here, it was peeling off thin layers of the herringbone pattern. [...]
Chechen and Ammonite Bowed Psaltery
March 4, 2009 – 4:21 pm
Here’s another update on the custom bowed psaltery that featured the dragonfly rose posted earlier. The picture to the left shows the psaltery tipped up on its side to show a clearer shot of both the back and side. The back/sides are made of Chechen, the binding is Ebony, and the small shell inlay that [...]
Western Red Cedar Bowed Psaltery
February 28, 2009 – 6:21 pm
In a previous post, I mentioned a bowed psaltery made of figured cherry and verawood that I was working on as a custom order. Here’s the top of the psaltery so far. It’s Western Red Cedar with a curly white oak rosette and note markers made of walnut and white oak.
Dragonfly Rose Psaltery
February 23, 2009 – 3:53 pm
Here’s another custom psaltery I’m working on. The top is sitka spruce, with an inlaid chechen ring (the back/sides are also chechen) and a dragonfly rose inside the outer wood ring. I tried to capture one of the ammonite shells that was inlaid in the side of the psaltery, but alas, the picture came out [...]