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My daughter is a young harpist and she had been getting by on a cheap rental harp for a while. I decided to surprise her with a custom-built harp for her birthday last month. She had no idea I was building it, so it was quite a shock to her when I gave it to her.

Building it was a lot of fun. The design is based on blueprints and a hardware kit from MusicMakers, which is a fantastic company to work with if you ever decide to start building instruments. They offer a variety of kits and their customer service is phenomenal. It's a great way to learn the basics before making your own designs.

I decided to build two at the same time; I figured I'd save some time that way, but I don't quite think I did. The one in the highly-figured cherry was for my daughter, and I'm still seeking a buyer for the walnut one.

They're 29-string with excellent sound that keeps maturing as the Danish oil fully cures. The finish was simply Danish Oil with a bit of wax over top. All pieces were solid hardwood except for the soundboards, which i made from Finnish Aircraft Birch plywood. Soundboards need to be thin enough to resonate well, but strong enough to hold the roughly 700 pounds of string tension! High-end harps often use sitka spruce for the soundboard, but even those have a tendency to crack later on down the road. The Finnish Birch seems like a great alternative.

I think the total project time was roughly 40 hours, so about 20 hours each. With a bit more practice, I think 15 hours per harp will be achievable. The next harp I plan to build will be my own design of a 36-string, and I'd like to experiment with some of the less commonly used American woods (locust, osage orange, hickory).

Cheers,
Jake

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652 Posts
Very unique and a nice build. The wood for both is beautiful.

Glad that it was such a surprise, it probably made it even more gratifying.
 

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1,212 Posts
Nice! I should make one for my brother… in all my spare time.

WE really like the walnut harp. It has a nice contrast.
 

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1,217 Posts
Making something that nice for your daughter puts you in the running for best dad ever. Fantastic work.
 

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19,753 Posts
Amazing ,great build.
 

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375 Posts
I can appreciate your attention to detail, it shows in the final product. Great work, I know your daughter is proud of her dad.
 

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3,876 Posts
Very Nice and Well done! Thanks for Posting.

Rick
 

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1,171 Posts
Jake,

I can't decide which of you is more blessed: you, for having a daughter who can fill your home with heavenly music from the harp; or your daughter, for having a father who can build her such a beautiful instrument!

Thanks for sharing.

L/W
 

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Thank you all for your kind comments; this forum seems like a very supportive place to be!
 

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259 Posts
Wonderful instruments! The wood are gorgeous, awesome build and finish. I'm your daughter was very happy. Excellent job!
 
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