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 that it is completely non-toxic both in it’s cured, and uncured states. (That’s me dipping my bare finger into the oil in the upper left picture.) It’s even FDA approved for food contact surfaces.
But what I really like about this finish is that it soaks into the wood and really brings out the figure of the grain. Seen in the upper left picture is a curly Ash psaltery that just had a fresh application of the oil.
I’ve begun to offer this as a finish option for custom instruments. It has a very down-to-earth feel. The look and texture of the wood is completely preserved.
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 like it: it looks classy.
My latest project isn’t quite a bowed psaltery, but it’s rather an edge sander… which will help me make more psalteries. 
Below are some pictures of the progress so far.
 Idler roller |
 Partially assembled |
 Drive roller (unmounted) |
 Springs/tension piece |
All this is via plans from PlansNow.com. So far, I’d highly recommend buying these plans: everything seems to be solid and well-designed.
 Chechen body |
 Pre-drilled 3/8" hole |
Above are two pictures of a custom T-handle tuning wrench that I’m working on. The body is made of Chechen, with narrow bands of Cocobolo on each side, and endcaps made of Olive. You may also notice that the 3/8″ hole for the shaft is offset for an asymmetrical wrench.
Upon closer look at the pictures above, with the great color and grain patterning, you may see why Chechen is quickly becoming one of favorite woods!
I can make custom tuning wrenches to match the woods on existing instruments, or I can make one with of the woods/shape of your choosing. See my sub-site at Archimedes’ Workshop for more information.
Here’s two pictures of a custom psaltery that I’ve just completed. Check out the curly Honduran Mahogany on the back: very nice. It sounds nice as well.
This is the finished product of the psaltery that I mentioned in an earlier post.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, once a year I try to make an extra-fancy psaltery that I term a “phantasy” psaltery. The pictures above show the finished product for 2009.
Some points of interest would include the Star-of-David rosette, and also the Macassar Ebony back/sides. I was fortunate enough to find a piece of this rare wood that was large enough to be made into a psaltery.
Actually, the board I found was large enough to be made into two psalteries. So if you were interested in a custom order, I have the second set available for use on a personalized psaltery in the Treasure Trove.
The “Phantasy” psaltery is currently listed on the Psalteries for Sale page.
To the left is a custom psaltery that I’m currently working on. Upon closer look, you can see all of the details of the grain on the Honduran Mahogany top.
There’s also an inlaid 10mm banding as the rosette, and inlaid Paua and MOP dots for the C and F note markers. The binding is Padauk.
To the left is a custom psaltery that I’m working on. Beneath the Western Red Cedar top you can peer through and get a look at the curly Honduran Mahogany back, and maybe make out the label that is burnt into the inside:
Eric Meier
July 2009
#56
I’ve finally competed the 3 octave bowed psaltery. It’s nearly three feet long, almost a foot wide, and 3 inches tall. It’s quite a bit larger than my regular 2 1/2 octave psalteries. But, it can play notes a full octave lower than the standard model: down to G2!
You can take a listen in the sound clips page, about halfway down.
The psaltery has 3 embedded steel inserts in the back, and you can quickly attach the mounting plate via 3 thumbscrews. Then, the mounting plate has an additional threaded insert that allows it to be mounted onto a camera tripod. Otherwise, you can just remove the plate and play it without a tripod. It’s a bit of a reach to play the longest strings, but it’s not very heavy considering its size: it came out weighing under 5 pounds!
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 one, and you can see the progress of the top thusfar. It has two inlaid interlocking triangles that form a star-of-david pattern. Also, the top is a single-piece of figured bearclaw Sitka Spruce. (The back and sides aren’t visible in the picture, but they’re made of Macassar Ebony.)
I hope to have this psaltery all finished and up for sale in about a month.
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 another layer of burl veneer for stiffness and strength. The burl disc pictured to the left is about 7″ in diameter!
From there, I just had to cut a second hole on the inside to form a “doughnut” shape with the burl veneer. I was also planning on using a spare (non-standard) laser-cut rose pattern that I had on hand that sort of resembles a flower.
You can see a loose layout of both the giant rosette ring, and the rose on top of the Sitka Spruce soundboard. Note how the rosette ring hangs off the side of the soundboard: once the binding is in place, it will only be a partial circle.
I also later added some Purpleheart and Pink Ivory wooden dots in the wide open are between the rose and the edge of the rosette ring. (I don’t have a picture of this yet…)
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 you to reach out and touch it to see if it’s really flat.
This psaltery also has black pins, and phosphor bronze wound strings.
For the back/sides, African Wenge was used, which is a very dark, elegant, (and resonant) wood.
This psaltey also features a herringbone backstrip, a tripod mount insert, and a rear soundhole.
The backstrip blends in very well with the Wenge, and almost makes it look as if the psaltery could be unzipped.
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 instrument that I was proposing. (I’m planning to have the 3-octave model start on G2, a full octave lower than my current model.)
So, I made a test-model. It wasn’t rocket science. I just took a big slab of some Ash (or was it Elm?) that had been collected from my yard, and popped a couple of tuning pins in each side. After adding a basic bridge and a wound string, I was ready to start testing the string lengths, tension, and tone.
The main reason for this sidetrack is that I would imagine it would be a real drag to build, drill, and string an entire 35″ long psaltery, only to have the lowest strings sound bad because I didn’t double check to see if all the stringing “rules” that I’d discovered through trial and error on my smaller psalteries were still valid on a larger scale.
So far, so good.
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. The central rose is Padauk.
