Music
October 21. When I removed the dowel last night to get the dulcimer off the dining room table, the block inside came loose. It was a four-handed operation to maneuver the block back where it belonged, insert the dowel to insure precise placement, clamp the block (using a shim that reached in beside the soundboard) and drill two pilot holes to screw the block to the backboard.
I thought overnight about those oversized holes in the left sidebridge. Late last night, I settled on making new, properly sized holes in small brass washers then screwing the washers to the sidebridge beside the offending string holes. I prepared a set of properly drilled washers this morning and then realized I needed a pilot hole to get the mounting screw started. Drilled one. Then slapped my forehead -- if I could get the drill in there to make that pilot hole, I could've drilled properly sized holes in the first place. Then I looked at the problem again and realized that the placement of those holes wasn't all that critical. What matters is where the strings cross the treble bridge, and that's fixed by the bridge cap. I could still drill proper holes. There'd just be the larger, older holes sitting there too as souveniers of creation, dulcimer bellybuttons. I decided to deal with that cosmetic issue later and first to get it sounding right.
So I drilled a hole and added the missing string to that two-string course in the middle of the treble bridge. Piece of cake. Fixed another and another. Only one course couldn't be fixed this way, so I placed a brass screw adjacent the string; the string contacts the edge of the head and that defines the position of the left sidebridge for that string. Gives me the ability to microtune just that side of that one string. Works a treat.
Next up: get more room for the strings to pass the bass bridge. I was on the verge of getting out the sanding wheel when I realized that there'd be plenty of room if I just raised the bridge by 1/8 - 3/16 inch so that the strings pass closer to the center of its holes. Only a few courses are close enough that one string can ping against the wood of the bass bridge, but it would still be a worthwile mod. Do this one by and by. No hurry. See if the instrument will hold tune for a while first.
Lyrics to a builder's lament: Wouldn't it be nice to just tune and practice for a while without feeling the urge to deploy power tools? That would probably sound great in Gaelic.
