Reply by Donna Menke

Duh- I jus’ wanna make sumptin’ purdy.
Seriously, I want it to look good and make pretty sounds.
The decorations go on the soundboard, and it is 1/8” birch veneered ply, 5 ply.
Dean- I did 4 samples with transparent/translucent acrylic paints and oil pencils. They all looked good, so I decided to put off the decision on color for now and just get the harp done. I can always lightly sand the finish and add color later.
I wood burned rather firmly/dark, so it is a little tactile even without carving. I wouldn’t carve on the soundboard since it needs all the strength it can get, but later on I may carve some Celtic designs into the walnut of the frame. Again, I can just carve through the finish and then renew it with more coats of finish.
As far as the choice of Celtic designs is concerned, I have been fascinated with them for many years. I have a few designs that I carve for pendants, I teach others how to carve them and did an article for Carving Magazine on that subject- step-by-step for 5 pages. So I like the design. I’ve also designed some on my own, and enjoy the challenge of modifying Celtic knots like I did for this project. Tapering the knot along the strings and expanding it in the middle were fun to figure out.
I have been stuck fixing slight gaps in the joints at the bottom of the harp. I used my ROS instead of a belt sander- bad decision. Spent a couple of hours instead of 10 minutes. Dumb bunny.
Today I will glue in the soundboard. It is a big step- and I’m chicken, but I’ll do it anyhow.
Donna

-- "So much wood. . .so little time!" www.woodworks-by-donna.com