How to Make a Hammer Dulcimer
Hammer dulcimers are good instrument making projects for beginners. Kits are usually fairly simple, although if you do not have much woodworking experience, then you may find them to be quite challenging, but not impossible. The size will determine how many notes and strings you can have on your dulcimer. Dulcimers are fashioned in the shape of a trapezoid. Use these measurements are starting points for laying out your design: the rear of the dulcimer at 16 7/8 inches, the front at 37 5/8 inches and the length from the front to the back at 14 7/8 inches.
Things You'll Need
- Plywood
- Maple (or other resonant wood) for sides
- Vices
- Clamps
- Wood glue
- Rubber bands
- Power drill
- Weights
- Workbench
- Lint free cloth
- Cement nails
Instructions
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1
Cut your wood and lay it out according to the design. You will need a frame as well as a back and top for the dulcimer. The pin blocks, which constitute the sides of the frame will be 19 5/8 inches long. Fit the frame together using the tongue-and-grove joint method of woodworking, where two pieces fit together in a joint using intricately cut parts that fit together like puzzle pieces.
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2
Glue the pin blocks and the frame together. Glue the pin blocks to the top part of the frame, then once the glue has dried, glue it to the bottom part of the frame. Allow the glue about a day to dry and set. While it is drying, use clamps and rubber bands to hold the parts together until they have bonded. Use a moist lint-free cloth to wipe away any excess glue.
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3
Run a thin bead of glue on the back sides of the pin blocks and frame rails and then line the entire frame up with the back of the dulcimer. Prepare weights, rubber bands, and clamps to secure the frame and the back once you set them in place.
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4
Fasten the back of the dulcimer to the frame. Wipe away excess glue with the moist cloth. Use rubber bands and clamps to hold the back to the frame while it is drying. Use light weights or heavy books to add more downward force on the frame while it is bonding with the back of the dulcimer. Wrap rubber bands around the instrument so that they are securing the back to the frame. Wait 24 hours for the glue to dry.
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5
Run a bead of glue along the top of the frame. Line up the frame with the top of the dulcimer and prepare the rubber bands, weights and clamps against just as you did before with the back side.
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6
Glue the top of the dulcimer, which is the soundboard, on top of the frame after the back of the dulcimer has dried. Use the same gluing strategy by using weights, rubber bands, clamps and wiping excess glue with a cloth.
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7
Use a 3/16 inch bit to drill the pinholes 1/8 inch apart from each other at a 45 degree angle with the head of the pin pointing away from the main body of the dulcimer. Also use a 9/64 inch bit to drill the holes for the cement nails, which will act as hitch pins. Set the hitch pin-cement nails at a 90 degree angle from the pin block.
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8
Cut the bridge in the form of a trapezoid, 14 inches long at the bottom and 11 3/4 inches long at the top. The bridge will also have different heights at either end, with the front measuring 2 1/8 inches and the back at 1 3/4 inches. The bridge should be 3/4 inch wide for the strings to rest on.
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9
Push the tuning pins into the pinholes. Leave exactly 1/4 inch between the tuning pin's string hole and the top of the dulcimer. Lightly hammer the hitch pins (cement nails) into place as well until 1/8 inch is showing.
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10
String the instrument by wrapping the strings multiple times around each pin, through the string hole and then wrapping it around the cement nail to tie it off. Do not tighten the strings all the way as you still need to place the bridge in the dulcimer.
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11
Position the bridge underneath the strings. You will want to have a sheet in front of you telling which string should be tuned to which note. Position the bridge so that each string has a 5th/1st relationship respectively between the left and right side of the bridge.
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12
Tighten your strings and check your tuning.
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Tips & Warnings
Positioning the bridge will be the trickiest part of constructing the dulcimer. The best way to do this is to know which note you are wanting each string to be, tighten the string and then make small adjustments on the bridge. Small adjustments to the bridge will most likely be needed for each string.
The bridge will be held in place by the strings and does not need to be glued.
