Mountain dulcimer with celtic theme

Personally, I think this may be one of the most impressive dulcimers I’ve seen. We don’t see as many in the west as you do in the east but I still love the sound.

-- Thos. Angle

oooh my goodness.
The knots are amazing. And I agree about the handle – you definitely have to continue using them. It is beautiful in itself.

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Absolutely Fantastic…...I’m in utter awww

-- Adrian ..... The 11th Commandment...."Thou Shalt Not Buy A Wobble Dado"

Very nice work, Jon.

-- Even if to be nothing more than a bad example, everything serves a purpose.

Very impreseve, a real treasure.

-- Ron, Twain Harte, Ca. Portable on site Sawmill Service http://westcoastlands.net/Sawmill.html http://westcoastlands.net/SawBucks2/phpBB3 http://www.portablesawmill.biz/concrete/

Totally amazing! Without a doubt, it is the finest dulcimer I’ve ever seen.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Stunning work. I’m at a loss for words.

-- Greg - Charles Town, WV

Beautiful woodwork!

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

Wow Jon! You’ve done it again bro! Very nice project here.

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

These are undoubtedly the finest dulcimers I have ever seen.

Astounding craftsmanship,, & one of the most beautiful dulcimers I’ve ever seen.

I love the Celtic knot theme.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

I didn’t know a dulcimer could be so beautiful. Thats just wonderful.

-- miles125, Alabama.."Architecture is frozen music""

Excellent work, my hats off to you!

Outstanding! Very good work!

-- Living on the square...

Hmmmm…..Greg at a loss for words??? I doubt that

-- Adrian ..... The 11th Commandment...."Thou Shalt Not Buy A Wobble Dado"

Very, very beautiful. mike

-- Mike. mwurm13@yahoo.com

I used to watch an old man in our neighborhood, Mr. Hines, make dulcimers. It was amazing work and the sound is incredible. Mr. Hines would be impressed with your work. And that, my friend, is a high compliment. Mr. Hines was had to please.

-- You can't get a hug from Facebook.

Stunning work Jon. Simply beautiful. How’s it sound?

-- Better to say nothing and be thought the fool... then to speak and erase all doubt.

Thanks for all the compliments guys!

Sometimes it seems like in the day to day realm, noone is interested in what I’m doing. I mean, if you are in a conversation, and “herd” them into the subject of woodworking- sure, they’ll talk about it… but as you talk, are they actually thinking about what they are going to have for dinner, or what they are going to do over the weekend? Maybe they are thinking, “Boy, I wish he’d clam up and quit talking about building stuff!”

Here, I feel like I’m with friends who I could spend all day talking to about woodworking- and as my wife can attest…I probably spend more time than she would like, looking at LJ’s. She doesn’t even have to ask anymore why I’m going upstairs to log on as soon as I get home from work :)

Chip: on how it sounds- It has a nice, mellow tone- which seems to be the norm with the teardrop shape. It isn’t as loud as some I’ve made, but if I still owned it, it wouldn’t bother me, since I usually play just to relax. I’ve got bagpipes for loud :)

As an interesting side note- the traditional hourglass design that most dulcimers use produces a very crisp, sort of tinny “surround sound”. The 2 seperate chambers of that style body capture different wavelengths and release them through soundholes at either end of the instrument, actually creating 2 distinct waveforms that sound like they are in stereo. I had been around dulcimers for probably 15 years before this was pointed out, but when I compared the two styles together, you could definatley hear the diffrence! There is always something new to learn out there…

-- Jon

fascinating.

do we get a video? or a sound clip?

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

do we get a video? or a sound clip?

Of the celtic dulcimer, or the difference between body styles? If it’s of the celtic dulcimer, I’ll see if I can borrow it from the new owner sometime and record it.

BTW, how do we post video here, link to photobucket?

-- Jon

Beautiful…just a stunning instrument. I managed to kill the sound in the one I built by using a cherry sound board…maybe I’ll get it posted and see if you can give me some advice on getting a better racket to come out of it. Yours is just awesome!

-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com

Thanks Dennis!

I’m not sure what can be done for the cherry soundboard…Theres not much that can be done to make one louder, unless you want to get drastic and remove part of the neck where the bridge is, and run a bridge directly from the strings to the soundboard. I know several makers who do this to make a loud instrument to be heard in a jam session, but they have a banjo sort of twang to them. Also, it puts a lot of stress on things, as the neck is normally what carries most of the string load.

I guess if you could get the neck off of it, you could hollow it out some? I don’t know if it would be much louder, but the first dulcimer I ever built was in high school shop, and it had a hollow neck. It has cherry back and sides, but a cedar top. It is loud…ugly, but loud :)

Go ahead and post a photo of yours so we can see it, I bet it looks nice!

-- Jon

here’s The Wood Whisperer’s tutorial on posting a video.

and as for sound clips – I’ll take both. :)

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

here’s The Wood Whisperer’s tutorial on posting a video.

thanks MsDebbie! I’ll check it out

and as for sound clips – I’ll take both. :)
I’ll see what I can come up with. Might be a while…I tend to get just a few too many irons in the fire, if you know what I mean :)

-- Jon

Great design. A very nice project.

Just beautiful

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

Totally a work of art. You have satisfied Euterpe the Muse of music and which ever Muse there is that inspires artistry in the working of wood. And BTW your photography compositions are pretty fine as well.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

WOW! Very Impressive.

-- Marty Ohio

love it very beautiful amazing work

-- tn hillbilly

The more time I spend on this site, the more I see amazing work.

-- The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them

Don’t know how I missed this one.
Great job!

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Just a beautiful piece of work. Slipped past me.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

I like it too!
Great work on the carvings. How long does one usually take start to finish?

Regards
Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

Thanks guys…
Bob, I think this one took about 2 weeks of evenings, with the majority of that being the carvings. lotta little holes to cut :)

-- Jon

Beautiful dulcimer Jon! Sorry I missed it the first time around. I love the carving. I posted my dulcimer some time ago. Although I made mine from cherry, I’m told it sounds quite nice. I don’t play. It was a present for my wife and she’s just learning. It was my first attempt at making a dulcimer, or any stringed instrument for that matter. First though, I’m going to have to make a case for hers. Once she saw yours, a case moved to the top of the “honey do” list. I think I’ll make more. Next time with more carving. They are quite fun. Thanks for sharing.

-- Dan, West Virginia, http://www.danpleskaCreations.com

That is incredible. Beautiful indeed. Thank you for sharing it.

-- "If women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy." - Red Green

I am a new member and a few days ago I showed off the dulcimer that I made that I thought looked nice, but yours is truly a work of art. Very nice workmanship.

-- Ron in Osseo, Minnesota

This is so beautiful!! Quite impressive scrollwork!!

-- “If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that's what He's getting” - Jack Handey

Fantastic piece of work. The Celtic carvings are really well done.

AWESOME!

-- My favorite piece is my last one, my best piece is my next one.

This is an absolutely beautiful piece, Jon! As my handle infers, I’m a big fan of Celtic history and art and you have shared with us the perfect balance of both. Thanks so much!

-- last night I played a blank tape at full volume - the mime next door went nuts!

Very beautiful, nice work

yes, indeed.. still amazing!!!

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

JonJ: ?I guess the big J stands for junior JonJ. The ability to understand concepts in great detail is a fantastic quality. I see you have a great affinity for science and you are a technical craftsman, I’am going to keep a close eye on you with your mind and as you gain experience you can be on the verge of many new and unusual novel applications. Music, sound, wood, and science have always tweaked my brain also, they all have a permanent place in my shop. Keep up thge fine quality work ethic. Look forward to seeing more of your creations. ?The white table top you have strings on does it have a sound box, its hard to tell by the picture.

-- another tip from cooperedpatterns