Irving

Sloane

Making Musical
Instruments
Banjo
Snare Drum
Dulcimer
Tambourine
Hardanger Fiddle
The Dolmetsch
Recorder
 $17.95

Making Misical
Instruments
Irving Sloane
The construction of six musical instru¬
ments covering a cross-section of stringed,
percussive, and wind instruments are here
described in comprehensive detail. The
instruments—banjo, tambourine, snare
drum, dulcimer, Hardanger fiddle, and alto
recorder—were carefully chosen to give a
broad, general introduction to the art of
instrument making.
Construction techniques include pearl
and ivory inlay, engraving, lapping and
mounting of skin heads, fabrication of
metal parts, carving, gilding, and surface
decoration. A simple lamination process
devised by the author enables the amateur
craftsman to make drum hoops, and banjo
and tambourine shells of great strength for
a modest cost. This new process does away
with the difficult and laborious steam
bending techniques that have made the
building of these instruments inaccessible
to amateurs.
Over two hundred photographs in
black-and-white and color along with dia¬
grams give a clear understanding of each
stage of building procedure. An appendix
listing supply sources for all materials
used is included.

BANJO
Open-back and resonator banjo construction
including cutting of flange, tucking of skin
heads, pearl inlay and engraving, and custom¬
ized armrest and tailpiece. Neck construction
features a novel truss reinforcement.

TAMBOURINE
Laminate shell construction; jingle making
using brass, nickel silver, and phosphorus
bronze; skin head mounting methods and new
interior hand grip replacing traditional thumb
hole; varied decorative techniques.

SNARE DRUM
A unique introduction to the building of rope-
tensioned regimental snare drums. Every step
from hoop making to drum assembly is ex¬
plained. Drum making is a fascinating, not too
difficult craft, using wood, metal, and leather.
An excellent school shop project "for drum
corps members.

i
(Continued on back flap)
i
 .1

■I

»
Making Mjsical
Instruments
 by Irving Sloane

CLASSIC GUITAR CONSTRUCTION

GUITAR REPAIR
STEEL-STRING GUITAR CONSTRUCTION
MAKING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
 Irving ^ocme

Making Musical
Instruments

Illustrated with black-and-white photographs, drawings

and full-color photographs.

A Sunrise Book
E. P EHitton New"ybrk
 Copyright © 1978 by Irving Sloane
All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval
system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing
from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief
passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in
a magazine, newspaper or broadcast.
For information contact : E.P. Dutton, 2 Park Avenue,
New York, N.Y. 10016

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Sloane, Irving.
Making musical instruments.

“A Sunrise book."
Bibliography: p.
1. Musical instruments—Construction. I. Title.
ML460.S64 781.9'1 77-26000

ISBN: 0-87690-293-X

Published simultaneously in Canada by Clarke, Irwin & Company

Limited, Toronto and Vancouver
Production by Stuart Horowitz

10 987654321

First Edition
To Robert and Andree Bouchet
CONTENTS

8 Introduction 76 Tambourine Shells

11 Veneers, Glue, and Humidity 79 Jingles
12 Tools 81 Installing Posts and Jingles
13 Laminate Shells and Hoops 81 Installing Head
14 Release Form 84 Decoration
17 Lamination Procedure 86 APPALACHIAN DULCIMER
21 Exotic Face Veneers 88 Construction
22 BANJO 90 Bending Sides and Assembly
24 Shell 95 Dulcimer Materials List
28 Tone Rings and Heads 97 HARD ANGER FIDDLE
29 Neck 102 Construction
34 Fretboard 106 RzTjs Linings
37 Resonator 112 Top flnrf Back
41 Flange 120 F-holes
45 Fitting Resonator to Banjo 122 Bflss Bar
46 /n/fly 125 Neck and Peg Box
50 Engraving 131 Fingerboard and Tailpiece
51 Tailpiece and Arm Rest 136 Assembling Body
52 Assembly and Tuning Pegs 138 Joining Neck to Body
54 REGIMENTAL SNARE DRUM 139 Decoration
56 Metal Shell Construction 141 Assembly
60 Hoops and Snares 143 Violin Materials List
62 Drum Heads and Lapping 144 Finishing
65 Braces and Ropes 146 THE DOLMETSCH RECORDER
67 Rope Slides 148 A/fo Recorder Construction
68 Decoration 153 Mouthpiece
72 Drum Mounting 158 Bibliography
74 TAMBOURINE 159 Suppliers
Introduction
In 1975 I moved from New York to Brussels and and none of the perfection anxiety that goes with
began working on the problems of building the in¬ copying a Stradivarius. The Hardanger fiddle also
struments in this book. Through the extraordinary has the advantage of encouraging artistic invention
courtesy of Rene de Maeyer, director of the Brussels while providing all the fundamental techniques of
Museum of Musical Instruments, I was given a violin making.
space to use as a workshop. For the recorder, I sought the assistance of Ar¬
This book describes the construction of six in¬ nold Dolmetsch Ltd., a pioneer firm in recorder con¬
struments: two percussive (snare drum, tambou¬ struction, because I lacked the experience and
rine), two plucked (banjo, dulcimer), one bowed equipment to make one. It is the most difficult proj¬
(Hardanger fiddle), and one woodwind (alto re¬ ect in this book because measurements are ex¬
corder). With the exception of the recorder, these tremely critical and a subtle discrepancy can mean
are basically folk instruments despite the sophis¬ the difference between a good and a poor recorder.
ticated trappings of the snare drum and banjo. It is also an instrument where being a player as well
Along with presenting a representative cross-sec¬ as maker is a practical necessity.
tion of musical instruments, I have endeavored to Throughout, I have touched only superficially
explain most of the mechanical and decorative pro¬ on the history of these instruments, a subject that
cesses encountered in ordinary building practice. has been expertly dealt with in other books. I have
The beginning section deals with the process of confined myself generally to observations that re¬
laminating veneers into hoops and shells for con¬ flect my interest in the social history of musical in¬
struction of the banjo, drum, and tambourine, all struments rather than their primitive origins.
three of which are essentially frame drums employ¬ My experience and training have been as a de¬
ing skin heads. The dulcimer is the simplest signer, a background that has focused my in¬
plucked instrument to build, a good project for the strument building on the esthetics of musical in¬
beginner who may wish to move on to building struments—their form, design, and surface
guitars. enrichment. Although I have copied a few in¬
The Hardanger fiddle is a good introduction to struments for this book, I am happier designing my
the construction of fiddles and viols, a large and im¬ own style of drum or banjo. But always I follow, as
portant area of instrument making. Several factors closely as good sense and means permit, the princi¬
influenced my choice. Hardanger fiddles can be ples of construction evolved by generations of in¬
adapted by the maker to conform to individual strument makers.
levels of skill. They can be made as simply as many This book owes much to the edifying hours
old fiddles were, or as complex as one's abilities will spent studying instruments in museum collections.
allow. There is no purfling, a tricky job for a novice. Cultivating an appreciation for the beauty and sur-

8
passing craftsmanship of fine old instruments is an art than a science, resting as it does on principles
important part of instrument making. It is possible only imperfectly understood. Although much has
to copy some old instruments through blueprints been learned about the science of sound waves and
available from museums but these tend to be re¬ acoustics, where instrument making is concerned it
search documents often lacking all the details neces¬ has served mainly to corroborate the empirical wis¬
sary to build an exact replica. If you need to study a dom of ancient practice. No fundamental canons
particular instrument, museums will usually cooper¬ have been overturned and it is questionable
ate if you first write to them about your require¬ whether the further unriddling of these mysteries
ments and manage to convey a reassuring level of will materially affect the work of instrument makers;
seriousness. If you wish to bring your camera, they will be left with their instincts and judgments
check with the museum first. Some have restrictions based on experience and intuition as were all the
about picture taking and a few charge hourly rates makers who preceded them. The construction of
for photographing on their premises. fine musical instruments will resist foolproof formu¬
Two good books are available to craftsmen in¬ lation, and the mystery that begins with a few
terested in reproducing instruments dating earlier pieces of wood and ends with the sound of a violin
than the eighteenth century; Making Early Percussion will remain to challenge talents and skills for which
Instruments by Jeremy Montagu, and The Amateur more satisfying employment could hardly be found.
Wind Instrument Maker by Trevor Robinson.
The building of musical instruments is more an Brussels 1977 Irving Shane

Acknowledgments
Many individuals generously gave of their time to grateful to Messrs Newell and Leech of Henry Potter
assist me in my researches. For their interest and & Company.
advice I am indebted to Scott Odell (Smithsonian The recorder section came about through the
Institution); John O. Curtis (Sturbridge Village); unstinting collaboration of Dr. Carl Dolmetsch and
Edouard-Aime Jacobs (Belgian Royal Army Mu¬ his staff at the Arnold Dolmetsch Ltd. workshops in
seum); John M. Frayler (First Corps of Cadets); Rei- Haslemere, Surrey. I am particularly thankful to
dar Sevag (Norsk Folkemusikksamlung); Julia Kenneth Collins and Donald Clark, senior craftsmen
Raynsford (Victoria and Albert Museum). Valuable of the recorder department for their patient help.
assistance with picture research was given by staff I am greatly indebted to Rene de Maeyer, direc¬
members of the National Army Museum in London. tor of the Brussels Museum of Musical Instruments,
For their thoughtful assistance, sincere thanks for his interest and support. Thanks also to those
are due Michael Longworth, Scott E. Antes, Jeremy members of the museum staff who went out of their
Montagu, Jacques Bayet, and good friend James F. way in my behalf, namely Geert Vermeiren, Hubert
Saporito. Gunter Amendt graciously supplied pic¬ Boone, Ann Caufriez, and Lode Bauwens.
tures of banjos in his collection and for their kind
cooperation during my visit to Aldershot, I am Irving Shane

9
 acetone, and will wash off hands with soap and
Veneers, Glue, and water.
The two-tube blister cards of epoxy sold in

Humidity hardware stores are too expensive to use for lami¬

nating. The Devcon Corporation (Danvers, Mass.)
markets a one-pound kit which sells for around six
dollars. Under the trade names of Devco or Two-
The laminating process essential to the construction Ton it is available from industrial supply firms. A
of several of the instruments in this book makes list of suppliers in your area can be obtained by
considerable use of veneer. Hardwood veneers in a writing to Devcon. A one-pound kit will easily suf¬
broad range of attractive grainings and hues are fice for making a drum, a banjo with resonator, and
readily available to craftsmen needing only small a tambourine.
quantities. I have so far used only unfigured maple In the building of musical instruments, epoxy
veneer of standard thickness (V28") for the basic lam¬ should never be used on any part that may at some
inations, reserving exotic veneers for facings. Maple point have to be removed for repair, such as the
is relatively inexpensive, smooth grained, and can plates of a violin or a fretboard. Violin plates should
be had in large sheets running up to 16" x 8' or always be glued with animal or hide glue. Fret-
more. Birch or beech might work just as well, and boards can be glued with hide glue or Titebond, an
the choice finally would hinge on price, sizes avail¬ aliphatic resin glue available in most hardware
able, straightness of grain, and absence of open stores. It is much stronger than polyvinyl resin
pores. Wide sheets simplify the cutting and assem¬ emulsion glues (Elmer's Glue) and has a built-in
bly of cross-grain strips for cross-banding, and a tack for a fast initial grabbing action. Titebond dries
smooth-grained surface makes finishing easier. to a hard film of creamy translucence resistant to
All the veneer laminating is done with clear lacquer and varnish solvents. It sands well and
epoxy, a two-part adhesive of exceptional strength. cures rapidly with a short clamping time.
One part is the resin, and the other the hardener. Musical instruments in general, and stringed
The chief advantage of epoxy in gluing veneers is instruments in particular, should be built in a dry
not its strength but the absence of water. Water- atmosphere. If you make a fiddle in an atmosphere
based glues distort thin veneers, making control of containing about 65% relative humidity, it will
the gluing process a difficult, unpredictable busi¬ probably crack if you move it to an area with a rela¬
ness. Epoxy does not distort the wood, there is no tive humidity level of 20%. Ideally, instruments
shrinkage to contend with, and the slow setting should be built in a drier environment than the one
time of epoxy makes a complex gluing operation a in which they will most frequently be used. A good
simple affair. At normal room temperature you workshop level of relative humidity is about 45%.
always have about two hours of working time with In the construction of those instruments which are
a freshly mixed batch. Epoxy that has not hardened essentially laminations, humidity is of negligible
can be cleaned off tools with a rag moistened with consequence.

11
 All soldering is done with either soft or hard silver
Tools solder. Soft soldering is done with Brookstone Stay-
Brite silver bearing solder, which is sold with a liq¬
uid flux (Brookstone catalog #1590.9). Hard solder¬
The tools needed to make the instruments described ing is done with Brookstone Safety-Silv silver solder
here include both wood and metal working tools. (catalog #1592.5) with silver solder flux (catalog
Most of the woodworking tools are of the kind most #1593.3). For Brookstone's address see Suppliers,
craftsmen possess. A few specialized tools are im¬ page 159.
portant for certain aspects of instrument making Cutting tools must be kept at razor sharpness
and these appear as photographic footnotes in those for maximum working efficiency. Sharp tools are a
chapters where they are used. My basic tool chest pleasure to use and safer than dull ones. It is neces¬
includes the following: sary to use more force with a dull tool, making a slip
more likely, and a dull tool can cut you just as badly
Saw
as a sharp one. A combination India stone (alumi¬
Hammer
num oxide) with medium- and fine-grit surfaces
Fine dovetail saw
will do a good job of basic sharpening. For a surgi¬
Medium hacksaw
cal cutting edge a hard Arkansas stone is necessary.
Adjustable coping saw
Lubricate the stone with 3-in-One oil mixed
1" gouges
with a little kerosene. The fluid floats away metal
Vi6", 1/4", chisels
particles that might clog the stone. Hold the cutting
Files (flat, riffler, and needle)
bevel of the tool against the stone and hone with a
Hand scrapers
small circular motion; it is easier to control an orbi¬
Scraper blades with edge burnisher
tal motion than a long, sweeping motion that is
Block plane
likely to rock the bevel. When the bevel is as sharp
Wire nippers
as you can get it on the fine India stone, switch to
Metal straightedge
the hard Arkansas stone. Hone until all scratches are
Circle cutter
gone,, leaving the bevel shiny smooth. Turn the
Assorted clamps
blade over and hold it flat against the stone. Re¬
Utility knife
move the wire edge by moving the blade sideways
power drill with drill stand
about an inch. If the edge is properly sharpened, it
Dremel Moto-Tool with shaper base
will shave hair from the back of your hand. Repeat
Hand drill
the fine honing until it does.
Metalworking tools include: Gouges are sharpened with a sweeping, rolling
motion as they are passed over the stone. The bun-
Propane torch with fine and medium burner
on the inner edge is removed with a wedge-shaped,
tips
round-nosed slipstone.
Jeweler's saw
Scraper blades are a tool of basic importance to
Parallel pliers
instrument makers. Their principal virtue is that
Chasing hammer
they do not round edges the way sandpaper does,
Nylon-faced hammer
and they produce a fuzz-free, clean surface that can¬
Tongs
not be duplicated with sandpaper. I use three rigid
Tweezers
scraper blades of varying shape, and one curved
Tin snips
scraper blade that is flexible.
Hacksaw
Drawing an edge on a scraper blade is a job that
requires some practice. The long edges must be

12
honed dead flat and square by sliding the blade reinforced with clenched nails.
over the stone using a wooden support block to Bending wood with steam and drying it on a
keep the blade perfectly vertical. The blade is then form requires special equipment—a trough or con¬
laid on its side and honed until the edge is knife- tainer for steaming and a cylindrical release form.
edge square. Position the blade on the edge of the Manipulating large steaming pieces of wood also
workbench and draw a steel burnisher across the requires practiced dexterity. It is easy to fracture the
flat face of the blade along the edge. Do this once or wood through hastily applied pressure or some hid¬
twice to draw the edge, which you then turn over den weakness in the wood. Hoops can also be
by holding the burnisher upright and running it formed on a heated bending iron but there are
across the edge at a slight angle. Oil the edge before problems. It is extraordinarily difficult to bend
burnishing. wood of requisite thickness (^/i6" minimum) into a
For sanding I use two grades of garnet paper, relatively small circle. The wood must be presoaked
#100(2/0) for coarse sanding, and #240(7/0) for fine in water and periodically dampened during a
sanding. Wet sanding of varnished surfaces is done bending process which involves considerable phys¬
with #400 and #600 wet-or-dry silicon carbide ical effort. Moreover, cutting and joining the large
paper. scarf joint is a tricky affair requiring a circular form
to ensure accuracy. Hoops of a larger diameter—18"
up to bass drum size—can be bent more easily, with
the steaming method to be preferred over the bend¬
ing iron method. If you are bound to try, straight¬
grained beech is a wood with excellent bending
properties.
Today, modem hardwood veneers and super¬
Laminate Shells strong epoxy glue make it possible to build laminate
hoops and shells of unequaled strength and stabil¬

and Hoops ity. A simple, inexpensive release form supplies the

pressure to glue veneers into a tight lamination with
the dried epoxy films providing adhesion and struc¬
The first three instruments in this book—the banjo, tural rigidity.
snare drum, and tambourine—all require the fabri¬
cation of a round wooden hoop or shell. In the past,
the technical difficulties of making such hoops and
shells have been formidable enough to keep ama¬
teur craftsmen from making these instruments.
Drum counter hoops, for example, have tradi¬
tionally been made from a single piece of oak, ash,
or beech steamed and strapped to a cylindrical form.
The ends were glued together with a long scarf joint

2. Veneer and epoxy laminations

13
 3. Nineteen ply banjo shell ready
for removal from release form

Release Form
Making a circular shell or hoop of laminated hard¬ eter of the release form, or by increasing slightly the
wood veneers requires a circular form that can gen¬ thickness of the lamination. A thin sheet of rubber
erate pressure and then collapse radially so that the is glued to the outer face of the release form sections
completed lamination can be removed. The lamina¬ so that pressure develops before the form reaches its
tions are confined by an outer retainer wall of full diameter. Alternatively, an additional strip of
spring steel banding (.015") formed to the outside veneer can be inserted without glue to provide pres¬
diameter of the shell or hoop. sure.
If the retainer wall has an 11" inside diameter The banjo release form consists of three pressed
and the release form has a 9V2" diameter, it will wood or plywood discs glued together to make a
make a banjo shell of thickness. But if the sum of sandwich of not less than 2%" thickness and 9V2" di¬
the laminations adds up to a thickness of ^U", no ameter. The circular discs are mounted on a fixed
pressure, in fact, will result. Pressure is generated spindle 4^/4" from a bandsaw blade. They are then
in one of two ways: by increasing slightly the diam¬ cut by revolving them against the saw blade. Discs

14
can also be cut on a jigsaw, after which the glued- be numbered so they will always assemble in the
up sandwich is trued to a circle by revolving it same sequence.
against a sanding disc. Gluing is done with Cut four pegs out of a V4" hardwood dowel. A
Titebond and clamping pressure. When dry, sand 2" X 2" square hardwood center block can be made of
the exterior face smooth and check to make sure the glued-up stock. Taper slightly the bottom ends of
form is a true circle. Draw a slightly larger circle on the dowels and the square block to facilitate their
a white piece of cardboard and place the form entry into their holes. When the dowels and the
within this circle to locate discrepancies. The release square peg are in place, the form should have an
form cannot work efficiently if it is not a true circle. outside diameter of 9V2". Finish the form by cover¬
Draw a line through the center of the form and ing the outer curved face of each section with a thin
another one bisecting the first at right angles. Drill sheet of rubber about thick. Adhere with Plio-
four 3/4" holes, each hole centered on the bisecting bond or other contact adhesive.
lines 1^/4" from the edge. Draw a line Vs" from each The retainer strip for the eleven-inch banjo
side of the bisecting lines to serve as a guideline for shell requires two lengths of metal, one of which
sawing. Draw in the square center cutout. Saw out must be 34.55" (3435/64") long. This strip forms the
the bisecting V4" strips and the square cutout. This inner circle while the other strip serves as a glued
will free the four sections of the form, which must reinforcement. The length of the strip is calculated

5. Exterior face of form

sections are covered with
thin sheet of rubber

15
 6. Initial clamping of retainer
strips for gluing

by multiplying the diameter of 11" by 3.141 (tt). The

width of the strips should be no less than 2^k", the
thickness of the release form.
Clean both strips thoroughly with acetone and
apply epoxy to one side of one of the strips. Clamp
the end of the other strip to the middle of the glued
strip and bend the accurately sized strip around in a
circle until it butts against the clamped end. Clamp
this end so that the joint remains firmly butted. The
ends of the outer strip may not meet but that is
unimportant. Use clothespins to keep the two strips
under gluing pressure in a circle. The clothespins'
clamping pressure can be brought up to Space Age
standards by wrapping them with small rubber
bands. Leave the glued retainer wall undisturbed
for twenty-four hours. Remove the clothespins and
wrap glass filament tape around the form. Avoid
squeezing or distorting the retainer wall, which
might crack the glue joint. The shear strength of 7. Retainer strip glued and clamped

epoxy is great, but its peel strength is poor on

metal.
This same kind of release form and retainer wall
setup is used to make the tambourine shells and the
drum hoops. For shells or hoops that are fairly close
in diameter, the same form can sometimes be em¬
ployed through the use of unglued filler strips.
When making laminate shells with a diameter larger
than 12", such as the drum hoops and banjo resona¬
tor, provision should be made for two round pegs
along each quadrant.

16
Lamination Procedure
Maple or birch veneer of standard V28" thickness is
readily available in large sheets, and the wider the
sheet, the less work there is in preparing the lami¬
nation. I prefer maple because it is harder and
smoother than birch.
Continuing with the 11" banjo shell, it is a lam¬
ination made of twenty-three veneer strips. This
number will make a shell of approximately
thickness. A shell will take nineteen strips.
These thicknesses are not critical and will vary de¬
pending on the exact thickness of the veneer.
The twenty-three veneer strips are divided into
twelve long-grain strips and eleven cross-grain
strips. The strips are first cut to size and eleven
long-grain strips are glued to eleven cross-grain
strips to make eleven double strips. These eleven
cross-banded strips plus one single long-grain strip
comprise the basic lamination. All laminations are
an odd number of strips so that the finishing inside
strip is always a long-grain strip.
Cut off a 35" section from your veneer sheet.
Use a knife such as a Stanley utility knife with
blades inside the handle. Cut the long-grain strips
with a metal straightedge as a guide. Cut slowly and
carefully with several light incisions rather than one
powerful slice because the grain may throw the
knife off course. Banjo shells are 2^ls" in depth and
the lamination strips should be cut Vie" wider to
allow for some trim during finishing. Cut the cross¬
grain strips with two strokes and then snap them
back and off. Cut their ends square and butt them
with a small strip of plastic tape to hold them
together. Cut enough to cover the length of each of
the long-grain strips.
Mix together an equal quantity of epoxy resin
and hardener until they make a uniformly colored
mix. Apply the glue to a long-grain strip using a
scrap of veneer as a spatula. Cover the surface with
a light but not skimpy coat of epoxy, making sure
that no spot is left bare. Press a taped cross-grain
strip against the glue-covered surface of the long-
grain strip. Wrap a piece of tape around the two

8. Long-grain and cross-grain

maple veneer strips
strips in about six places to ensure that the strips using clamps if necessary to ensure a tight fit. Mark
will stay in alignment while under pressure. Place the juncture and saw off the ends square so that the
this double strip along the edge of a sheet of freezer strip snaps into place when it is put back in the
wrap or waxed paper. Roll it over so that both sides form. Number each strip to preserve their sequence
are covered by paper, and as each double strip is as¬ and spot the end joints so that they fall in different
sembled, roll it up in the wrap. When you have places. It is impossible to produce a lamination with
wrapped five or six double strips, make a tight bun¬ all ends butted. Under pressure they will separate
dle of it by again wrapping some tape around the and plugs sawed off the cutoff ends must be in¬
bundle to keep the pieces in alignment. Place this serted to fill the holes after the shell is laminated.
bundle between two 1" x 3" x 36" boards and clamp After eleven double strips have been laid in, put in
every six inches. It is best to glue no more than six the single long-grain strip.
double strips at one time. Two separate bundles Position the four sections of the release form
have to be prepared to get the eleven double strips and insert the pegs beginning with the square
needed for the shell. center peg. Use a hammer to drive in the pegs and
Leave the bundles under pressure overnight check the openings between the sections to see that
and then remove the wrapping and all tapes. Clean they are uniformly spaced. If not, small wedges will
off traces of the tape adhesive with a cloth mois¬ have to be inserted to wedge the sections into paral¬
tened with acetone or naphtha. Scrape off any dried lel adjustment so that the form will assume the cir¬
glue on the flat surfaces of the strips and run a small cular shape it must have to exert even pressure. If
block plane or file over the edges to remove any pressure is being applied unequally, it is because
globules of glue ooze. The strips are now ready to the release form is out of round. To check the accu¬
be fitted into the form in a preliminary lay-up using racy of the form's circle, draw a circle slightly larger
no glue. than the form on a white cardboard. Place the form
Lay in the first strip with the long-grain side in the center of the circle to check its outer concen¬
against the retainer wall. Press it against the wall tricity. Deviations are seldom more than minor and
can be corrected by strategic wedging.
9. Bundle of glued double If, after all the pegs are in place, no pressure
strips under pressure results, an additional filler strip must be added to
the lamination. This filler can be another strip of
veneer or a strip of steel banding or thin plastic,
depending on how much filler is needed to generate
pressure. Problems of this sort are to be expected
and point up the obvious necessity, in the case of
the snare drum, of making the hoops before the
drum shell. The drum shell can easily be formed to
match the hoops; no adjustment is possible in the
hoops once they are made.
Make a final test of the form under pressure
after a filler is inserted. The pegs should require
solid hammer blows to wedge the form out with ad¬
equate gluing pressure. The square center peg may
fall out when the pegs are driven in but that will not
affect gluing pressure. It can be wedged back in
with strips of veneer for an extra ounce of pressure
if needed. Enough pressure must be generated to

18
10. Applying epoxy to double strip 11. Fitting strips into form

press the veneers into gap-free contact all around central position in the form.
the form. When this has been achieved, remove the 2. Gluing of fhe lamination to the retainer wall
form and all the strips except the first one. Apply and release form can be avoided by spraying the in¬
epoxy to the long-grain surface of the second strip side face of fhe retainer wall and the rubber cover¬
and press it into place. Glue in all the strips and ing of the release form with silicone spray.
replace the release form plus any filler strips you Finally, it is important to understand that if
have added. Drive home the pegs and use the your shell or hoop turns out slightly out of round, it
wedges to wedge the form info concentricity with will still work fine. A true round is perhaps of most
the circle on the cardboard. If an excess of glue ooze importance for a banjo shell that is going to have a
appears, wipe it off with a damp cloth. Leave undis¬ resonator and flange. But even here, absolute
turbed overnight. roundness is not crucial; a flat spot can be posi¬
Lamination will go smoothly if these additional tioned at the neck joint. Fortunately, the thick lam¬
cautions are observed: ination of a banjo shell makes a circle easier to con¬
1. The height or thickness of the release form trol than on the larger diameter, thinner hoops
and retainer wall must be at least as great as the where perfect roundness is less critical.
lamination. If fhe heighf of fhe retainer wall and After the lamination has dried, knock out the
form are greafer than the lamination, it should be pegs and remove the release form. Liff and slam the
centered on the form before pressure is applied. form down on fhe workbench fo shock loose the
Begin the lay-up by laying in each strip against the lamination. Use a small block of wood and a ham¬
base of the form, tapping them into alignment with mer, tapping around the edge of the lamination to
a small block of wood as you go along. After the lay¬ gradually work it down and free of the retainer wall.
up is completed, tap the whole lamination up to a Clamp two boards to the workbench, forming a

19
 comer where the rough shell can be immobilized
while the top and bottom edges are smoothed. Use
a block plane, rasp, and hand scraper to tme the
edges. Keep the shell rotating in a constant, regular
motion to ensure uniform removal of wood. Smooth
both edges true and square.
Fill the holes left by the separated ends with
epoxy and plug them with small plugs cut from the
waste pieces of the double strips. Taper the plugs
slightly and drive them in with a small hammer. If
you intend to leave the edges exposed (un¬
veneered), the holes should be filled with care, the
veneers aligned to make an unbroken appearance in
the strip.
Fill gaps in the face of the shell by first giving
them a slight taper. If you have saved all the cutoff
ends of the double strips, you can probably find the
23. Knocking out finished shell original piece that will make a perfect match for the
gap. Saw off a slightly oversize tapered filler piece.
Fit it by slowly filing and testing it until it is almost
wedged all the way. Apply epoxy, drive the filler
strip in flush with the edges, and clamp with a
wooden caul and protective piece of waxed paper.
When the patch dries, sand it level with the sur¬
rounding surface.
Making a twenty-three-ply lamination sounds
like more work than it really is. It takes me less than
five hours of working time from the cutting of the
strips until the shell is under pressure. The reward
is a banjo shell incomparably stronger and more sta¬
ble than any you can buy.

24. Raw laminate banjo shell

 t

Exotic FaceVeneers
Laminate shells can be faced with attractive hard¬ edge razor so that they make the tightest possible
wood veneers such as rosewood, curly maple, wal¬ joint and tape them together with one-inch plastic
nut, satinwood, macassar ebony, and many others. tape. Apply epoxy to a long-grain maple veneer
The standard thickness for veneers is V28" but many strip cut to the same size as the burl facing. Press
today are cut to and ^ho". Thinly cut veneers the burl against the glued surface and tape the two
will work as a facing if no inlay is planned. Inlay veneers together in about five places to prevent
work inevitably involves a good deal of surface shifting under pressure. Wrap in freezer wrap and
sanding and V40" is playing it close. clamp between two boards.
In all cases where a decorative face veneer is Before gluing burls make sure that they are
used, it should first be glued to a long-grain backing completely dry. Also more care is necessary when
strip unless it is a full Vis". Veneer of this thickness inlaying burl facings; they tend to fragment around
can be treated as the first strip in a lamination and mortise edges. Pinholes and other defects can be
should be glued to a cross-grain backing. The same filled with a filler of epoxy mixed with a powdered
is true for both exterior and interior facings. Veneer pigment of the appropriate color.
facings present no laminating problems unless you
are using a burl veneer. Burls, when you buy them,
present an uneven, waffled surface and before they
can be used, must be made perfectly flat.
Cut the burl into strips with a large margin for
trim (2V4" wide for a 2%" banjo shell). Cut the strips
16. Applying epoxy to Carpathian elm burl strip
to display the most attractive figure, free of blem¬
ishes. Do not worry about pinholes, a common fea¬
ture of burl veneers. After all the strips are cut,
moisten some paper toweling and interleave it be¬
tween the veneer strips. Use at least two sheets be¬
tween each strip and clamp the pile between two
boards. Apply slight clamping pressure at first to
avoid cracking the veneer. As the veneer absorbs
moisture from the toweling, pressure can be gradu¬
ally increased. After full pressure is achieved, leave
under pressure for two hours.
Remove the clamps and discard the toweling.
Interleave dry paper towels between the veneer
strips, which should be flat by now. Apply pressure
and change the towels for some dry toweling in two
hours. Leave under pressure until ready to glue.
When ready, remove from the press and cut the
ends of the strips square. Butt the strips together to
find the arrangement that gives the best flow of pat¬
tern. If you give the strips a quick wash coat of
shellac (1 part shellac, 5 parts alcohol), it makes
matching easier. Slice the butt joints with a single¬
 Banjo

right:
Six-string banjo with dyed wood inlays, English c. 1850
Seven-string banjo, English c. 1880-1885
Six-string "piccolo" banjo, c. 1880-1885, Bacon, London
{Gunter Amendt Collection)
No instrument mirrors the American spirit more in¬
vincibly than the banjo. Since the dawn of the re¬
public, its bright stridency has enlivened the Amer¬
ican musical scene and earned it recognition as the
most nearly indigenous American instrument.
Presumably, African slaves brought to America
the banjo or "banjar” as Thomas Jefferson called it
in his Notes on the State of Virginia (1785). Evidence
to back this theory is circumstantial and leaves un¬
explained why the banjo did not also take root in
the West Indies and South America, areas with large
populations of African slaves.
Stringed instruments with a skin stretched over
a hollow resonating chamber are an ancient inven¬
tion known to many cultures besides African. Their
use predates the Christian era by at least two thou¬
sand years, and they were widely known through¬
out Asia Minor and the Far East.
An American banjo player named Joel Walker
Sweeney is believed to have introduced, in 1831,
the fifth string, a high-pitched drone string that
gives the five-string banjo its characteristic ring. In¬
terest in the banjo grew with the rise of the black¬
face minstrel show. Sweeney himself was a famous
minstrel and public enthusiasm for this form of
vaudeville continued through the last half of the
nineteenth century.
The banjo's popularity as a show business in¬
strument brought some technical innovations.
Novel metal tone rings and a resonator were added
to make the sound brassier and louder, and the in¬
strument itself became an increasingly gaudy exten¬
sion of the performer. Mother-of-pearl and abalone
inlay plus chrome- and gold-plated fitments accen¬
tuated the show business orientation of the banjo
and reached their opulent zenith with the Para¬
mount and Bacon & Day banjos of the early 1930's.
Banjos are relatively simple to make because all
of the basic parts and hardware can be bought from
companies like Stewart-MacDonald (Suppliers, page
159). But if you build the major parts—the shell,
neck, flange, and resonator—yourself, you can have
a fine, individually styled banjo for much less 18. Five-string banjo, tacked vellum,
money than a good commercial banjo. English c. 1840 (Victoria and Albert Museum)

23
 shell
Banjo shells differ according to playing style. Old-
time players like an open-back banjo with rim
thickness of V2" to a head between IOV2" and
10^/4", and a relatively subdued tone. Bluegrass
players prefer resonator banjos with shell,
eleven-inch head, and machined tone rings. Blue-
grass banjos are heavy and meant to be loud. Shell
depth is normally 2%" but can be changed to suit
individual preference. If you do change this depth,
all measurements given here for a depth will
have to be revised to work for your depth and hard¬
ware. Older banjos employed a hardwood dowel for
reinforcing thin rims, and resonator banjos use a
rim rod with screw coupler to adjust neck pitch. In
my banjos I use no interior supports or rods because
of the exceptional rigidity of laminate shells and
because the neck is carefully pitched at the outset.
19. Tiventy-three ply burl faced shell uses Make or purchase a banjo shell 11" in outside
about 16 sq. ft. of veneer diameter and 2%" in height. The cost of materials

20. Leveling top and bottom of shell

 21. Burl shell with ball lugs,
bracket hooks, tension hoop, and skin head

for a laminate shell is roughly one-fifth the cost of a bend around the circle. The strips were glued in si¬
commercially available raw, unfaced shell. It is not multaneously with the ivoroid strip and taped down
really worthwhile, however, to make your own until dry. Duco cement was used and the plastic
plated tension hoop. tape was wrapped completely around the shell wall
For the interior face of the open-back banjo to hold the binding strips.
shell I used curly maple; the exterior face and bot¬ The Sho-boat banjo shell has a wall
tom of the shell are veneered with Carpathian elm thickness and a facing of Brazilian rosewood with
burl. Flattened strips of the burl veneer were butted the grain running vertically. A corner ledge was cut
and taped together in a circle. They were then glued out of the bottom outside corner and bound with a
to a backing of maple veneer and the circle was cut separating strip of black-white purfling and a strip
out to the full 3/4" width of the shell. It was glued to of brass. The twenty-two gauge brass strip was cut
the bottom edge of the shell with epoxy and to exact size and hard-soldered into a ring sized for
trimmed flush. The edges were cut away by hand a force fit. After the black-white strips were glued in
with a purfling cutter to permit installation of an with Titebond, epoxy was applied to the ledge and
ivoroid comer strip edged on top and side by black- the brass ring hammered on.
white wood purfling strips. This purfling was made Both shells were filled and finished with clear
up of two separate strips with grain oriented to polyurethane varnish in the same way as the reso-

22. Nineteen ply rosewood faced

shell with bracket shoes installed
 nator. (See page 40.)
If you are using a notched tension hoop, drop it
down around the shell. Situate the back of the hoop
with the cutout for string clearance next to the least
attractive spot on the shell. With the hoop resting
on the table and equidistant from the shell at all
points, mark the positions for all twenty-four
bracket holes. Lay a strip of paper on the shell and
mark off the space between two bracket markings.
Move the strip around the shell to check the accu¬
racy of the spacing. Unless the holes are drilled at
correctly spaced intervals, the hooks will engage the
tension hoop notches at an angle instead of ver¬
tically. Drill all the bracket holes one inch on center
from the bottom of the shell.
If you are using a grooved tension hoop with
23. Plan of edge binding on flat hooks, draw a line down the shell where you
bottom edge of burl shell want the back and front to fall. Set a pair of dividers
to 1%2" and strike off this distance each side of the
back line. Strike off a distance of each side of
your front line. These lines represent the first and
last bracket holes on each side of the shell. Divide
this distance by eleven to find the spacing for the
other ten holes on each side. Take all surface mea¬
surements with a strip of paper pressed against the
curved shell and then measure it flat.
Before drilling the front center hole for the
bracket that will hold the tailpiece bolt, check your
tailpiece to make sure the bolt is long enough to
work from the bracket position. Drill two holes in
the back center line for the neck lag bolts. Drill the
lower hole from the bottom edge and another
hole above it.
All drill holes in the shell should be sized so
that the bolts will push through without screwing.
A round wooden caul clamped inside the shell will
prevent fracture of the interior face when the drill
exits.

24. Adjustable purfling cutter (Ibex)

26
25. Basic banjo shell plan
 quality fourteen-inch calfskin head from H. Band &
Tone Rings and Heads Company (Suppliers, page 159) sells for under eight
dollars (1977 prices).
The simplest form of tone ring is a V4" brass rod sol¬ I began by hard-soldering a Vs" x V2" brass strip
dered into a ring with the same outside diameter as into a circle with an outside diameter of ll^/ie".
the shell being used. Start with a rod at least four From this hoop I hacksawed two rings which came
feet long; it is difficult to bend the ends unless there down to a height of %2" after being filed smooth.
is space for a hand grip. Bend the rod into a hoop Each ring was hammered on its inside face to make
and braze or hard-solder the ends in a neat butt it a true circle and to harden it. All edges were
joint. Hammering the ring with a slightly domed slightly rounded to avoid cutting the skins.
hammer will make it round and replace the The skins—one a top-grade white calf, the other
hardness lost in the heat of soldering. Polish the a cloudy-calf grade—were each 14" in diameter. Un¬
ring with emery cloth until shiny smooth. It can be like wooden flesh hoops, metal flesh hoops require
left as is or nickel plated. an additional tuck to hold the skins securely be¬
An interesting variation is a ring made of stain¬ cause the skins' natural gluing propensity does not
less steel or nickel-silver tubing with Vs" holes work on metal. Soak and lap as described in Drum
drilled at IV2" intervals on the inner face. Tubing is Heads and Lapping, page 62. A lapping tool with a
best bent by starting with a very long piece, fasten¬ shorter right-angle bend is necessary for managing
ing one end to a correctly sized drum, and wrap¬ the extra tuck. Use a small saucer under the center
ping the tubing around the drum in one continuous of the skin to handle the slack while lapping. Clamp
motion. This kind of tone ring will produce a some¬ clothespins to the top and bottom face of the lapped
what louder sound than a solid ring. sections to hold them until set. After the lapped
On my banjos I use calfskin heads, which I tuck edge has set—thirty minutes or so—remove the
myself. Premounted skin heads are sold but you can clothespins and set the head in place on the tone
save about half the cost if you do it yourself. A top- ring and shell, affix tension hoop and hooks, and
screw down the tension hoop until the flesh hoop
engages the shell. Leave to dry at least ten hours
before screwing down to playing tension.
26. Hard-soldering brass tone ring joint Calfskin heads have a mellow, less crisp tone
than Mylar heads and are affected by humidity. The
need for frequent adjustment makes them more
suitable for an open-back banjo than a resonator
banjo because the tension can be more easily regu¬
lated. A simple tone ring such as employed here
calls for a medium- or high-crown plastic head.

27. Skin lapping

plan for metal
flesh hoop

28
Neck
Banjo necks are independent extensions bolted to
the shell. Since they carry all the frets—normally
twenty-two for a five-string banjo—they are long
compared to a guitar where a good portion of the
fretboard rests on the body. This attenuated length
plus the pressure exerted by steel strings makes a
banjo neck particularly susceptible to warp unless it
is reinforced. Bowing, a curvature of the neck char¬
acterized by a widening of the gap between strings
and frets, is the major problem, and several
methods are employed to combat this hazard.
Most commercial banjos have an adjustable
truss rod let into a curved channel in the neck. The
steel rod is anchored at the heel end of the neck,
passes under a curved wood insert in the central
portion of the neck, and ends in an exposed
threaded terminus in the head. A hex nut working
against a face-plate draws the rod up tight against
the insert, thus exerting upward pressure on the
central portion of the neck (30). Adjustable truss
rods are designed to correct only a moderate degree
of neck bow; they cannot cure a twisted neck or one
with back-bow. Banjo necks are also reinforced with
metal bars simply channeled into the neck.
Adjustable truss rods have their drawbacks. In
their cheapest form, they are thin rods let into an
oversize channel routed the length of the neck, con¬
siderably weakening the neck and inviting the
problem the rod is designed to cure. Moreover,
many banjo and guitar necks are damaged by their
owner's inopportune or improper adjustment of
truss rods. Putting a lot of tension on a truss rod
during a dry spell will twist a neck during a sub¬
sequent period of high humidity. Rods also break
under excessive tightening, producing an internal
rattle unless replaced. A steel bar fitted into a chan¬
nel in the neck, in my view, is a more attractive
solution than an adjustable truss rod, but has the
disadvantage of adding substantially to the weight
of an already heavy instrument.
In my banjo necks I use a vertebrate truss rod, a 28. Five string banjo with burl faced
variation of a reinforcement I devised for steel-string peg head and shell, cloudy-calf head

29
guitars. It consists of a central bar of ^/le" x V2" x required to drive in the truss, you risk splitting the
17" #2024 aluminum with two transverse pieces af¬ neck.
fixed to the bar. This assembly is let into a channel The Sho-boat neck was made from a maple
exactly sized to accommodate it. The #2024 alumi¬ block 4" X 2^/2" x 24". Because the wood was cut 45
num is a heat-hardened aluminum used in the avia¬ degrees off the quarter, I sawed it in half lengthwise
tion industry and is not to be confused with the alu¬ and tumbled one half end over end to strengthen
minum bar stock commonly sold in hardware the neck. While it was in two pieces I routed half
stores. the width of the truss channel in each piece and cut
The bar and transverse pieces are mortised to fit the inclined mortises for the transverse pieces. Both
together in eggcrate fashion. All the mortises are halves were then glued together with epoxy and
slightly tapered so they can be hammered together clamped overnight.
to make a rigidly wedged joint without soldering or The side profile of the neck was drawn on the
brazing. The reinforcing principle is based on the side of the block and cut out on a bandsaw. I prefer
idea that it is much more difficult to bend a six-inch to cut the long vertical shape of the neck with a
metal bar than one seventeen inches long. Breaking hand saw because the saw can be angled for a good
up the long bar with the transverse pieces consider¬ head start on the final shaping of the heel and the
ably enlarges the amount of stress required to bow underside of the neck. The head contour was not cut
the center section. The truss assembly is glued in out until the veneer sandwich facing was glued on.
place with epoxy and for maximum effectiveness the Rough shaping of the heel was done with
mortise should be a gentle force fit. If a hammer is gouge and rasp. The largest chunks were cut away
 32. Neck with rod installed
31. Vertebrate truss rod and with fretboard glued on

with a 1" gouge struck with a hammer. Rasp and wood veneer was glued together to make the Sho-
curved scraper blade defined the shape for final boat head facing but was not mounted until all inlay
smoothing with garnet paper. was completed. The open-back banjo has a facing of
The long shape of the neck was formed with a Carpathian elm veneer glued to two layers of maple
spokeshave and concave scraper blade. The rasp veneer and a final layer of black-dyed veneer.
was used for truing the shape, and final finish was The heel cap on both banjos is a sandwich of
obtained with scraper and sandpaper. %2" ebony, maple, and black-dyed veneer to con¬
A sandwich of ebony, maple, and rose¬ tinue the side line motif carried on the head.

31
 33. Plan of banjo neck construction
and full-size plan of head

32
26V4 " FRET SCALE 27" FRET SCALE
(667 mm open string length) {685.8 mm open string length)
Nut to fret Nut to fret Nut to fret Nut to fret
Fret inches millimeters Fret inches millimeters

1. 1.4718 37.384 1. 1.5147 38.475

2. 2.8611 72.672 2. 2.9457 74.763
3. 4.1725 105.982 3. 4.2957 109.053
4. 5.4104 137.424 4. 5.5701 141.399
5. 6.5789 167.104 5. 6.7716 171.936
6. 7.6818 195.118 6. 7.9083 200.745
7. 8.7229 221.562 7. 8.9802 227.961
8. 9.7056 246.522 8. 9.9900 253.611
9. 10.6332 270.083 9. 10.9458 277.830
10. 11.5088 292.324 10. 11.8476 300.726
11. 12.3353 313.766 11. 12.6981 322.326
12. 13.1155 333.134 12. 13.500 342.684
13. 13.8519 351.838 13. 14.2587 361.962
14. 14.5471 369.496 14. 14.9742 380.133
15. 15.2033 386.164 15. 15.6492 392.958
16. 15.8227 401.897 16. 16.2864 413.478
17. 16.4074 416.748 17. 16.8858 428.760
18. 16.9593 430.766 18. 17.4474 443.151
19. 17.4802 443.997 19. 17.9901 456.732
20. 17.9719 456.486 20. 18.4950 469.557
21. 18.4360 468.274 21. 18.9729 481.707
22. 18.8741 479.402 22. 19.4238 493.155

34. Rounding neck with spokeshave

 36. Ibex Fret Rule Fretboard
Drill a small hole in each corner of the fretboard,
outside the actual shape of the fretboard. Fasten it
to a larger workboard with a small brad in each
hole. Sink the brads well below the surface with a
nail set.
Smooth this side of the fretboard dead level
with scraper blade and long sanding block. When a
metal straightedge shows that the surface is level,
remove the brads and turn the board over. Replace
the brads, sinking them below the surface.
Traditionally, fret posiions have been laid out
to a formula known as the rule of the eighteenth.
The vibrating string length is divided by 18 to locate
the first fret. The remaining string length is again
divided by 18 to find the second fret and so on. This
formula contains a slight error because 18 is an ap¬
proximate figure. The precise figure is 17.835, and
the scales listed here have been computed with this
divisor.
Several scales are used in banjo making, the
modem standard for five-string banjo being 26Va".
Bluegrass players prefer a scale this long or longer,
where tunings are usually C or G. Clawhammer-
style players like a shorter scale—around 25"-—so
they can tune to A or D without a capo. Two scales
are listed here, 26^U" and 27". On my banjos I took a
26^k" scale from a fret rule available from most sup¬
pliers of instrument-making materials. This accu¬
rately etched rule (Ibex Fret Rule) also lists scales of
/ ",
2521 32 / ", and
2511 32 / ".
2422 32

Before laying out the frets, draw the fretboard

pattern on the board, making sure it is centered and
that one side of the board is exactly parallel to the
center line of the fretboard drawing. Mark the fret
slots with a pointed metal scriber, working against
the blade of a try square held against the parallel
side. Start the slots with a dovetail saw or small
hacksaw, also working against the try square.
Fretting will go smoothly if the slot is correctly
sized to the fret wire. I use a medium size (.078")
nickel silver fret wire and a matching saw that will
make a .023" slot in ebony. Fretting a rosewood

34
board, a softer wood, requires a narrower slot,
.020".
Make sure that your slot matches the studded
tang of the wire you are using by sawing a trial slot
in a waste portion of your fretboard. Hammer in the
test wire with an overhang of Vs" on each end. It
should go in with a few taps and stay there. Crimp
over the overhang with a light tap; if the fret is
loose, it will rise in the middle. If the slot is too nar¬
row, inordinate force will be required to anchor the
fret, a dangerous practice because the accumulated
wedging action of such fretting will bend a neck
over backward. Wedge-fretting, in fact, is a stan¬
dard repair technique for correcting a bowed neck.
There are three remedies for a loose slot; using
a thinner saw, hammering or slightly filing off the
set of your saw's teeth to make it thinner, or switch¬
ing to a heavier gauge fret wire. But take the time to
achieve an effective mating of fret wire to slot.
After sawing a few strokes in all the slots, cut
out the shape of the fretboard. If you plan any inlay
on the fretboard face, do it now. (See page 46.) And
if you plan to bind the edges of the fretboard with
plastic, the ledges must be routed now. I rout the
ledges with a Dremel Moto-Tool using an adjustable
base attachment and their #115 cutter. Check the
cut on a scrap before routing the fretboard. The
curved portion around the fifth fret cannot be
routed but must be chiseled by hand.
37. Hammering in fret wire with
Draw the exact fretboard shape on the top face
support under neck
of fhe neck and glue on the fretboard with
Titebond. Lightly coat the gluing areas on the fret¬
board and neck and clamp with five or six clamps frets to a full Vi6" depth. Dress the entrance of each
over a long board. This board should be preferably slot with a three-cornered file to chamfer each edge
of hardwood and sized to cover the fretboard. slightly. This will facilitate future fret removal, if
Apply clamps with wood cauls under the neck to necessary, without chipping the face of the fret¬
protect the surface. Watch the fretboard for any sign board.
of shifting while applying clamping pressure. In¬ Cut all the frets beforehand, allowing for a Vs"
crease clamping pressure slowly until you are sure overhang on each end. Drop one or two drops of
the glue tack has set up to where it will hold, and water into each fret slot with an eyedropper as fret¬
then screw the clamps tight. Titebond has a fast tack ting proceeds. Position each fret wire and drive it in
and this whole clamping process takes only a few with the polished, slightly domed face of any me¬
minutes. Clean off glue ooze with a damp cloth and dium-weight hammer. If there are any scars on the
keep under pressure overnight. hammer face fhey will transfer to the fret wire. A
Remove the clamps and cauls and saw in all the few good taps should seat a fret. Use a support

35
under the neck where you are hammering. ment but I prefer to use a glue made of the plastic
Cut off all the ends with a flush-cutting nipper dissolved in acetone. Ivoroid and most plastic bind¬
and file them flush using a ten-inch flat-mill smooth ings will readily dissolve in acetone. Small bits of
file. When the ends are all flush, file a bevel on the the plastic binding are snipped off and placed in a
bead ending of each fret. Always file frets in a man¬ clear bottle with enough acetone to cover. Stopper
ner that tends to push them into the slot rather than and leave to dissolve. Shake it up occasionally and
pull them out. Apply strips of V4" masking tape add acetone if it looks too thick. When completely
alongside each fret to protect the fretboard while dissolved and the consistency of white glue, tilt the
you are filing frets. neck and leak a bead of glue into the corner of the
Gently glide a long carborundum stone or flat binding ledge along its entire length. Immediately
file over the tops of the frets. This will level out any press the binding strip in place. If any portion does
unevenness and leave a flat ridge along the tops of not adhere, work some glue into the joint and press
some frets. Each fret must be filed and rounded for ten seconds.
until this flat ridge disappears. The fret ends are Jet-black ebony is impossible to find; streaks or
rounded off with a #2 extrafine pillar file. This file is veinings of gray are common. If unobtrusive, they
immensely more useful if the edges are ground off will eventually disappear, darkened by the oil and
with a belt sander so that they are shiny smooth and perspiration of the player's hand. They can be re¬
slightly rounded. Finish off the frets with a worn moved by staining with any good black leather dye.
piece of crocus cloth. If you are not using any bind¬ Finish the fretboard with a light coat of refined lin¬
ing on the fretboard, fill side gaps under the fret seed oil polished to a soft sheen with a clean rag.
ends with lampblack and epoxy filler for an ebony Position markers can be made in white plastic
fretboard, burnt umber and epoxy for rosewood. binding by making holes with a fine drill or sharp
Binding strips can be installed with Duco ce¬ awl and filling with lampblack and epoxy filler.

38. Nested abalone and pearl squares, double line edge binding
 39. Overall pattern of abalone dots
lend sparkle to resonator back

Resonator
Prepare a laminate hoop 13%" outside diameter x
1%" deep. An eleven-ply lamination will give you a
wall thickness of appximately ^Is". Cut the laminate
strips to full l^ls" width; the trim allowance is in¬
cluded because the back will add about Vs".
My resonator is entirely faced with Brazilian
rosewood veneer cut to a thickness of V40". Both
sides of the hoop, or wall, were faced in the initial
lamination. The top edge was capped with an ebony
and maple veneer sandwich in the same way as the
rosewood tambourine. (See page 77.) The flat ebony
face was inlaid with 4 mm green abalone dots
spaced 1" apart. Shallow holes were drilled just deep
enough for the dots to protrude slightly. They were
glued with epoxy and filed flush. The side face of
the resonator was inlaid with pearl and abalone
nested squares spaced at SVi" intervals. Inlay
mortises were cut with a V4" chisel. Epoxy was ap¬
plied to the mortise and the nested edge of the
pearl. A piece of plastic tape held the pieces in place 40. Sawing ebony and maple veneer
sandwich for resonator edging strips
while they dried.
The next day, a filler of powdered burnt umber
mixed with epoxy was spread over crevices around
all the inlay. Filling had to be done twice to fill all
crevices, and when finally sanded smooth, looked
like a flawlessly precise inlay job.
Using the same rosewood veneer, I made a
four-ply back for the resonator. My rosewood was
in four-inch strips and I first glued each strip to a
cross-grain maple veneer backing with epoxy. All
the strips were taped to prevent shifting and slip
sheeted with freezer wrap before clamping over¬
night.
The strips were cleaned off and carefully
trimmed with a sharp knife to book-match the ve¬
neers. They were taped together with one-inch plas¬
tic tape to hold the ensemble together. Both sides
were prepared in this manner. Epoxy was applied to
the strip joints by flexing the assembly, and a coat
of epoxy was spread over one entire side. The two
parts were placed together with the strips running
at right angles to each other and then clamped be¬
tween two discs (41).
 41. Veneer sandwich for resonator
back is clamped between two discs

Gluing the back to the resonator wall requires a point filed to a shallow angle to drill the holes
special jig (44). Cut a 14" disc of pressed wood or deep. The dots were not set in place until after the
pl5rwood and draw on it a circle the exact inside di¬ back was glued to the resonator wall.
ameter of your resonator wall. Glue eight small A block of wood with the top rounded off was
blocks against the inner edge of this circle so that set in the center of the resonator jig. This block was
when the resonator wall is dropped in place, it re¬ sized to produce a crown of about V4" in the center.
mains a true circle and stationary. Drill small lead The gluing edge of the wall was filed to the appro¬
holes around the disc edge at IV2" intervals for priate angle and the back was glued in place with
roundhead IV2" screws. Screw them in, leaving the epoxy. If your back is very rigid, you can pre-dish it
unthreaded shank exposed. Purchase a box of four- before gluing by inverting it on the resonator wall
or five-inch rubber bands. and placing a bag of sand or other weight in the
The glued-up back was sanded smooth and a center. Leave it for three or four days and then glue
pattern of inlay dots laid out on the best face. These it in place.
were drilled for 4 mm abalone dots. Because of the With a purfling cutter a corner ledge was cut
thinness of the rosewood veneer the final back out for a binding strip of ebonized maple with a
thickness was T32". I used a %2" twist drill with the black-white strip on each side to go with the ebony

38
and maple facing on the top edge. Black-white com¬ sealed or the varnish will not dry. And because it is
bination purfling strips are sold by guitar maker's an open-pored wood it must also be filled to pro¬
supply houses. Bindings are also commonly made vide a smooth surface for the final finish.
with plastic and ivoroid, an imitation of ivory. The Filler is a mixture of ground quartz silex and
completed binding was smoothed level with the res¬ pigment in a varnish-type vehicle, and comes in
onator surface with a scraper blade and the corner several colors. The color of the filler should be the
was slightly rounded with fine sandpaper. same or slightly darker than the wood it will fill. Dig
All the abalone dots were glued in place on the a lump of filler out of the can and thin it with ben¬
back, filled and carefully filed and sanded flush. A zene until it has the consistency of heavy cream.
wash coat of white shellac (1 part shellac to 5 parts Brush it on parallel to the grain with a good bristle
alcohol) was sprayed on the entire resonator with a brush. Avoid getting it on the white purfling strips
mouth-blown atomizer, which consists of two thin if you can. When the filler dries to a cloudy or
tubes attached at right angles. To use the atomizer fogged appearance—usually about twenty min¬
you blow through one tube with the other end in utes—wipe off the excess filler with a coarse cotton
the liquid. This simple, cheap device is sold in art cloth. Depending on how open the pores are, filling
supply stores and was the traditional means of may have to be done twice to fill all the pores and
spraying charcoal drawings to keep them from provide a hard, smooth base for finishing. The final
smearing. I use it for wash coating and toning gui¬ finish can be no better than the surface underneath.
tar tops with spirit varnish. On rosewood, spraying Before any finish is applied to the resonator, the
has the advantage of not causing bleeding onto filler must be absolutely dry. Laying a finish on a
lighter wood, which would happen if the shellac partly dry filler is a common finishing hazard. The
were applied by brush. Rosewood must always be finish will not dry—necessitating removal of all fin-

42. Filing off epoxy filler

on side inlay
 43. Mouth blow-tube makes simple spraying device

ishing materials down to the wood and starting all

over again. Allow a day, preferably two, for drying
filler.
Lightly sand the dried surface until smooth and
spray or brush on another wash coat of shellac. If
the white purfling strips have gotten muddied by
filler, lightly scrape them clean with a single-edge
razor. Apply six coats of polyurethane varnish, scuff
sanding between coats, and with one day's drying
time between coats. Four or five days after the last
coat, the surface can be smoothed with #400 wet-or-
dry sandpaper and water. Dip a folded piece of the
paper into water and carefully smooth away all
lumps and unevenness. After initial smoothing has
been accomplished, change to #600 paper. Use
enough water to lubricate and float off the pul¬
verized finish while polishing in a small circular
motion. Clean off the surface with a dry cloth and
inspect frequently as polishing proceeds. Be extra
careful when sanding comer edges, the easiest place
to go through the finish. A final high finish is
achieved by rubbing with Duco #7 Auto Polishing
liquid and a felt pad.
The inside of the resonator need not receive
more than two coats of varnish and does not have to
be polished.

44. Resonator gluing jig

with back under pressure

40
 45. Nickel-silver flange sections resting on sawing support

Banjos having resonators use an openwork metal nickel silver will suffice for cutting a four-piece
flange as a decorative fascia to conceal the trough flange. Start by drawing an accurate half-section
between shell and resonator and to secure the reso¬ plan of your shell and resonator. Use the full width
nator to the shell. Sound waves reflected from the of the trough between shell and resonator for the
arched resonator back exit through the pierced flange. By the time you saw out the sections and file
openings in the flange. Manufactured flanges are the rough edges smooth, your flange will probably
normally castings or stampings which are then pla¬ drop in place with some slight clearance. In any case
ted. you can always file it down to fit.
Nickel silver is the best choice for making your If you are using a notched tension hoop, spot
own flange. It is not much more expensive than the holes for the hooks in your flange drawing.
brass, looks like silver, and has high tarnish resis¬ These holes must be accurately placed to ensure that
tance. If you later decide to have it chromed or gold all the hooks rise perpendicularly to properly
plated, nickel silver is easily plated. Sheet brass can engage their notch. If you are using a V-groove ten¬
also be used for cutting a flange but unless it is sion hoop with flat hooks, there is no problem with
coated with a clear lacquer or plated, it will tarnish. vertical rise.
Most banjo parts come nickel or chrome plated to Openwork designs that make strategic use of
prevent tarnishing. drilled holes are the easiest to make. Fig. 49 shows
A piece of 8" x 10" fourteen-gauge sheet brass or some patterns that can be made with simple saw

41
Q
 47. Fingers hold work firmly while
sawing over keyhole opening

cuts linking drill holes. Flanges can be made with

just a pattern of drill holes but tend to look mechan¬
ical and uninteresting. A flange, after all, is the
most striking element on a resonator banjo and
merits artistic consideration. A hand-cut flange of
some attractive intricacy is what most immediately
distinguishes a custom banjo from the ordinary
commercial banjo.
The interwoven motif I used on my flange is all
cut out with a jeweler's saw. I began by coating a
sheet of fourteen-gauge nickel silver with a light
spray coat of matte white paint (aerosol). One half
of the flange was drawn on tracing paper and then
transferred to the sprayed surface using nonsmudge
carbon paper and a 4H pencil. The tracing was then
reversed and the other half traced down. I sprayed
the tracing lightly with clear acrylic spray (Krylon)
to prevent smudging. The tracing can also be dark¬
ened with waterproof India ink to preserve legibil¬
ity during handling. Note that the top quarter sec¬
tions have an area left clear to allow for the heel
cutout.
Small holes were drilled in each segment to be
cut out so tfiat the saw blade could be inserted. Ad¬
ditional small holes were drilled to facilitate the
cutting of comers and general maneuvering of the
saw. Because of the length of the quarter sections, a
jeweler's saw with a six-inch depth was used to per¬
mit free rotation of the sections even when working
in the middle. The saw blade used was a Herkules
2/0, which is strong enough to support the weight of
a section when the upper end of the blade is se¬
cured. Saw teeth rake downward, and the frame
must be squeezed together before securing the
blade to ensure enough tension to keep the blade
rigid while sawing.
Sawing action is almost vertical, using a steady,
rhythmic motion, bearing in mind that the saw cuts
only on the downstroke. Corners are negotiated by
sawing in one place while the work is slowly turned 48. Resting flange section near handle
until forward sawing motion can be resumed. while securing saw blade
Blades are fragile and any sudden twist will snap
them. Jewelers use a cake of beeswax to lubricate
the saw blade for easier cutting. The cake is nailed
to the workbench and the saw blade run through it

43
occasionally while sawing. get out the polishing compound lodged in narrow
After sawing is completed, all rough edges are crevices.
filed smooth. Polish the top surface with crocus Flanges can be engraved with an electric vibrat¬
cloth. Pressing the crocus cloth into the pierced ing tool that will sort of jiggle an image into the
openings while polishing will round off the edges metal. This is a shortcut method of engraving and
slightly, increasing the play of light over the sur¬ bears only a faint resemblance to the engraving
face. A finer degree of polish can be imparted with a done on silverware with a burin or graver. En¬
felt disc charged with tripoli or green rouge. For a graved designs break up the surface with an attrac¬
high mirror finish after all surface scratches have tive play of light and introduce a note of antique el¬
been polished out, use a muslin buffing wheel egance.
charged with rouge. Apply polishing compound On my flange I wanted to accentuate the in¬
sparingly to avoid buildup. After polishing, clean terwoven character of the design and used two
up all greasy residue by scrubbing the sections in methods to accomplish this: a spot-plating tech¬
hot water and detergent with a small amount of am¬ nique using a stop-off lacquer combined with a pat¬
monia added. A discarded toothbrush will help to tern of closely spaced engraved lines oriented to
catch the light from different directions.
First, 1 painted on a stop-off lacquer, coating
everything but one half of the intenvoven motif.
Stop-off lacquers are formulated to resist the heat of
the plating process and keep coated areas free of
plating. The lacquer (obtained from the electropla¬
ter) was applied with a small artist's brush. Thin
a. p,, p o, areas were coated twice and the four flange sections
were then gold plated.
'•o 'o '~o P The lacquer was peeled off easily and gold that
managed to bleed onto unwanted areas was pol¬
ished out. A pattern of cross-hatched lines was then
engraved on the other half of the interwoven motif.
The lines were scratched in with a tungsten-
carbide-tipped scribing pencil using a small, trans¬
Ox O xP o- parent plastic triangle as a guide. Precision in ruling
the lines is unimportant. The orientation of the lines
■■■6 P'-'O'-p working around a circle means that some portions
of the flange will always be reflecting light and the
unreflecting engraved portions will appear matte.
The total visual effect of the interwoven design
was greatly improved by the difference between the
gold and the textured quality of the engraved sur¬
face. Even without gold plating, the contrast would
be striking. Polishing of the gold was done by bur¬
nishing with an agate burnisher, a process that re¬
xiPQiiaPb moves no gold. Before the flange sections were in¬
stalled, they were washed with hot water,
detergent, and some ammonia, and polished dry
49. Simple flange designs using drill holes with a clean flannel cloth.

44
 50. Testing fit of flange to make sure
it does not bind on resonator wall

Fitting Resonator to Banjo

The banjo must be completely assembled with it should be. Mark off on the resonator rim the exact
flange in place to mount the resonator. Situate the position of the thumbscrew holes in the flange. Drill
neck heel where you want it on the resonator and the four shallow holes that receive the wall lugs Vs"
cut out a portion of the resonator wall to match the below the top edge of the rim. I used a small hand
shape of the heel. Cut it close fitting and gradually drill to drill these holes, the kind that stores drills in
file it to a looser fit to accommodate a strip of felt as the handle. By removing the screw cap of the
a cushion. When the heel is seated, the flange handle, I just managed to get it into the resonator
should be about Vs" below the rim of the resonator. horizontally. I also cut off Vis" of the wall lug screw
Glue in the felt strip and seat the banjo in place because my wall thickness was a bit under Vs", ^Vsa"
with a prop under the shell to level the flange where to be exact. I was afraid that a deeper hole coinci¬
dent with an inlay portion might split the wood.
Screw in the wall lugs, position the banjo and flange
in the resonator, and put in the thumbscrews.

51. Wall lug in place and

felt lined notch
for neck heel

45
52. Ebony faced head with pearl,
abalone, and brass inlay

Inlay
Traditionally, banjos have been adorned with
mother-of-pearl and abalone inlay. A variety of pre¬
cut pearl designs is available in various shapes and
sizes but these are expensive. For the craftsman
with an artistic bent and a penchant for small-scale,
patient endeavor, cutting pearl inlay will present no
problem. Learning to use the jeweler's saw is the
key.
Pearl and abalone are sold in rectangular blanks
ranging up to about 1" x 2" and about Vie" thick.
Pearl almost always is a pearlescent white but aba¬
lone comes in a basically green or red coloration
with vivid contrasts in pattern and color. Colors
range over the entire spectrum with gemlike irides¬
cence. Refraction is high but directional; rotating a
piece will obscure its brilliance and abalone should
be positioned with this in mind. Its layered struc¬
ture also means that sanding may change that bril¬
liant chartreuse you admired to a pale watery green.
Begin by preparing a pencil sketch of your de¬
sign on tracing paper. Sand the pearl smooth with
fine garnet paper or #400 wet-or-dry paper. Trace

46
 down the design using nonsmudge carbon paper
and a 4H pencil. If you are tracing onto a vividly
colored piece of abalone, first spray the surface with
a light coat of matte white (aerosol). If you tend to
smudge the tracing while sawing, it can be fixed
with a spray coat of clear Krylon.
Position all intricate pieces with their most deli¬
cate portions along the edge of the pearl blank. Use
a 2/0 or finer blade and saw out these delicate parts
first. This will enable you to safely file fragile ap¬
pendages while still attached to the pearl blank.
All sawing is done over a keyhole sawing plat¬
form (45) so that pieces are adequately supported
53. Burl faced head with ivoroid
and black plastic edge binding while being sawed. Saw slowly, rhythmically with¬
out any abrupt turns or twists. If the saw jams, re¬
lease the top end of the blade and pull it down and
out of the saw kerf, a better solution than breaking
the piece or the blade by forcing. Breaking blades is
a common hazard for beginner and expert alike,
which is why jewelers buy blades by the gross.
A clean break in a piece of inlay can be glued
together with epoxy or Duco cement. Position the
glued pieces on a piece of Scotch tape to hold them
together while gluing. Six-inch half-round and
round files are the ones I use most for smoothing
rough edges. Pearl inlay looks best when all con¬
tours are smooth and sharp.
Glue the cutout piece of inlay in position on the
surface where it will be inlaid. Use only a tiny dab
of white glue to immobilize the piece while being
traced. A piece with a simple shape can be held in
place with the eraser end of a pencil while being
traced. On elaborate designs such as the Sho-boat
banjo head, all the pieces were glued in placed be¬
fore being traced. This permits final adjustments in
the positioning of pieces to gain the best overall ef¬
fect. Tracing is done with a sharp-pointed 6H pen¬
cil, working right up against the pearl contour. Tape
some strips of masking tape to a board with enough
adhesive surface exposed to hold all the inlay
pieces. Gently sever the glue joint under each piece
with a single-edge razor blade, and transfer each
piece to the masking tape with a tweezer.
I use a Dremel Moto-Tool with a shaper base to
cut the inlay mortise. For fine work I use the #111

47
 router bit sold as a Dremel accessory. Sample cuts
are tried on a scrap piece of wood until the cutter
depth leaves the pearl a hair above the surrounding
surface. If you are mixing pearl and abalone, the
cutter will have to be set to the depth of the thinnest
material; abalone is often cut thinner than pearl.
I skim the cutter just under the surface of the
wood to fix the contour. Gently continuing with this
skimming technique, I gradually work the cutter
deeper and deeper until the shaper base is resting
flat and the full depth has been cut. If you try to cut
to full depth at once, the small cutter will overheat
and quickly dull. Another way to rout the mortise
would be to set the cutter at half the depth and
lower the cutter for the final cut.
Try the inlay for fit in the routed mortise. Use
fine-pointed tweezers to handle the pieces, exercis¬
ing care in lifting them in and out of the mortise. If
you tilt a piece while lifting it out, it may jam and
break.
After all the pieces are fitted, daub some clear
epoxy into the bottom of each mortise. Press the
inlay pieces into place and jog them into proper
alignment. Leave overnight to dry.
For inlay on ebony, fill all crevices with epoxy
colored with powdered lampblack. Press it in with a
small spatula or knife and leave overnight. Sand the
54. Head facing veneer sandwich with all inlay areas smooth with #100 garnet paper wrapped
inlay lightly glued in place on surface around a wooden block to minimize the tendency of
the softer wood to wear away faster than the pearl.
If there are any holes in the filled areas, repeat the
55. Dremel Moto-Tool with filler step again. Final smoothing of inlaid areas can
shaper base
be done with a single-edge razor blade used as a
scraper and a final going-over with fine garnet
paper. For maximum brilliance, pearl should be free
of all scratches.
Epoxy filler can be blended with powdered pig¬
ments to match any wood shade. Earth colors—raw
and burnt umbers and siennas—plus Van Dyke
brown are excellent for mixing almost any shade of
wood. These powdered pigments and lampblack are
sold in any good art supply store. All can be mixed
with clear epoxy to make an invisible join between
inlay and surrounding surface.
For inlay patterns that cross fret slots, the pearl

48
 4

56. After all inlay was completed, the contour

was sawed out in one precise, continuous line
with a jeweler’s saw. The exterior cutoff section
cannot be cut right up to the slot. If a V32" buffer was set aside and the sawed contour lightly
smoothed. Thin strips of 26 gauge brass were bent
strip of wood is not left between the slot and the
to exact shape using parallel and needle nose
pearl, the fret wire's studded tang will chip and pliers. When the entire contour was fitted with brass
fracture the pearl. The buffer stip will anchor the strips, the exterior section was dropped over the
whole to check fit. When a good fit was achieved,
fret wire and protect the brittle pearl. The visual ef¬
the brass strips were simultaneously glued in
fect of the pearl design crossing the frets will not be place with the exterior section. Epoxy mixed with
spoiled. On old banjos this was not a problem be¬ lampblack was used to glue and the outer section
cause until the early 1930's, fret wire was an unstud¬ was pressed firmly against the brass lined contour
loitli push pins pressed into a backing board
ded metal strip of uniform thickness. alongside the exterior section. When dry, an out¬
On the Sho-boat banjo head I also make use of line parallel to the brass contour zvas drawn in
brass inlay. I used twenty-six gauge sheet traced and sawed out to get the finished shape of the
head.
and cut out in the same way as the pearl inlay.
Brass, nickel silver, and copper can be inlaid in any
area that will be varnished.

49
 Engraving

Pearl can be engraved with incised lines that can be

filled with blacking to add design and textural inter¬
est to pearl inlay. Engraving is done with a graver,
or burin, and practice is necessary to gain control.
Pearl is brittle and grainy because of its layered
structure, and making straight or curved lines on its
surface is not an easy matter.
Hold the graver—lozenge or half-point cutter is
best for pearl—with the handle in the hollow of the
palm, the bent fingers on the front edge of the
blade, the extended thumb on the other side, and
the little finger fitted into the hollow of the handle.
This is the traditional technique for wood engraving
and also works for pearl although more pressure is
required. The main virtue of this method of holding
and guiding the graver is that it gives great control
because the thumb is always in contact with the
surface being engraved. Curved lines are engraved
by mounting the inlay on a block of wood and turn¬
ing the block as the graver cuts.
Holding the graver like a chisel and pushing it
away from you leaves you without the control nec¬
essary to make designs of any intricacy and also
57. Engraved pearl inlay is an old
banjo tradition presents the danger of slipping. A study of old
banjo pearl engraving reveals that the men who did
this work were well versed in the traditional tech¬
niques of the wood engraver.
Incised lines can be blacked by wiping on black
lacquer. When the lacquer dries, the top surfaces
can be cleaned with a cloth moistened in lacquer
thinner. Blacking can also be done with the lamp¬
black and epoxy filler mixture used to fill crevices in
ebony. When it dries in the lines, the surfaces can
be cleaned with fine sandpaper.

50
 59. Soft soldering applique
design on standard tailpiece

Tailpiece and Arm Rest

It is not practical to make an adjustable tailpiece Company catalog item. A long section was cut out
since they are available cheaply, and the same holds of the top face, leaving a Tie" margin of metal all
true for arm rests. It is possible, however, to trans¬ around. This curved opening was filed smooth and
form these accessories into something more distinc¬ traced onto Vs" maple plywood. Four oversize strips
tive through the application of attractive metal over¬ of pearl were fitted over this tracing and glued in
lays incorporating pearl or abalone inlay. place with white glue. In this case the metal was
On the Sho-boat tailpiece, a standard adjustable thinner than the pearl and the pearl was filed and
model, I first cut a small square of fourteen-gauge sanded to the exact thickness of the metal border.
nickel silver into a pierced design. Pearl was fitted Filing is not possible after the inlay is glued in place
to the corner cutouts and a piece of abalone fitted to without removing the plating. The cutout portion
the center cutout. When all the inlay pieces were was traced down on the pearl assembly and the
precisely fitted, the pierced metal applique was soft- shape cut out with a jeweler's saw.
soldered to the tailpiece cover. The heat generated A piece of fourteen-gauge nickel silver was cut
in soft-soldering will not damage the tailpiece. The out to the shape of the top face of the arm rest. After
cooled piece was scrubbed with hot water to clean making sure the edge contour matched the arm rest,
off dried flux, and the inlay pieces were glued in the piece was soft-soldered to the underside of the
place with epoxy. The nickel silver applique was top face. The pearl was soaked off the plywood with
filed down flush with the inlay and the entire cover hot water and reassembled in the cavity. When the
buffed with a felt wheel charged with tripoli. Filing pieces were exactly fitted to the cavity, they were
and polishing must be done carefully to avoid re¬ glued in place with epoxy.
moving the plating, which would mean replating. In this form of applique decoration, the inlay
Nickel and chrome plating are surprisingly durable must be a tight fit because there is no attractive way
and it takes a fair amount of polishing to go through of filling a gap between pearl and metal. Interesting
the plating. variations are possible using ebony or ivory inlay.
The arm rest I used is a Stewart-MacDonald Brass can also be used for inlaying on nickel silver.

51
 61. Neck lag bolts
secure neck to shell

60. Burl head

facing, cloudy-
calf head, and
engraved inlay Assembly and Tuning Pegs
give old time
look

Put together the complete body assembly (minus

flange, resonator, tailpiece, or arm rest) and screw
the head down to playing tension. Make sure the
tension hoop is level all around the rim. Position
the neck against the back of the shell so that the
fretboard face is level with the bottom of the string
clearance cutout in the tension hoop. Mark where
the bottom of the flesh hoop falls, on the side of the
neck. Mark a horizontal line across the front end of
the neck Vs" below the flesh hoop mark. Chisel out
and smooth the large recess above the line that pro¬
vides clearance for the flesh hoop and tension hoop.
Curve this recess to conform to the curve of the ten¬
sion hoop and hollow out the end face of the neck to
conform to the curve of the shell. Use files, round
scraper blade, and sandpaper to get this curve right.
When it sets flush against the shell without rocking
and with adequate clearance for hoop movement, it
is ready for joining to the shell.
Stand the body on edge with the bottom por¬
tion of the shell resting on the workbench. Stand
the neck upright in position on the shell exactly cen¬
tered on the string clearance cutout. Reach a long-
pointed pencil through the neck bolt holes and mark

52
 62. Inlaid arm rest and
tailpiece accentuate custom appearance

the hole positions on the end face of the neck.

I use standard banjo neck bolts with lag bolt
thread on one end, 10/24 machine thread on the
other end and hex nut. Drill the holes in the neck a
size smaller than the lag bolt thread so that it will
screw in. Screwing in the bolt can be made easier by most all the way to the stop, I smeared a mixture of
threading on a hex nut and then threading on an¬ fine sawdust and Titebond in the hole and pressed
other so that it jams against the first nut. The bolt home the peg. Drill a small lead hole above the fifth
can then be screwed in with a ^/le" bracket wrench fret for the small roundhead screw that acts as a nut
on the top nut. If you are screwing into the center for the fifth string. Use a nonferrous screw.
joint of a glued-up neck, apply a clamp to the sides Attach the tailpiece and string up the banjo.
of the neck where you are screwing. Strike the harmonic at the twelfth fret to find the
With both bolts in place, fasten the neck to the position of the bridge. When the pitch of the
shell. Check the neck for alignment with a long fingered note at the twelfth fret coincides with the
straightedge. If it is off, a compensatory amount of harmonic, make a small pencil mark on the head
wood must be removed from one side of the front just in front of each foot. Adjust the string height, if
end. necessary, by switching to a lower or higher bridge
Remove the neck and drill the four Ts" holes for or by changing the angle slightly on the end face of
the tuning pegs. I use Five Star Planet tuning pegs the neck.
and companion fifth peg. These have a 4;1 gear ratio On the Sho-boat banjo I use a bridge made of
and adjustable spring tension. For the fifth peg, ivory. Ivory is rigid enough to dispense with a
which has a tapered end housing, I drilled a V4" hole center foot in the bridge, a feature I dislike, and I
and reamed it with a cut-down #2 Morse taper pin also wanted a longer bridge. From an acoustic
reamer. When the tapered housing could go in al¬ standpoint, I feel most banjo bridges are too short.

53
 63. Henry Potter & Co., London 1885
(Belgian Royal Army Museum)

Regimental Snare Drum

During Britain's golden age of empire, her soldiers possessions of the regiment and their loss by enemy
marched across distant battlefields to the percussive capture was counted a grave misfortune. Leather
rattle of a snare drum. Regimental drummers carried braces, drum slings, and, occasionally, ropes were
drums bearing the royal crest and battle honors into kept white with a tin of Blanco, a pipe clay and
the Crimea, Burma, India, South Africa, and the chalk compound. In off-hours, a drum served as a
Sudan. Besides being a colorful symbol of empire, convenient card table or desk for letter writing.
regimental drums offer a terse chronology of nine¬ Snare drums developed from the medieval
teenth-century British military history in the cam¬ tabor, a double-headed, rope-tensioned drum of
paign listings on their sides. varying size with a single snare on the batter head.
Drummers were young men trained to beat a Tabors were often played in combination with
brisk march tempo and double on bugle when nec¬ pipes, the tabor slung at the waist and struck with a
essary. They were esteemed for their mastery of the stick held in the right hand while the pipe was
drum roll, a sustained percussive effect whose qual¬ fingered with the left hand. The early existence of
ity of awesome foreboding is powerfully evoked in this pairing of drum with fife is recorded in the
Oscar Wilde's poem "The Ballad of Reading Gaol." Chronicles of the City of Basle for 1322. By the six¬
The drums themselves were important sentimental teenth century, the snare drum had emerged as a

54
military instrument associated with the infantry and
the fife.
Early drum shells were made of oak, beech, or
ash, but by the mid-nineteenth century military
snare drums were being made of brass. An histori¬
cally important manufacturer and supplier of drums
to the British army has been Henry Potter & Com¬
pany in Aldershot, a major center of army activity in
England. Potter's has been in existence since 1742
and is still making drums. My own researches into
the snare drum have focused mainly on a large col¬
lection of nineteenth-century Potter drums at the
Belgian Royal Army Museum in Brussels and a
number of earlier drums at the National Army Mu¬
seum in London.

64. Foot guard regiment side drum,

no snare, wooden shell with tacked pattern,
c. 1815 {National Army Museum, London)

Regulation guard pattern drum:

Brass shell: 15^k" x ll'^ti"
Hoops: 14^k" X l^k" X ^k", ten holes
Snare: Six strand gut
Note: A set of counter and flesh hoops for this drum uses
about 22 sq. ft. of veneer for lamination.

65. H. Potter & Co., c. 1910. Tab

braces reversed, normally face left.
(Belgian Royal Army Museum)

55
 smaller than the inside diameter of the hoops. Mul¬
Metal Shell Construction tiply the shell diameter by 3.141 (tt) to find the
length of flat sheet required. Add one inch to this
Sheet brass is the best choice for snare drum con¬ length for a seam strip, which will be cut off. A
struction because it is easily soldered and painted I3V4" diameter shell requires a flat sheet 43^/i6" long
and will make an attractive drum without any sur¬ plus one inch for the seam strip, making a total of
face decoration. Copper is too soft, and aluminum is 44Vi6". Double-check this size by cutting a 43Vi6"
difficult to solder or braze and will not make as strip of veneer. Bend it into a butted circle and glue
good a drum. a shorter strip behind the joint to hold it together.
Half-hard twenty-one gauge (.029") brass is a Drop this circle inside the counter hoop to make
good thickness to work with and can be purchased sure that you have at least Vis" clearance. Too little
from a 10" roll. Half-hard twenty-gauge (.032") is clearance will constrict the free movement of the
heavier but is available from 6", 8", 10", or 12" rolls. skins over the shell rim; too much clearance makes a
These widths are also available in sheet with a min¬ sloppy drum with a tendency for the hoops to get
imum length of 8'. If you order by mail there is a tilted out of alignment.
good chance the brass will arrive in a roll. Cut off the one-inch seam strip from your sheet
A Vie" space must be left between hoop and of brass with a saw or shears. If you can get your
shell to allow for the skin thickness, which means supplier to chop off the seam strip, so much the bet¬
that the outside diameter of the shell will be Vs" ter. If you must saw or shear the metal, try to avoid
the kind of deformation that will require hammer¬
ing to straighten. Some waviness is unavoidable but
can usually be straightened by simple hand pres¬
sure. Hammering, unless you are expert, will leave
dents.
Roll the brass sheet into as tight a cylinder as
you can without making any sudden or sharp
bends, so that it will unroll to roughly the cylindri¬
cal shape it will assume. This will permit checking
the butt joint of the ends without fighting the ten¬
sion of the metal. File the two edges so that they
butt neatly together.
Cut off a Vs" strip from one end of the seam
strip to allow for the reinforcing rings that will
solder to the rims of the shell. With emery cloth
(medium grit) sand the back of the butted joint and
one side of the seam strip. Sand these soldering
areas shiny bright and avoid fingering them.
Face a V4" x 6" x 13" piece of plywood with a
sheet of Vs" asbestos. Roll the shell into a butted cyl¬
66. Jig for soft soldering inder and position it on the asbestos with the but¬
inside seam strip, clamping ted joint centered on the board. Put a few drops of
board faced with asbestos. flux on the back of the seam strip and position it
over the butted shell joint. Clamp it in place with an
aluminum bar and two clamps (66).
Use a medium burner tip on your propane

56
67. Completed shell with painting begun around letters

57
 68. Author's copy of Belgian army
snare drum, c. 1890:
Brass shell: x 6%"
Hoops: IS^h" X x 'V32", fifteen holes
Snare: Double strand gut

torch and heat the seam strip to soldering tempera¬ identically sized piece off the second rod after you
ture with a brisk flame. Concentrate the flame over have bent it into a circle. Bend the ends of your cut¬
a four- or five-inch section of the seam joint. When off rod past each other so that they can be sprung
the solder begins to melt, draw it along the joint into a butt joint. Before applying flux be sure that
until it is sealed. The heated seam strip and capil¬ both ends are in tight contact over their entire sur¬
lary action will draw the melted solder into the joint face. If you prop the ring on some charcoal blocks
and throughout the seam strip area. Soldering will (jeweler's item), you can use small tacks or nails to
go smoothly if all surfaces are absolutely clean and hold the joint together (26). Braze with a brass com¬
held in close contact by clamps. Heat the area to be position rod, the appropriate flux, and a large
soldered—not the solder—and remember that solder burner tip. Hard silver solder can also be used. A
cannot flow into a joint that has not been ade¬ large, brisk flame is necessary to bring the brass up
quately coated with flux. After the joint cools, re¬ to the high temperature necessary for brazing or
move the clamps and check the joint on both sides hard-soldering. The joint must be closed with a
of the shell. Wash off dried flux with a brush and high-temperature weld so that it will not spring
hot water. open when the ring is soldered into the shell.
Bend a W" x 48" brass rod into a circle the size File the finished joint into a smooth continuity
of the shell. When the rod conforms to the circle of with the rest of the ring. With emery cloth polish
the shell, clamp it to the inside of the shell just smooth the outer edge of the ring and the inner
under the rim. Use two more clamps to hold the edge of the shell rim where the ring will join. Press
ring in place while you mark the cutoff spot. Do this the ring into place with its top half protruding
with great care to ensure that the ring, after it is above the shell rim, and use four or five small
brazed together, will just fit the rim with gentle clamps to hold it in place. This rounded edge is im¬
forcing. portant as a support for the skin head, which is con¬
Remove the ring and saw through your mark. stantly moving under hoop pressure each time the
Save the cutoff piece. If you started with two brass ropes are tensioned. Apply flux to a six-inch section
rods exactly 48" in length, you can simply cut an and soft-solder the ring to the rim with a fine

58
burner tip. Work your way around the rim, skip¬ form of screw tensioning that required fresh adjust¬
ping the clamps, and being careful to maintain the ment each time the snare was used. Nineteenth-
same amount of ring protruding above the rim. Fi¬ century Belgian and Dutch drums often used a deco-
nally, remove the clamps and solder those missing ratively contoured housing (73). Tightening a wing
spots. Solder in the other ring in the same manner. nut raises the screw to which the gut snares are at¬
Wash off dried flux with a brush and hot water. tached. The screw itself cannot turn because its bot¬
The key to success in soldering the rings is a tom end is square and let into a square cutout.
press fit. If a ring is loose enough to fall to the bot¬ The jack on both the Belgian drum and the Fife
tom of the shell, it must be cut open and a small drum was made of sheet brass and V4" threaded
piece of rod brazed in place to give the needed fit. brass rod. It was assembled with hard solder and
Solder will not fill the gaps in a loose fit. If the poor soft-soldered in position on the shell. The snare
fit is a result of the ring not being round enough, studs were cut from sheet brass and rod, hard-sol¬
stand the ring up on a hard surface and hammer the dered together, and then filed to shape. A better
inside of the ring with a domed face hammer. Keep way to make a stud is to turn it on a lathe. Before
turning the ring and hammering until it is round. soft-soldering the jack or stud to the shell, its back
After both rings are in, file and sand with fine must be filed slightly concave to match the curve of
emery paper all edges around the shell rim that the shell.
might snag or abrade the skins. Drill a air hole
in the center of the shell right through the butted
joint. Air holes prevent acoustic "loading" of a
drum that would interfere with the proper vibration
of the heads. Holes vary in size from about for a
snare drum to or more for a bass drum. The hole
can be anywhere on the shell but is usually placed
behind or above the snare jack housing. Do not put
the hole where it is apt to be covered by the drum¬
mer's body.
The snare jack mechanism (also called snare
strainer) controls the tension of the snares against
the snare head, and its location on the shell is influ¬
enced by the character of the roping and the depth
of the shell. If the shell is 10" or 12" deep (about the
limit for a snare drum) the jack is normally located
in the lo*wer half of the shell close to the snare bed.
On shallow snare drums the jack is centered on the
shell. The snare stud is fastened in the same loca¬
tion on the opposite side of the shell. The jack itself
must be scaled to a size that will not bring it into
awkward proximity with the ropes; it must be clear
of the braces when they are at playing tension half¬
way down the side. Tenor drums have no snare and
the deeper a drum is, the farther down on the ropes
will be the position of playing tension for the
braces.
Modem snare drums employ a quick-action
snare-adjusting device but older dmms used some

59
 pcKitier dec:

$myt

Hoops and Snares 70. Drum parts

Counter hoops ride on the skin-wrapped flesh mately ^^/64") rope. Drill holes are canted to follow
hoops and are held firmly in place by the shell and the lie of the rope. Because of this angle, the drill
the roping through the hoops. When rope tension is holes are started slightly below the center of the
increased by pushing down the leather braces, the hoop. Holes are drilled at a vertical angle of 45 de¬
counter hoops press down the flesh hoops, thus grees and canting them sideways is unnecessary.
stretching taut the skins. Use a caul to protect against fracturing the inner
Counter and flesh hoops are laminations of face veneer when the drill exits. Twist a piece of
eleven strips of maple veneer of standard thickness #100 garnet paper into a small pointed shape and
(V28"). Ten strips glued into five cross-banded dou¬ use it in the manner of a countersink to round
ble strips plus one long-grain inner facing strip smooth the entrance and exit of each hole.
comprise the lamination of a hoop. (See Lamination The snare bed is cut out on opposite sides of
Procedure, page 17.) Final hoop thickness will be the snare hoop to permit running the snares across
about The two flesh hoops are cut from a the snare head. On the Belgian drum (68) the snare
counter hoop, which means three counter hoops bed is actually a half-moon-shaped hole cut into the
must be made for a drum. Three flesh hoops can ac¬ hoop. This design requires a deep collar on the
tually be cut from a counter hoop because they are snare head so that the snare action is not ob¬
^/j6" in height. If you make two drums you will only structed. This drum also has an odd number of rope
have to make two hoops for a third drum because holes (fifteen), which means one of the snare bed
you will have accumulated two flesh hoops. Cut la¬ cutouts falls where a hole should be. This problem
minating strips at least Vie" oversize to allow for was handled by the use of a hook-end bracket as a
final trimming. substitute for a hole.
Rope holes are spaced equidistantly in the rope Snares were traditionally gut and ranged in
hoops, drilled with a V32" drill for a 6 mm (approxi¬ number from two to eight strands, made by dou-

60
 72. Drum hoop release form uses two
pegs along each quadrant

71. Gut snares on Potter drum

bling a single strand back and forth. Gut is getting

scarce but is still used for stringing tennis rackets,
harps, 'cellos, and bass viols. A diameter of ap¬
pears to have been the standard. Modem snare
drums use snares made of nylon, wire, or wire-
covered silk. James Blades, the renowned English
percussionist, states in his fine book {Percussion In¬
struments and Their History) that "gut snares impart
a true military sound."
Warming gut in the sun or on a warm radiator
will soften it to a more workable pliancy. Make a
small loop in one end by whipping with thread or
fine wire to avoid a knot. Slip this loop over the
snare stud, pass the rest through the snare bed,
across the snare head, through the opposite snare
bed, loop over the snare jack hook, and back to the
snare stud via the same route. Wet the end of the
gut strand to soften it so that it can easily be knotted
to tie off the gut at the snare stud. At this point, the
snares should lie close enough to the snare head so
that a few turns on the jack screw will bring them
up to playing tension. Attaching the snares is the
last thing done after assembling the drum.

61
73. Snare jack housing and
outrigger hook on Belgian drum
 Drum Heads Calfskin heads are sold in two basic grades of
roughly three weights—light, medium, and heavy.
The best grades of calf heads are firm in texture, of
and Lapping uniform thickness, free of blemishes, and almost
white. Heads are also available in a less expensive
cloudy-calf grade processed with less finish and
closer to a natural rawhide condition. They bear
74. Worker cutting calf drum head pigmented areas showing vaguely the animal color
in skin loft at H. Band & Co., Ltd.
markings and traces of hair occasionally remain. I
use these skins because they are cheaper although
they sometimes pose more difficulty in mounting.
Skins are a major cost item in drum building.
A medium-weight skin is best for a snare drum
batter head that will see parade service. Snare heads
should be thinner than the batter head to give a
crisper, brighter sound.
Lapping—tucking the skins around the flesh
hoop—is one of those jobs where descriptive words
fall emphatically short of experience. Skins vary so
in their physical characteristics, depending on the
age of the animal, from what portion of the hide the
skin is cut, and how long the skin has been stored,
that a description can at best only serve as a general
guide.
A fourteen- or fifteen-inch overall diameter
flesh hoop of width x height requires a 2^/2"
margin all around, that is, a fourteen-inch flesh
hoop needs a nineteen-inch skin. This margin must
cover the wrapping of the flesh hoop, the collar, and
some shrinkage. Begin by cutting a cardboard circle
to whatever size your flesh hoop requires. Place this
pattern in the center of your skin and trace the con¬
tour with a soft pencil. Cut the skin head out with
sharp scissors or a single-edge razor blade. Soak the
head in a bathtub filled with enough cold water to
submerge the skin. Under no circumstance should
hot water be used because it will shrivel and distort
the skin beyond redemption. Soak the skin for
twelve to fifteen minutes.
A clean, nonabsorbent surface such as glass,
marble, Formica, or the like will make a good work¬
ing surface for lapping. Have handy two dozen
spring clothespins and a lapping tool which is noth¬
ing more than a metal strip with the end bent over.

62
75. Inverted saucer under center of skin helps control slack during lapping

A smooth round tablespoon handle will also do the side diameter of the hoop to check periodically that
job. the flesh hoop remains a true circle.
Remove the skin from the bath. If it does not When the edge is lapped, check to make sure
feel pliable enough to work with, soak for a few that all is snugly in place. A bit of judicious chivy¬
more minutes. When ready, remove the skin and ing and coaxing should smooth away wrinkles,
towel off the excess moisture. Lay it smooth side especially on the outer face of the flesh hoop, the
down on the work surface and let it dry for ten min¬ part that is mainly visible on the assembled drum.
utes. If you have soaked the skin for too long you Leave the clothespins on until the skin is suf¬
may have to wait a half hour. Before tucking the ficiently set to remove them safely, normally about a
skin, it must reach that optimal state of suppleness half hour. If the clothespins press too tightly or are
which will permit tucking without fighting the left on too long, they will glue the skin to the flesh
stiffness of the skin but must not be so supple that hoop at their point of contact, leaving a series of
the skin becomes doughy. When the skin becomes slightly darker spots. If this bothers you, you can
doughy, it is more liable to tear and stretch, and less avoid the problem by using larger metal spring
likely to result in a neat lapping. clamps that can be clamped to the top and bottom
Center the flesh hoop on the skin and tuck a surfaces of the flesh hoops where the spots are not
two-inch section. Get the lap right up to the inner noticeable. Skins contain glue and this helps secure
edge and snug against the flesh hoop. Apply a the skin to the wood flesh hoop.
clothespin to hold the tuck in place. Do the same Fill a small flannel square with powdered chalk
thing diametrically opposite this tuck. Continue or talc, draw the edges of the square together, and
tucking in this manner until all the edge is tucked. secure tightly with a rubber band to make a pounce
Avoid any stretching that might pull the hoop out of bag. Dust the inside edge of the flesh hoop where it
shape. Some professionals use a slat cut to the out¬ will make contact with the shell to keep the wet skin

63
from sticking to the shell. Place the hoop on the
shell and lap the other flesh hoop.
When the second hoop has been lapped and
has set enough to be placed on the shell, spread a
clean, dry towel on the table and invert the shell
with the head down on the towel. Dust the second
head and place it on the shell with a weighted board
on top. The weight will keep the hoops from pop¬
ping off if hoop warp is extreme. Leave in a cool,
dry place where drying can occur slowly. When
thoroughly dry, normally nine or ten hours, the
hoops will probably have warped somewhat.
Sponge both heads on both sides until they
come back into position. Place them back on the
shell, position the counter hoops and rope up the
drum. (See Drum Mounting, page 72). Tension the
drum sufficiently to pull the counter hoops down
below the rim of the shell. Tension one rope and
then the rope diametrically opposite to ensure that
the hoops remain level. Allow to dry thoroughly.
Release the tension and take as much slack out
of the rope as you can by surging the rope (feeding
it forward) from beginning to end. If you have drum
grips, they will assist in this operation. After all the
slack is out and the rope tied off, the drum is ready
to play. When not being played, rope-tensioned
drums—unlike rod-tensioned drums—are slacked
off to keep the rope from stretching.

64
 1
fV ^w ?

It.
Alto recorder built by
Arnold Dolmetsch Ltd.
Braces and Ropes
Leather braces (also called buffs, tugs, pulls, ears)
must be made strong enough to withstand severe
strain. Tab-type braces, such as those on the old
Potter drums, used a semisoft grade of leather rang¬
ing in thickness from Vs" to Vie" with a sueded nap
on both sides to take white polish. The white tab
braces on my Fife drum were purchased from Pot¬
ter's after many abortive attempts to bleach leather
white, a process seemingly beyond amateur possi¬
bility.
For the Belgian drum I used a saddle-grade
leather Vs" thick. On this kind of tapered sleeve
brace, the holes are made with an awl; tab brace
holes are cut with a leather punch. Lacing is done
with rawhide strips saved from the trimmings of
drum skins. The strips are soaked in cold water for
five minutes before lacing so that they will shrink
tight. No matter what brace you use, cut a thin
metal pattern of the blank shape so that all braces
will be cut uniformly.
The most desirable attribute a drum rope can
have is minimal stretch or elasticity. If the rope
stretches easily it will require a continual, laborious
retightening to remove all slack so that the braces
can do their job properly. In the past, ropes of four-,
five-, and seven-strand hemp were produced for
drum makers. The last Belgian cordier making
seven-strand drum rope closed shop in 1975. For the
77. Sleeve type leather brace cut with
Fife drum I used a fine grade of four-strand Italian
metal template, laced with calfskin
hemp rope, bought from Potter's. The standard rope trimmings and knotted off inside
diameter for snare drums is 6 mm and a guard-
pattern snare drum takes about thirty-five feet of
rope. This figure varies depending on the number of
hoop holes. Some varieties of synthetic rope sold by
yachting supplies dealers will work if they are not of
the glossy hard nylon type that affords a poor grip¬
ping surface for leather braces, and if stretching is
minimal.

65
o o

78. Template and knotless lacing pattern

for tab type braces using
wide calfskin (rawhide) lacing strip
Rope Slides

Metal rope slides are more decorative than utilitar¬ Clip off all but about %2" of the brad. Place the
ian on laminate hoops because cross-banded lami¬ pointed portion of the blank on the brad and firmly
nation makes rope grooving less likely than on a press the blank over the top of the hoop to fix the
hoop bent of solid wood. Slides do protect the paint two bends. Hold it in place and hammer it to con¬
and also add some dazzle that fits right in with the form to the curve of the hoop. Use a plastic-headed
flamboyant character of the regimental snare drum. hammer with a slightly domed face to avoid mark¬
Trace the pattern in Fig. 79 and transfer the ing the blank. Remove the slide and place it top
drawing to a sheet of twenty-six-gauge (.016") brass. down on a thick piece of leather. Hammer two ball¬
Cut out as many blanks as you need with jeweler's shaped depressions in the flat section of the slide
snips or a good pair of scissors. Drill the two holes with a dapping punch that has a V4" ball. If you
in each blank and file smooth the blank contour. grind a rounded end onto a piece of metal rod or
The counter hoop made to be cut up into flesh bolt, it will do the same job. One hammer blow is
hoops is used as a jig for shaping the slides. enough for each depression and this will distort the
Clamp the hoop flat on the workbench with one blank somewhat. Put it back on the hoop and ham¬
edge protruding a few inches out from the bench. mer it back into conformity. The dip between the
Clamp by laying a board across the hoop parallel to two brass blisters can be accentuated by laying a
the bench edge and clamp on both ends. The hoop round bar across the valley between them and giv¬
must be immobilized with clear access to about a ing it a tap. Polish on a buffing wheel with rouge.
six-inch portion of the hoop. Before installing the slides, make sure they are
Drive a small brad into the center of the hoop positioned correctly along the lie of the rope. Affix
section standing clear. Position the brad ^/s" from with two small brads after making guide holes with
the top edge and hammer it in angled downwards. a brad awl.

79. Pattern for rope slides and raising

two bumps with ball end dapping tool
over leather pad
 Decoration
Counter hoops can be left natural, or can be stained
or painted. Traditional designs for British military
drums used heraldic devices with regimental colors
used on the shell, hoop borders, and wavy stripe
called the worm. European drums also employed
heraldic designs but hoop design favored triangles
and stripes. Nineteenth-century American drums
used Federal motifs showing eagles and shields
while hoops were left unadorned or painted a solid
color. Late nineteenth-century drums occasionally
display hoops bearing repeat black filigree patterns
on the natural wood.
80. Cadet size snare drum {author's design On the Belgian drum I gilded the alternating
and construction): silver and gold triangles on a dark blue ground. The
Brass shell: IS^h" x 10" hoops were first coated with a flat white prime-
Hoops: 14^k" X l®/i6" X ten holes sealer. Primers can be tinted to match the top coat
Snare: Six strand gut but a white undercoat improves the luminosity of
primary colors. Two coats of blue polyurethane
paint bought from a boat supply shop were then
applied. This finish was smoothed with a light
sanding, and two coats of clear polyurethane var¬
nish were applied. When thoroughly dry, the sur¬
face was carefully smoothed with #600 grit wet-or-
dry paper.
The triangles were laid out on the hoops with
dividers, their pointed legs pressed in to leave
marks. Lines connecting the marks were drawn
with a sharp pencil to define the triangles. A clear
bronzing liquid, books of aluminum and gold leaf,
and a gilder's tip were bought at an art supply shop.

68
 81. Gilding equipment: Book of gold leaf,
gilder's tip, and soft haired
brush for pressing down leaf
and sweeping off surplus.

Leaf is also available in a cheaper false gold. I prefer

leaf to paint because of its metallic brilliance and
smoothness, qualities that cannot be had with me¬
tallic paints.
The bronzing liquid was carefully painted in
the triangles with a small artist's brush, and left for
forty-five minutes to acquire the proper degree of
tack. Working from the back of the book, each leaf
was sliced with a single-edge razor and lifted onto
the sized area with the gilder's tip. The tip is first
brushed over one's face to pick up a trace of skin oil
so the leaf will cling to the tip. Gilders sometimes
massage a tiny dab of Vaseline into their inner left
wrist to help matters. The leaf is delicately pressed
down into the size with a soft-haired varnish brush,
also used to sweep away surplus bits of leaf.
Gilding must be done in a room free of air cur¬
rents that might flutter the leaf into an unmanage¬
able jumble. It can be an exasperating process until
you get the knack but is an important technique for
decorative use.
Tack time varies for bronzing liquids, and the
manufacturer's directions should be followed. The
final gilding of the hoops was given twenty-four
hours to dry thoroughly and the surface was then
lightly polished with a clean piece of cotton flannel.
A finish coat of clear polyurethane varnish was ap¬
plied.
For the Fife drum shell, I cut letters out of four¬
teen-gauge brass sheet with a jeweler's saw. They

69
82. Letters cut from 24 gauge sheet brass with jeweler's saw

were bent to conform to shell curvature and held in

place for soft-soldering with a folded metal prop
83. Soldering jig for holding letters
tight against shell wedged under a wire stretched around the shell wall
(83).
The positions for the ^he" diameter stainless
steel balls were laid out on the shell and each place
was marked with a small depression made by a sin¬
gle hammer blow on a ball-end dapping tool. Ham¬
mering was done with the shell supported on a
rounded two-by-four clamped to the workbench.
Without support you risk deforming a large area
while making a small dot. The dot is just to keep the
balls from rolling off while being soldered. Cut soft
silver soldering wire into small pieces and set a
piece next to the ball with tweezers. Drop some flux
on the soldering area and heat the ball with a fine
burner tip. If the solder does not flow into the joint
under the ball, it can only be because the joint was
not thoroughly cleansed with fine emery paper. The
ball, too, must be clean at the soldering juncture to
make a solid joint.
The shell itself was then sanded with emery
paper and then scrubbed in a tub of hot water and
detergent to clean off all soil, traces of dried flux,
and fingerprints. All the soldering joints were then
carefully checked to make sure they were securely

70
 84. Repousse brass shell (tenor drum)
using flat strip reinforcing
around edges
(National Army Museum, London)

soldered. The surface was primed with a matte red

primer over which were painted two coats of red
enamel; the paints were formulated for use on
metal. When thoroughly dry, rough spots were
smoothed away with water and #400 grit wet-or-
dry sandpaper. A week later 1 applied a clear coat of
polyurethane varnish over the entire face of the
shell, letters and balls included.
Repousse, the raising of embossed designs on a
metal surface, is an ancient technique that has often
been used on drums in the past. A design is traced
in reverse on the inside of the joined shell. The
outline is then hammered into relief with a chasing
tool. Sculptural effects are achieved by hammering
out the design from the inside of the shell with the
shell resting on a thick piece of leather or fastened
to a bed of chaser's pitch. As work progresses, ham¬
mered areas must be occasionally annealed to soften
them as they become work hardened. A complete 85. American militia artillery snare
drum, 1815. Red painted shell and
description of repousse technique appears in Metal
hoops with multi-color decoration
Techniques for Craftsmen by Oppi Untracht. (Guthman Collection)

71
 Drum Mounting
Drum assembly is greatly facilitated by the use of
drum grips—rods that grip both hoops and exert
enough clamping pressure to immobilize the hoops
while they are being roped. Three are normally used
for mounting a drum. I use three heavy rubber rings
with padded S-hooks as makeshift grips and they
do a fair job of holding the hoops in place. They are
stretched very tight when applied, which means an¬
other person's help is required to get them on.
Begin by splicing a small loop in one end of the
rope. A loop can also be made by whipping the end
to the rope with heavy-duty thread. Whip the other
end and dip it in white glue or shellac to prevent
the tip from fraying.
When all the holes are roped, pull out as much
slack as possible and tie off at the beginning loop.
With the braces up against the top flesh hoop, surge
the line again from beginning to end to remove any
remaining slack. Additional tension can be gained
by working the rope through the bottom of the rop¬
ing all around the shell.
Roping can be finished off decoratively by
knotting surplus rope in the style of a drag rope.
86. Drum grip made from rubber pulley
belt, hooks covered with plastic This is simply a slip knot with a loop repeatedly
tubing to protect hoop finish brought through a loop. Drag ropes were originally
used as a sling to enable the drummer to carry his
drum on his back. Gradually, they have evolved
into a purely decorative device popular with all
drum corps.

72
 87. Three grips anchor hoops
while roping

88. Traditional metal

rod grips, jaws
lined with felt
or rubber

89. Drag line is a

continuous series
of slip knots

//J
 90. Tambourine shell ready for
installation of posts and hammered jingles

Tambourine
Known among diverse cultures in many parts of the Middle Eastern music and during the eighteenth
world, the tambourine is one of the oldest percus¬ century they were introduced into what became
sive instruments and has come down to us in its known as the janissary section of English military
original form; it looks today as it appears in ancient bands. Late in that century the tambourine achieved
relief carvings and paintings. Essentially a shallow- a vogue in England as a genteel diversion for well-
frame drum, it consists of a wooden shell with sin¬ bred ladies, who danced as they played. Tambou¬
gle skin head glued or nailed on. The shell is slotted rines were also used as accompaniment for the
to hold small pairs of metal discs called jingles that piano and much music was published around 1800
vibrate when the head is struck or the tambourine for tambourine and piano duo employing sophis¬
shaken. ticated notation for tambourine consistent with
Traveling minstrel shows popularized the tam¬ highly refined playing techniques. Novel percussive
bourine during the late nineteenth century, and it and rhythmic techniques included flumps, travales,
became a familiar fixture of Salvation Army street jingles, bass, and turn.
bands, doing double duty as rhythmic accompani¬ Despite evidence of virtuoso tambourine skills,
ment and collection box. The flashing motion, me¬ the tambourine faded away as a parlor fad, leaving
tallic rustle, and percussive thump of tambourines no discernible impress on the serious music es¬
have a tantalizing, crowd-rousing effect that has tablishment. Not until the late nineteenth century
made them an important part of religious revival did the tambourine emerge as a special effects in¬
and gospel music in America. strument in the symphony orchestra.
Tambourines are a traditional instrument in

74
 91. Tambourine shell
with finished cutouts and
interior hand grip

Tambourine Shells is V-k" with jingles of Vis” diameter.

Prepare a shell. (See Laminate Shells and
Hoops, page 13.) Make a sketch of the side view of
Tambourine shells are normally between ten and the shell including two slot groupings plus what¬
eleven inches in diameter and contain six double ever design you wish to use. Find the slot spacing
slots holding twelve pairs of jingles. Modem shells by dividing the circumference by seven. Mark this
often have the slots staggered, but I prefer the tradi¬ dimension on the edge of a piece of paper and lay it
tional tandem arrangement because of the larger on the shell. Mark off seven spaces, the eighth line,
area left for decoration between slot groupings. hopefully, falling right on your first one. Pencil
The shell should be made of nine laminations, these lines across the face of the shell with a try
which is strong enough to withstand the pounding square. Each line represents the center of a slot
that tambourines receive and considerably stronger grouping except for one, which is left intact for a
than commercially made tambourines. Shell depth hand hold.

76
 Carefully pencil in all the slots, leaving a sep¬ center of the V4" thickness so that the cutting of the
arating strip between slots of not less than inside contour of the shell freed two Vs" strips.
thickness. Numerous slot possibilities exist, the Each strip was glued to the edge with epoxy
simplest being to drill a hole the size of the slot at and clamped overnight. Strips are fitted together
each end and saw out the waste piece with an ad¬ with an oblique joint to provide a larger gluing sur¬
justable coping saw. The slot length should be 2V4", face and the last piece is cut to gently wedge in
longer if the ends are oval; enough room must be place (93). Four strips were required to line the
allowed to permit free rattling of the jingles. The edge. The edges were finished flush with the shell
depth of the slot should be twice the central using file, scraper blade, and sandpaper. On shells
thickness of a pair of jingles and not less than ^/le". that have an edge lining, the shell depth is sized to
Cut out oval-ended or other unusual slot shapes include the lining in the 2V4" depth.
by drilling a small hole in each slot to accept the On the rosewood-faced shell I incorporated a
blade of an adjustable coping saw. I found that the decorative white line to separate the dark ebony lin¬
best way of sawing slots was to clamp the shell flat ing from the dark rosewood shell. This was done by
on the workbench with the sawing area jutting out simply gluing a layer of maple veneer to each side of
from the edge. Clamp by positioning a board across the ebony board before cutting out the lining.
the top of the shell, clamped to the workbench at Tambourines usually have a thumb hole in the
each end. This arrangement holds the shell rigid shell, but most players wrap their hand around the
while sawing is done with the saw blade positioned shell with their middle finger through the hole from
horizontally, the frame standing upright. If you are the inside. A more practical kind of grip is a small
using the large-hole-on-each-end arrangement, shelf glued to the inner face of the shell. This shelf
clamp a wooden caul under the hole to be drilled to provides a comfortable hand grip with the thumb
prevent fracturing the inner face veneer as the drill around the outside resting on the top edge. I have
exits. experimented with various positions for the shelf
I like to line the bottom edge of a shell with and a central placement seems the most natural one,
ebony or other hard material—rosewood, ivory, but my hand is large and the shelf might be made
plastic are all possibilities. A lining offers protection more convenient for a smaller hand by shifting it
and decoration and should be added before cutting toward the bottom or making it smaller.
the slots. It can be omitted. Trace the inner contour of the shell on a
The ebony lining was cut from a discarded gui¬ V4" X IV4" X 5" piece of ebony, maple, or other hard¬
tar fretboard. First the board was smoothed on both wood and saw out the shelf. Tape or rubber-cement
sides with a scraper blade. The inner and outer shell a piece of medium-grit sandpaper to the inner face
contour was then traced onto the ebony. The out¬ of the shell and rub the gluing edge of the shelf back
side contour was cut out and the board was clamped and forth until it makes a tight joint with the curved
in a vise. A hacksaw was used to cut through the surface. Glue with epoxy and clamp overnight.

77
92. Shell using brass brads as design element

93. Edge lining of

ebony and maple veneer
sandwich, each
piece cut to wedge
into gluing position
 94. Slightly dome faced hammer locked in
vise serves as anvil for hammering jingles

Jingles
Tambourine jingles can be worked to emit sounds available only in a hard grade, 1 softened it by an¬
ranging from a bright, bell-like jingling to the dark, nealing.
rustling sound favored by many professional per¬ Brass, the most important of the copper alloys,
cussionists. The hardness, thickness, and density of consists basically of various proportions of copper
the metal used plus the shape of the jingle are all and zinc, the standard for yellow brass being about
important factors in determining the quality of the 65% copper to 35% zinc. Nickel silver, known also
sound. Thicker jingles, such as the cast-bronze jin¬ as German silver or new silver, is an alloy of copper,
gles used in the Middle East, tend toward a bell zinc, nickel, and a trace of manganese. There is no
tone. Thinner jingles are lower in pitch but harden¬ silver in it and formulations are designated by their
ing a jingle through hammering raises its pitch and percentage of nickel content, such as the 18% nickel
will take it progressively from a dull sound to a silver 1 used for my jingles. Phosphorus bronze is a
jingling tone as doming occurs. copper and tin alloy with a small amount of phos¬
1 have experimented with three alloys in mak¬ phorus added. It is a tough, resilient metal with su¬
ing jingles—brass, nickel silver, and phosphorus perior resistance to corrosion, slightly heavier than
bronze. All were purchased in twenty-two-gauge nickel silver. Nickel silver also has high tarnish re¬
(.025") cut from rolls. Since all had to be hammered, sistance and is more dense than brass, which does
it made sense to start off with a soft or medium- tarnish.
hard metal. Where the gauge metal 1 wanted was I chose these metals because of their different

79
compositions and densities and the interesting color with a rim or one that is convex from edge to edge.
range they offer—brass, silver, and copper. The flat Jingles that are too hard to hammer must be an¬
discs were cut from the sheet with a circle cutter in a nealed. Place them on a charcoal block and heat
drill press. The radius was set at to cut blanks them with a brisk flame from a medium-size burner
of Vis" diameter, a good size for a ten-inch shell. Set tip for about ten seconds. They do not have to get
the center drill in the cutter at a level where it makes red hot to be annealed; a brief amount of heating
a hole before the cutter makes contact. Clamp the will soften them to the point where they can be eas¬
metal to a board so that it is immobilized close to ily domed. Use a round-faced hammer to punch in
the circle being cut. After each disc is cut, unclamp, the jingles on the doming block. I use the same
move the metal along and clamp again. Discs can hammer locked in a vise as an anvil for hammering
also be cut out with tin snips or a jeweler's saw, but the jingles to the right degree of hardness. Hammer¬
this takes much longer to do. ing is done best with a jeweler's chasing hammer
Jingles are domed by carving a shallow depres¬ but any slightly domed hammer will do.
sion in a hardwood block. The center of the depres¬ As doming and hammering progress, slip the
sion need not be more than Vs" deep. A small brad jingles onto a loose-fitting metal spindle or nail and
nailed into the center of the depression will center listen to their sound by striking them and rattling
the jingle for hammering. The width of the depres¬ pairs. In this way, you can decide which sound you
sion depends on whether you want a hatlike jingle like best.
On all the jingles, I beveled both sides of the
edge with a flat file. This lowers the pitch even
though the bevel is only about V32" wide. I beveled
95. Cutting jingles with circle cutter the brass jingles to a greater degree, introducing a
in drill press gradual taper from about V4" in from the edge. This
gave the tone a cymballike quality with a slower
decay. Everything I did—hammering just around
the hole, hammering just the edge area, hammering
to a greater or lesser degree of hardness—affected
the tone in some way. No attempt was made to tune
the jingles—a poor idea, I think—or to smooth out
the rough patina of hammering, an attractive hall¬
mark of a handmade jingle.
Of the three tambourines, the hat-shaped
nickel-silver jingles gave the tone I liked best. The
convexly domed phosphorus-bronze jingles pro¬
duced a darker, more clattering sound and the brass
jingles—convex with a slight flattening of the
edge—had a more shimmering, sibilant sound.

80
Installing Posts surplus of Vs" on each end. Dab some epoxy into the
holes at the bottom of the lower slots. Push the
posts in, threading on the jingles in each slot. Use a
and Jingles piece of Vs" brass rod in the top hole to ram down
the posts when they get below the rim. Make sure
the posts are all seated in the bottom holes.
From the top edge drill a Vs" hole down through the Buy some Vs" hardwood doweling and cut off
center of each slot grouping. Drill Vs" past the bot¬ slightly oversize pieces to fill the post holes. Daub
tom edge of the lower slots. This job can be done ac¬ some epoxy on each dowel before inserting them.
curately and quickly on a drill press or a good porta¬ Tap them in as far as they will go with a small ham¬
ble drill mounted in a vertical drill stand. mer. Leave overnight to dry and then saw off the
Cut as many Vs" diameter brass posts as you protruding dowels and file them flush. Posts in¬
need to a size that is V4" longer than the total height stalled in this manner have a good chance of staying
of a slot grouping. This should give you a buried in place until the tambourine falls apart.

96.' Dowels gluing in post holes

Installing Head
A ten-inch tambourine shell needs a skin 3" larger, trimmed head.
giving a margin of 1^/2" all around. Goatskin heads In the Middle East, tambourine skins are often
are sometimes used but calfskin is standard on good glued without tacking. In the West, unless the tam¬
tambourines. bourine is rod-tensioned, heads are normally fas¬
Tambourines are traditionally prey to two basic tened with tacks. And on well-made tambourines
ills—the posts working loose from the shell and the they are both glued and tacked. 1 have worked out
skin coming loose. A loose skin has to be replaced two basic methods for installing heads.
because there is not enough skin to work with on a Begin by wrapping a strip of V2" plastic tape

81
97. Leather lined tacking support and tacked shell

around the shell below the top edge. Keep it ally stretching it, and drive in a second tack. Use a
parallel to the rim by using a V2" strip of cardboard tack with a large head that will bite the skin and
as a gauge. If there is any finish in this gluing area, hold it without cutting into it. Move around the
scrape it off down to the bare wood with a single¬ rim, alternating opposite sides and keeping the skin
edge razor blade or sandpaper. Also scrape bare the taut. Use at least fourteen tacks for a ten-inch tam¬
top edge. bourine.
Prepare a tacking support (97) and have handy Pull the rubber bands over the tacked edge
six 4" rubber bands at least ^/4" wide. Also prepare to press the skin into good contact with the glue-
two discs slightly larger than your shell. Use coated surface. Smooth out wrinkles in the side.
plywood or pressed wood. Accuracy in cutting out Place the clamping ring on top of the shell, rub¬
the discs is unimportant. On one of the discs, draw ber face down. Position the solid disc under the
a circle in from the edge. Cut out on this line shell and apply at least six clamps (98). Leave over¬
and glue a thin facing of rubber on one side of this night under pressure. The next day, remove the
ring. clamps and rubber bands and slice off the surplus
Submerge the skin in cold water—never hot— skin. Use a razor blade or very sharp knife and fol¬
for five minutes. Remove the skin and towel off sur¬ low the ridge of the plastic tape underneath the
plus moisture. Skins can be mounted smooth side skin. Save all skin scraps.
up or rough side up, the latter preferred by percus¬ Clip off the protruding ends of the tacks inside
sionists because the roughness helps the thumb roll. the shell with an end-cutting nipper. File away any
Brush liquid hide glue on the top edge and the vestige of the tacks with a pad-end riffler file. Leave
scraped side area of the shell. Place the shell on the nothing that might snag fingers.
hammering support, center the skin, and drive in a An alternate method I have experimented with
tack V4" from the top edge. Move to the diametri¬ relies heavily on a strong glue joint.
cally opposite side, pull the skin taut without actu¬ Apply the tape and scrape off any finish as be-

82
 sary—tied right up against the inside shell. After
they shrink tight and hard, clip off the ends.
The advantage of the clamping-with-discs sys¬
tem is that the side area and the top become two
separate zones of shrinkage, and gluing the top
edge becomes a practical possibility. Without the
tightly clamped ring, head shrinkage would draw
the glue line away from the edge toward the center;
the continual movement of the skin while shrinking
would render that glue joint ineffectual. This overall
shrinkage would also draw up the side skin area
much more than it does with the clamp arrange¬
ment. Movement of the side skin area can be further
controlled by coating this area with varnish after the
skin has thoroughly dried.

98. Gluing jig to ensure effective glue joint

between skin and rim

99. Slicing away surplus skin with razor blade

fore. Drill fourteen pairs of Vie" holes spaced V4"

apart and V4" below the rim. Soak the skin and
apply glue to the gluing area on the shell as before.
Place the shell on a flat surface and center the skin
on the shell. Put on a rubber band and pull the skin
taut. Put on the other rubber bands, keeping the
head taut. Apply the discs top and bottom and
clamp as before. Dry overnight or a minimum of ten
hours in a cool dry place.
Remove the clamps and rubber bands and trim
off the surplus skin. Using a sharp-pointed awl,
carefully poke through each of the drilled holes.
Puncture the skin and twist the awl as it goes into
the hole. Make the skin hole the same size as the
drilled hole by twisting the awl and not by ramming
it in and out. Withdraw it carefully so that it does
not pull the skin hard enough to break the glue
joint.
Cut fourteen strips of lacing from the surplus
skin, each one measuring 3" long and wide in
the middle. Taper the ends to a point. Soak them in
cold water for five minutes and towel them off.
Thread them through each pair of holes and make
one overhand knot—a full square knot is unneces¬

83
 100. Ten inch rosewood
veneered shell, twenty
phosphorus bronze jingles

Decoration tracing paper, the back blacked with a soft pencil,

and then taped in position on the shell. After the
designs were traced onto the shell with a sharp pen¬
Tambourines can be attractively decorated with de¬ cil, they were painted in with an artist's #1 sable
signs applied with paints, inks, metallic leaf, inlay, brush and waterproof India ink. Each round dot in
and small brads. I have avoided the overall use of the design marked the place for a roundhead brass
painted backgrounds, preferring the chip-free safety brad.
of colored stains. Paint poses a problem especially A short length of two-by-four was clamped to
where slot edges come in contact with jingles. De¬ the workbench with four inches protruding over the
sign elements can be painted on the shell surface edge. This end was rounded with a rasp file to
without fear of chipping or rubbing off if two or match the inner contour of the shell. Starter holes
three finish coats of clear polyurethane varnish are were made with a sharp-pointed awl, each brad was
used to seal the designs. held in pace with a tweezer and hammered in. All
On one tambourine (92) I used a design painted hammering was done with the shell positioned on
on the natural surface with India ink. Certain ele¬ the two-by-four support. Protruding ends of the
ments in the design are accentuated by the use of brads inside the shell were clipped off and filed
small brass brads, which lend bright textural inter¬ flush with a pad-end riffler, leaving no rough edges
est to the black design. to snag fingers.
The shell was first smoothed with fine garnet Interesting variations of this style of decoration
paper, and a wash coat of shellac (1 part white shel¬ can be achieved by using colored inks, or making a
lac to 5 parts alcohol) was applied to the entire shell design entirely of brads on a dark-stained back¬
except the ebony hand grip; a smooth piece of ground. Mask off the top of the shell with mask¬
ebony has a nice feel that is lost by coating it with a ing tape, and coat all designs with two, preferably
finish. Unless the shell itself is wash coated, India three, coats of clear polyurethane varnish. Apply
ink will fuzz or bleed into the wood grain. light, even coats carefully brushed on to avoid runs
The design was carefully drawn on a piece of or drips. On designs using brads, it is best not to do

84
any final polishing. If the varnish is polished off the The design was transferred with tracing paper,
brads, they will tarnish. the top V2" of the shell masked off, and two coats of
On the tambourine with the speckled-stain fin¬ clear polyurethane varnish applied. The design was
ish I inlaid 3 mm pearl dots spaced apart in the clearly visible through the varnish, which was
bottom ebony lining. Same-size holes were drilled lightly smoothed with #600 wet-or-dry paper to
and the dots set in with epoxy. They were set in prepare the surface for gilding. Gold and aluminum
protruding slightly above the surface and were filed leaf were applied to the design using the same
flush afterwards. method as on the drum hoops. (See page 68.) After
The entire shell was sanded very smooth with gilding was completed, three more coats of varnish
fine garnet paper. The shell was tinted with a pale were applied and rubbed to a soft sheen with a felt
green alcohol stain applied with a clean rag, and pad, fine pumice, and mineral oil. Three days of
then spattered with a small random pattern of black drying time was allowed before rubbing. A higher
speckles. A discarded toothbrush was dipped in finish can be obtained by polishing with Duco #7
India ink and sprayed on the shell by rubbing a Auto Polishing liquid briskly rubbed on with a felt
thumb over the bristles. pad and buffed clean with a flannel cloth.

101. Left: Ten inch maple shell, twenty-four brass jingles

Right: Ten and a half inch maple shell, twenty-four nickel-
silver jingles
 Appalachian
Dulcimer
Fretted zithers comprise a large group of in¬
struments that have appeared in many countries in
slightly varying form. These include the Swedish
humle, the French epinette des Vosges, the English
hammered dulcimer, the Norwegian langeleik, the
Dutch hommel, and the German scheitholt. All are
characterized by an elongated sound box with
pierced sound holes, frets, the use of drone strings,
and a manner of playing in which the instrument
lies flat on a table or in one's lap.
The Appalachian dulcimer evolved from this
family of instruments although, like most folk in¬
struments, its precise origin is obscure. Settlers in
the Appalachian mountain regions came from En¬
gland and northern Europe, and the dulcimers they
played were probably homespun versions of similar
instruments remembered from distant homelands.
Currently, the dulcimer is enjoying a lively re¬
naissance with much popular interest in its history,
music, and construction. Much of this has to do
with its simple charm and ease of playing, but the
dulcimer more than any other instrument wears an
aura of nostalgia, a wistful echo of some legendary
time when graciousness, sentiment, and repose
gave a more secure sense of one's place in the
scheme of things.
Dulcimers come in different shapes. The design
I have chosen is a typical example but uses a hollow
fretboard assembly instead of one with a solid base
because it sounds better. This design, with some
minor modifications, is based on a full-size blue¬
102. Typical dulcimer shape, sitka spruce top, print available from Scott Antes (Suppliers, page
birdseye maple sides and back 159).

86
103. Plan of
dulcimer construction
(3 V4'' squares)

87
 sert saw blade, and cut to shape. Smooth all con¬
Construction tours with file and sandpaper.
Draw a center line down the back and trace the
All the dulcimer parts are cut to shape before as¬ half pattern in place. Reverse the pattern and trace
sembly, which occurs in five basic steps: (1) Back the other half to complete the outline of the back.
cut to shape with braces and end blocks glued in; Draw in the tab extensions, to which the end plate
(2) Fretboard assembly with soundboard glued on; and peg box are glued, and cut out the back. Mark
(3) Sides glued to back with peg head glued in the positions of the cross braces and draw a line V16"
place; (4) Fretboard/soundboard assembly glued to (or Vs") inside the contoured edge. This line denotes
box; (5) End plate, nut and bridge, and tuning pegs the exterior face of the sides and serves as a guide
installed. for gluing on the sides. Cut the three cross braces,
Begin by thinning both halves of the top to Vs" allowing for the thickness of the sides. Glue them in
and the back and sides to V32". (See materials list, p. place with Titebond, keeping a watchful eye for any
95.) Use a smoothing plane or hand scraper for pre¬ shift when clamping. After they are glued tight,
liminary removal of wood and finish down to chisel out the scooped ends of the braces. Round the
thickness with a broad scraper blade and sanding top edges of the braces with a small block plane and
block. Draw the contour and heart cutouts in place sandpaper.
on one half of the soundboard. Leave an excess Saw or file out the concave portion of the ten¬
margin of Vie" on the contoured edge. If you plan on oned foot section of the fretboard channel or base
a slight overhang, leave an excess margin of ^/s". and glue on the two long side walls. Cut the fret¬
Dulcimers are made both ways, the choice being a board to size, allowing for a slight overhang where
matter of personal preference. This half cutout is the the concave section meets the lower end of the fret¬
basic pattern used to make the back and both halves board. Smooth both sides of the fretboard level and
of the top. Cut out the shape with a jigsaw or ad¬ clamp it to the edge of the workbench. Mark off the
justable coping saw. Drill a hole in each heart, in¬ fret slots with a try square. Saw the fret slots with

104. Full size plan of peg box

88
 105. Dulcimer parts ready for assembly

the saw working against the edge of the try square walls from moving out of position when the fret-
to ensure that all the slots are parallel and straight. board is glued on. Glue the fretboard onto the base
(See Fretboard, page 34.) If you are using a rose¬ with Titebond. Cut and glue in place the small
wood fretboard, it requires a narrower fret slot than bridge section of the fretboard, allowing for a slight
ebony because it is softer. Normally, a larger fret overhang of the concave section. When dry, saw
wire is used on rosewood to ensure proper anchor¬ and file away the overhang portions of the fretboard
ing of the studded tang. so that the curve of the concave section makes a
Glue in the small spacer block near the upper smooth continuity up to the top face of the fret¬
end of the base assembly. This will keep the side board. Sand smooth the outer face of the side walls

89
 of the fretboard assembly.
Cut a strip off the inside edge of the com¬
pleted half of the soundboard. Place this trimmed
half over the other half of the soundboard. Trace the
outline and cut the second half to match the first.
Rest both halves in place on the end blocks and set
the fretboard channel assembly in place. Carefully
check the fit of all parts to make sure that when they
are glued they will make a tight assembly. Pencil
the position of the side walls of the fretboard assem¬
bly onto the soundboard. Remove the fretboard as¬
sembly and soundboard to a flat surface and glue
the fretboard base to the soundboard. When dry, re¬
verse the entire assembly and glue in a filler piece of
spruce where the bottom end of the assembly glues
to the bottom block.

Bending Sides
and Assembly
The bends in dulcimer sides are not extreme and
can be easily accomplished without steaming or
presoaking the wood. I bent the sides on a home¬
made bending iron (110) with an occasional moist¬
ening of the surface with a sponge. A propane torch
provided heat. I found that a fine burner tip nicely
balanced the heat loss from the large surface of the
bending iron so that no further adjustment was nec¬
essary during bending.
Make the large waist bend first. Moisten both
sides of the bending area with a sponge dipped in
water. If a drop of water bounces off the heated
tube, it is ready. Place the waist section on the hot
tube and slowly rock it while applying gentle pres¬
sure. An area extending on both sides of the specific
pressure point must be heated before bending will
occur. Rocking the wooden strip helps to achieve
this while preventing the scorching that might re¬
106. Interior view of body ready for
sult from holding it too long in one place. Pause
top to be glued on frequently during bending to check the sides

90
 against the guideline on the back. Bend the sides so
that they conform to the contour of the back and
end blocks, a task not nearly as formidable as it
sounds. In my dulcimer 1 have a gentle incurve near
the bottom, a graceful touch I find pleasing. You
can, however, simply leave this section straight.
If you overbend a section, you can correct it by
reversing the side and pressing the bulge to the iron
with mild pressure. If a crack develops during
bending, continue bending with a sheet metal strip
pressing against the crack to keep it from getting
worse. After bending is completed, glue the crack
shut with epoxy. Surface scorching can be sanded
away if heat penetration is not severe enough to
cause deep brown discoloration.
Prepare two of the two-part clamping jigs used
to hold the sides against the end blocks while glu¬
ing. Before gluing in the sides, check the fit of the
side to the back, the end blocks, and the back
braces. Glue the sides one at a time. Apply Tite-
bond or liquid hide glue to the edge of the side,
the ends of the back braces, and the sides of the end
blocks. Press the side into place and loosely fasten
the clamping jigs. Place a thin 3" x 24" board over
the top of the side and apply clamps. When the side
looks accurately positioned against the ends of the
back braces, tighten the clamping jigs. Clean up
glue ooze with a damp cloth or a small artist's brush
wiped clean on a damp cloth. Glue in the second
side in the same manner.
Slice twenty V4" x V2" x V2" pieces from a V2" x
V2" X 12" spruce stick. Split the pieces diagonally
with a %" chisel to form forty right angle wedges.
Spot them around th? glue joint between back and
side and mark their position. Apply Titebond to
their right angle face and bottom. Press them in
place for a rub fit—clamping is unnecessary. Hold
each one in place for about twenty seconds. Glue
them in one by one on each side. They will
strengthen the bond of side to back and also help
keep the sides vertical.
Spot the remaining wedges around the top edge
of both sides. Mark their position, apply glue to the
107. Underside view of top. Note small
long right angle side only and press in place. When
spacer block glued near top to stabilize
fretboard assembly. all the wedges are glued tight, set the fret-

91
 wooden caul shaped to provide a vertical clamping
surface parallel to the vertical face of the top block.
Before gluing on the soundboard assembly,
sign your name where it can be seen through one of
board/soundboard assembly in place. Check all the heart cutouts. Apply glue to the end block
around the sides and end blocks to make sure that shoulders, the top edge of the sides and wedges.
the soundboard assembly will glue on with a gap- Also apply glue to the gluing areas on the sound¬
free, snug fit. When you are satisfied that all is well, board assembly. Liquid hide glue is a good choice
remove the soundboard assembly and set it aside for this job because it has a slower setting time than
for the moment. Titebond, allowing more time for glue application.
Trim the protruding ends of the sides flush It also permits easy separation with water and a
with the ends of the blocks. Bandsaw the shape of heated knife or spatula if it ever becomes necessary
the peg box out of a IV2" x 3V4" x 6" block of hard¬ to open the box.
wood. Mark the position of the peg holes and drill Make an end plate of maple or other hardwood.
through with a V4" drill. Draw the peg box cutout Glue it in place with Titebond using the clamping
and drill a hole through each end. Cut out the arrangement shown in Fig. 109. Hammer in the four
waste portion of the peg box with adjustable coping brass brads, leaving some of the head protruding
saw or chisel. Smooth the inner surfaces with files for easy hitching of the string end loops. Drill four
and sandpaper wrapped around a thin block of V16" holes where the end plate front face meets the
wood. Bevel the inside top edge of the peg box, a fretboard.
traditional practice designed to lighten the appear¬ Carefully measure the bridge position and de¬
ance of the head. fine it with two shallow saw cuts. Clean out the
Position the completed peg box behind the top groove with a small chisel and file. Fit the bridge
block. Make sure it is vertically aligned with the and nut and glue them in place with a few dabs of
central axis of the body. Glue the peg box in place glue. Both bridge and nut can be made of ebony,
with a clamp from the inside front face of the peg rosewood, maple, bone, or ivory.
box to the front face of the top block. Make a small Fit the pegs with a violin peg shaver and

92
 reamer. (See page 142.) If the peg taper and peg hole
are perfectly round with matching tapers, the pegs
will work fine. Drill a Vie" hole through the center of
each peg to facilitate fastening the strings.
Cut shallow grooves, just enough to grip the
strings, in the nut and bridge. Five positions are
shown in Fig. 103 to accommodate all stringing ar¬
rangements. String height will depend on the de¬
gree of tension you like for playing. The gap be¬
tween strings and frets will be wider for lower
tunings, narrower for higher tunings. A good
average gap would be V32". Fix the correct height of
the bridge and nut before gluing them in place.
Sand all surfaces smooth and round the edges
of top and back. Finish with a sealer coat of thinned
shellac (1 part shellac, 1 part alcohol) and three coats
of a good oil varnish. Scuff-sand lightly between
109. With peg box wedged against stop, coats and allow to dry for a week before rubbing to
clamping arrangement for gluing end plate
a satin finish with #00000 or #000000 grade of steel
wool.
Dulcimer strings are available in sets of varying
gauges. Banjo second or thirteen-gauge strings can
be used for the melody and middle strings. A
wound banjo fourth or twenty-gauge string can be
used for the bass string.
 27.062" DULCIMER FRET SCALE
(687 mm open string length)
Nut to fret Nut to fret
Fret inches millimeters

1. 2.9497 74.922
2. 5.5779 141.679
3. 6.7825 172.276
4. 8.9929 228.420
5. 10.9624 278.445
6. 11.8651 301.374
7. 13.5215 343.446
8. 14.9974 380.934
9. 16.3125 414.338
10. 16.9152 429.646
11. 18.0213 457.741
12. 19.0067 482.770
13. 19.4584 494.243
14. 20.2873 515.297
15. 21.0258 534.055
16. 21.6838 550.769
17. 21.9854 558.429

94
Dulcimer Materials List
1 back, hardwood—x 8V2" x 30"
2 piece top, quartersawn spruce—@V8" x 4" x 30"
1 peg head, hardwood—IV2" x 3 V4" x 6"
1 spruce top block—IV4" x 2 V2" x
1 spruce bottom block—IV4" x 2V2" x 1%"
3 back braces, spruce, cut from one piece—x V2"
X 18"
1 fretboard, rosewood or ebony—V4" x IV2" x 30"
2 fretboard base sides, hardwood—@^l8" x x 24"
1 fretboard base foot section, hardwood—x IV2"
X 7"
2 sides, hardwood—@ %2" x 1%" x 30"
1 end plate, hardwood—x IV2" x 3"
40 gluing wedges, spruce, cut from one piece—
/"
1 4 X V2" X 12"
30" guitar fret wire, nickel silver
4 small brass brads
4 tuning pegs, hardwood, standard violin
1 nut, rosewood or ebony—V4" x ^he" x IV2"
1 bridge, rosewood or ebony—V4" x V4" x IV2"

95
 Violin making began its modem history in six¬ wegian districts with which it has been historically
teenth-century Italy, a country imbued with a rever¬ associated. Trond Isaksen, Isak's son, was the lead¬
ence for the artistic spirit and warmed by the golden ing maker of this period. His fiddles inspired broad
afterglow of the Renaissance. In Brescia, Gasparo da imitation by other makers, who sold them at
Salo (1540-1609) was the first maker of whom any¬ country fairs and market places.
thing is known, and in Cremona, a neighboring city In the nineteenth century, the Helland family of
to the south, the Amati family began the violin¬ Telemark, led by Jon Erikson Helland and his two
making tradition brought to perfection by their sons, Erik Johnsen Helland and Ellef Johnsen Stenk-
famous apprentice, Antonio Stradivari (1644^1737). jondalen, brought an exceptional degree of flair and
In Germany, violin making developed under the craftsmanship to fiddle making. After a period of
strong influence of Jacob Stainer (1621-1683), a su¬ study and experimentation in Copenhagen, Erik
perb craftsman who built models of high arching Helland brought a fresh infusion of ideas to Har¬
with flattened top, a style that dominated German danger fiddle making, moving it closer to the main¬
violin making for almost a century. stream of violin making. The fifty years from 1825 to
Violin making began in Norway during the first 1875, encompassing the mature productions of the
half of the eighteenth century. The oldest reliably Helland family, comprise the finest period of Nor¬
dated Hardanger fiddle (also Harding fiddle) is from wegian fiddle making. Ellef Johnsen, in particular,
the year 1750, attributed to Isak Nielsen Skaar of brought to his craft the eye and touch of a remark¬
Hardanger. Interest in the fiddle grew quickly after ably gifted artist. His feeling for form and or¬
1750 and its popularity spread through the Nor¬ nament, and the unsurpassed elegance of his draw-

97

112. Fiddle parts on workbench {author's design and construction)

 ing, place him in a class apart.
For the beginning luthier, the Hardanger fiddle
is an ideal introduction to the art of violin making.
If you make a Hardanger fiddle of your own design
but slightly off symmetry, with marquetry some¬
what imprecise, and quavery surface drawings,
your fiddle will look like most of the fiddles made
by Norwegian folk craftsmen. You will wind up
with a charming artifact and some valuable skills
gained without the perfection anxiety that goes with
copying Strads.
It was in this spirit I approached the making of
a Hardanger-style fiddle, my first one. The fiddle I
built is a pastiche of my own and borrowed ideas
from the old fiddles illustrated in this chapter.
There are many important differences between
the standard violin and the Hardanger fiddle,
namely: the use of sympathetic strings, no purfling,
almost flat fingerboard, no linings, very small corner
blocks, an overlapping f-hole, and lavish use of or¬
namentation and inlay. Construction techniques
also differ, the most obvious being the nonuse of
molds by the early Norwegian makers. The use of
an integrated neck (a neck that protrudes into the
body cavity supplanting the neck block) and a gen¬
eral lack of body symmetry attest to a moldless form

113. Ole Jonsen Jaastad, 1651 (date doubtful),

(Norsk Folkemuseum)

98
115. Front and back views of Ellef Johnson fiddle (Sloane photos)

99
 of construction used in early lutherie and still used
by Spanish guitar makers. In this method, the neck
is glued to the back of the soundboard, ensuring
neck alignment from the start, and the ribs are then
let into the sides of the neck heel section.
Hardanger fiddle body shapes are narrower
than standard violins, with a more angular sweep of
the bouts and the high arching of the German
school. This tubby style of violin, markedly inferior
in tone to the flatter, shallow-arched model of the
Cremona masters, was apparently rooted in the sim¬
ple notion that a voluptuous form would produce a
voluptuous tone.
The building method I have chosen is a blend
of old and new ideas designed with the novice in
mind. I have stayed, for the most part, with main¬
stream techniques incorporating many of the
changes the violin has undergone in the last one
hundred fifty years.

116. Interior view of fiddle by Jon E. Holland,

1829. Bass bar integrally carved, no linings,
small corner blocks {Norsk Folkemuseum).

100
117. From left: Jon Erikson Helland, c. 1830;
Erik Helland, 1850. (Norsk Eolkemuseum)

101
 118. Anonymous, c. 1900
{Collection Haags Gemeentemuseum,
The Hague)

119. Knudt Eriksen Helland, 1872

Built the year of his
death at age twenty-one
{Victoria and Albert Museum)

Construction
Building begins with the cutting of a half-pattern tern, bearing in mind that the final violin shape will
violin shape used to contour the mold and plates be about Vs" larger all around; the half pattern is the
(top and back). Fig. 121 is a full-size outline of the inner contour of the fiddle bounded by the inside
half pattern used for my fiddle, a design you may face of the ribs.
wish to alter to suit your own preference. Cut the The mold is cut from two Vs" plywood boards
pattern from a thin sheet of metal and file the edges glued together to make a mold depth of VU", the
to a smooth-flowing contour. Trace both halves on a same depth as the ribs. Draw a dark center line on
piece of paper to see how you like it as a full pat¬ the face of the sandwich and trace the full pattern in

102
103
 121. Full-size half-pattern of fiddle

104
 122. Metal half-pattern and mold

position. Draw in the comer block and end block vertically to their top face. Glue them in place with a
cutouts, and drill hole positions. Drill the Vs" comer dab of white glue on each contact surface so that
holes and bandsaw the shape of the mold. Saw out they adhere securely but can easily be severed with
the block cutouts and true top and sides to 90 de¬ a thin-bladed spatula. Reposition the half pattern
gree accuracy. Drill the Vs" clamping holes (mine are and trace the contour of the comers on the blocks.
^Vis" because my clamps fit that size) and sand the Saw out the corner block waste to define the corners
mold smooth. The mold is now complete and can be and carefully file them to their shape, keeping them
given a protective coat of shellac or varnish. exactly vertical to the top face of the mold. Trim the
Cut slightly oversize (iVis" deep) corner and end blocks and file them to a smooth, unbroken
end blocks from Sitka spruce with the grain running continuity with the mold.

105
 Ribs, or sides, are sold by dealers in violin wood as
Ribs and Linings a set of three pieces; one piece forms both inner
bouts, the other two pieces each provide a top and
lower bout. The old Norwegian makers—whether
by choice or circumstance—seem always to have
used maple without figure or very subdued figure.
It makes a more neutral background for surface
drawings and inlay, and is cheaper to buy.
Thin the ribs to with scraper blade and
sandpaper fastened to a block of wood. Trim them
to l®/i6" and cut the pieces to make the various
bouts. Each piece should be longer than the bout it
will encompass.
The chief hazard in bending ribs is fracturing
the inner bouts because of their extreme curve. This
can be neatly avoided by building a small mold to
bend these inner bouts.
Cut three pieces of V2" plywood to the exact
shape of the inner bout, making allowance for the
thickness of a rib. Glue these three pieces to a base
as shown (123) and cover with a sheet of twenty-
two-gauge metal. Wrap it tightly about the form and
nail it to the base on both ends. Nail a heavy strip
of canvas to the bottom of the base with enough
canvas to wrap completely around the form.
Boil the two ribs of the inner bouts in a covered

123, Bending form for ribs made from parts

cut from mold and covered with sheet metal.
Ribs book-matched in position in mold.

106
pot of water for twenty minutes. The pot should be
large enough to submerge the ribs when half full.
Remove the ribs with tongs and position them on
the canvas so that they will be centered when they
are on the form. Be sure the ribs are book-matched,
and roll the form onto the wood slowly, tightly
pressing the form against the wood so that no slack
develops in the canvas. When completely rolled
onto the form, pull over the end of the canvas strip
and fasten it to the bottom of the base with push
pins or tacks. Place the form in a warm 115°F.
(46°C.) oven for two hours. The ribs will come off
the form dry, identically formed, and permanently
fixed in the precise curve of the inner bout.
A simple bending arrangement, I have found,
works fine for violin making. You need a IV2" x 10"
length of copper tubing, some Vs" asbestos padding,
and a propane torch with fine burner tip. Clamp the
tube in a vise between protective asbestos pads,
and make a cradle for the torch that will focus the
tip into the tube. Have handy a sponge and a bowl
of water. Soak the ribs in hot water for twenty min¬
utes.
When a drop of water sizzles off the tube, it is
ready. Bend the small comer curve of each bout
first. Place the end against the hot tube and use a 124. Mold with corner blocks glued in place.

107
126. Copper tube held in vise between pieces of
asbestos makes simple, effective bending iron
small block of wood held in your other hand to
press the end down while the curve is taking shape
on the tube. Apply steady, gentle pressure and lift
the rib off periodically to check bending progress.
When the corner is done, bend the large curve of
the bout by rocking the wood slowly to heat a larger
area than the immediate bending area. Sponge on
additional water if needed and constantly check the
piece against the mold to be sure it fits. Bending the
upper and lower bouts is a surprisingly easy job,
the ribs being as thin as they are, and assembling
the rib frame will also be easy if the ribs are bent to
fit well.
Fit the inner bouts to the form first. Clamp one
in place with a flexible caul—heavy padding felt is
perfect—that will press the rib to the mold along its
entire length. Clamp the rib at the corner blocks and
check the fit. Mark the edge of the corner blocks on
the rib to denote the end of the gluing area. Remove
the rib and pencil this line down the inside face of
the rib. Smear a softened piece of soap on the mold
alongside the corner blocks to keep the rib from glu¬
ing to the mold. Apply Titebond to the gluing area
on the blocks and to the ends of the rib. Press in
place with caul in position and apply clamps. When
dry, cut off the protruding ends of the ribs to form a
perfect continuity of the small curve of the upper
and lower bouts where they glue to the corner
blocks.
Carefully fit and glue each bout, gluing first to
the comer block and then to the end blocks. The
neck block will eventually be mortised for the neck
so a butt joint of the upper bouts at the center junc¬
ture is unnecessary. It is important, however, for
the juncture of the lower bouts at the end block to
be a neatly butted joint.
After the lower bouts have been glued to the
comer blocks, clamp one bout to the mold and cut it
off dead center on the end block. Bring the end of
the other bout around and clamp it in place. Over¬
lap the first end on the second end and mark the
joint by scoring it with a knife. Cut it off with a fine
dovetail saw and both ends should now butt to a
tight joint. Finish the rib frame by cutting off the
overlapping ends of the ribs at the comer blocks

109
128. Clothespins provide clamping pressure for gluing in linings

110
and file their comer juncture to a squared-off end. ings (129). Sand smooth all parts of the rib frame
The rib frame is now ready for the installation with fine garnet paper but stay away from the top
of the linings which will reinforce the rib frame and lining edge. When all is smooth, file the lining
provide a larger gluing surface for the plates. Lin¬ down flush with the ribs, making sure to keep them
ings are cut from straight-grained spruce or willow uniformly level. The rib frame is now complete.
and are %2" thick by about wide. Boil the Drill a V4" hole in the center of the bottom joint
twelve strips as before but this time for an hour. for the endpin. Use a caul on the face of the end
One by one, remove them with tongs and slowly block to prevent fracture of the surface when the
bend them to shape on the copper tube bending drill exits.
iron (the bending form made for the inner bout ribs
will not work for the thicker linings). Bend the lin¬
ings to fit each bout with an overlap at each block
that will be cut off when they are fitted. If a lining
cracks while bending, glue the crack shut when the
linings are glued in. If possible, boil a few extra
strips with the twelve to take care of any breakage.
Plane or file down the ribs and blocks flush
with the mold and then sever the glue joints hold¬
ing each block to the mold. Free the rib frame and
slide it up on the mold to expose the area where the
linings will glue. For the inner bout lining, cut a
small mortise in each corner block to seat the ends.
Install the linings with their top edge protruding
slightly above the rib edge to preclude all possibility
of their gluing below the rib edge. Glue with
Titebond and clamp with rubber band-reinforced
spring clothespins. The ends of the upper and lower
bouts need only butt against the blocks.
When the linings are all in on this side of the
rib frame, remove it from the mold. It will probably
spring in a bit. Lay a thin slat about IV2" wide on
the mold across the waist. Trace the contour of the
inner bouts onto the slat and cut it out. This is in¬
serted into the rib frame between the inner bouts to
act as a prop. With the prop in place install the lin¬
ings on the other side. Before gluing each lining
strip in, clamp it in place and check with a small try
square to make sure the ribs stay at a right angle to
the plane of the top. If the ribs stray out of vertical
alignment, they will throw off the symmetry of the
fiddle.
When the linings are all installed, carve them to
their rounded taper without narrowing the top glu¬ 129. Completed rib frame
ing edge. Cut off the surplus portions of the blocks
and file them to a smooth continuity with the lin¬

111
 130. Wedge shaped gluing jig for jointing plates

Top and Back

Violin tops are cut from quartersawn spruce, the long jointing or jack plane laid on its side is run
most important variety being Norway spruce {Picea along the edge to plane it smooth. Jointing can also
excelsa) grown in the mountainous regions of Aus¬ be done by rubber-cementing butted strips of #100
tria, Czechoslovakia, Rumania, and Yugoslavia. grit garnet paper to the edge of a perfectly straight
Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) is a good alternative if board or metal level. The sanding edge is rubbed
it is well seasoned and not too soft. Wood for mak¬ against the jointing edge until smooth. When both
ing stringed instruments should be seasoned for at halves can be butted without light being visible
least two years before using. It is worth noting that through the joint, they are ready to be glued.
no evidence has come down to us from luthiers of Plane the outside long edges of the top dead
the past that wood was stored for extraordinary straight but angle one edge so that the top becomes
lengths of time or that wood a hundred years old is a slightly tapered rectangle. Saw out a piece of
acoustically superior to wood five years old. plywood 3" larger all around than your top. Glue a
Backs are made of maple cut on the quarter or 1" X 3" board along one long edge and position the
slab, and price is governed by age and degree of top against this edge. Glue another 1" x 3" board on
flame or curl. Imported wood is expensive and can the other side exactly coincident with the other long
be had from dealers in violin wood. edge of the top. You now have a wedge-shaped glu¬
Tops and backs are normally sold as a partly ing jig with the same taper as the top. Apply a thin
sawed-through wedge to guarantee book matching coat of clear epoxy to the jointed edges of the top
of the halves. They are sawed apart and their bot¬ and position it in the jig over a slip sheet of wax
tom face smoothed level. Edges are jointed by paper. Tap the top into the wedge with a hammer
clamping a half flat on top of a wide board, the until the center joint is wedged tightly together.
center joint jutting out slightly from the edge. A Apply clamps over the joint to make sure it remains

112
131. Roughing out back with large gouge

132. Violin back with round bottom violin maker's planes

flat and leave overnight. makers but I prefer the freehand method for arching
The back is jointed and glued in the same man¬ the plates, guided only by eye and my sense of how
ner. it should look. There is nothing immutable about
Remove the top from the jig and position your violin shape or arching, within reasonable physical
half pattern on the level face. Find or make a metal limits, that should inhibit your esthetic judgment.
washer of approximately diameter with a small We know, for example, that Stradivari often altered
center hole into which a ballpoint pen can be in¬ his violins' shape, size, plate thicknesses, arching,
serted. Size the washer so that when the pen is in and rib height. Arching templates were then un¬
place and you run it around the half pattern, it known, each maker being guided by his artistic in¬
makes a line at least %2" away from the pattern. stincts.
This line marks the edge of the top and includes an Violin plates are traditionally tap-tuned by their
allowance of slightly over for overhang. Har- makers to establish their resonant pitch. If you hold
danger fiddles seem generally to use a smaller a plate at the top edge and tap it with your knuckles
overhang than the standard violin, sometimes as just below the bridge area you can—if your hearing
little as i/i6". is very good—determine its approximate pitch. The
Trace the full contour of the top with the purpose is to bring the pitch of top and back into
washer setup and check the outline against your some acoustic accord that will produce a violin with
completed rib frame with prop in place. If the ribs a good tone.
and linings were correctly bent and the mold was Wide disagreement exists as to which tones the
symmetrical, there should be no problem. Discrep¬ plates should be pitched to and no substantive test¬
ancies must be resolved by altering the rib frame or ing has been done on violins made by first-rank old
the top contour or, perhaps, a bit of both. makers. In 1840, Felix Savart, a French investigator
Clamp the rib frame in place and trace the en¬ into the theory of vibrating strings and surfaces, re¬
tire inner contour. Remove the frame and saw out ported that tuning both plates to the same pitch
the contour of the top with an adjustable coping produced a bad violin.
saw and file the contour smooth. Lay the top flat on My own belief is that tapping a plate was em¬
a smooth surface. Rest a pencil on some veneer ployed by the old masters as a general way of gaug¬
scraps to elevate the point above the table sur¬ ing acoustic quality and not for the purpose of es¬
face. Hold the pencil there and slowly revolve the tablishing any formal harmonic pairing of the
edge of the top against the point to trace a line plates. They were on intensely intimate terms with
around the side edge of the top. This is the edge the nature and tonal properties of the woods they
thickness to be maintained while the top is carved. used and probably built each violin with a precon¬
For carving, use the gluing jig as a holding de¬ ceived notion of how thick the plates should be,
vice for the top by strategically wedging or clamp¬ given the wood being used. For a luthier who has
ing small blocks of wood. Rough out the basic shape built many violins, a more reliable indicator than
of the top with a sharp one-inch gouge struck by ambiguous tap tones might be pressing in the plates
mallet or hammer. Angle the cutting edge for a with a thumb to test their degree of elasticity. A
shearing action and work across the grain especially school of violin building has sprung up which uses
near the wings where caution is required. Take out audio frequency generators and oscilloscopes work¬
small chips and proceed slowly until you gain more ing within certain parameters and median figures to
confidence with the gouge. After the rough arching "tune" plates more accurately. Their claim is that
is completed with gouge and the edge is down to this technique will help prevent building a bad vio¬
the 3/i6" line, continue with a small violin maker's lin. Perhaps it works, but even if it does, an ineluc¬
plane or gooseneck scraper to refine the modeling. table corollary is that it almost certainly will help
Templates and arching guides are used by some prevent building a great violin. Making great things

115
234. Drilling holes for different depth zones in back

135. Rough carving interior of belly

236. Flexible scraper blade with curved edge
used to true curved surfaces

137. Clock caliper gives accurate millimeter

reading of plate thickness
involves risks and failures that parameters and me¬ Rest the top on some rubber padding or an old
dian figures neatly circumscribe. blanket, and clamp one end over a padded support
Finish the arching of the top with scraper blade (135). Carve out the belly with gouge, small plane,
and garnet paper. Draw in the zonal areas denoting and gooseneck scraper. When all the holes are
the different thicknesses, on the back of the top. barely visible, you are down to the V32" margin.
Fasten a V4" machine bolt to the center hole of a Remove this last layer carefully, checking frequently
drill press table using large washers and a nut above with calipers. Clock calipers make this simple, and
and below the table to hold the bolt rigidly on cen¬ as the right depth is achieved in an area, mark it
ter. File and polish the upright end of the bolt to a with an X. Sand both sides of the top with fine gar¬
shiny round tip. Adjust the locknuts or depth stop net paper.
to arrest the downward travel of the spindle so that Lay the half pattern on the flat side of the back
it always drills the same depth hole. For the '^/64" and use the washer and ballpoint pen to trace the
zone of the belly, set the drill to stop at ^/64", just full contour of the back. At the top center, add the
V22" short. This thin margin is left for finishing by button to which the heel of the neck will glue.
hand to the right depth. Test drill a block of wood to Clamp the rib frame in place and trace down the en¬
be sure the hole depth is accurately set. Drill closely tire inner contour. Cut out the back and pencil the
spaced holes all over the '^Im" zone keeping a bit Vis" line around the perimeter as before. Carve the
away from the zone outline. Reset the drill depth to back to shape using the same techniques employed
Vs" to drill the V32" zone holes. for the top.

138. Partly finished top with goose neck scraper

118
119
F-hohs
Hardanger fiddles have an overlapping f-hole of
mysterious origin. Were they just a tricky effect that
appealed to a provincial eye? Or did the early
makers imagine that they offered some acoustic
benefit? No one knows for sure, but my own sur¬
mise is that the first theory is closer to the mark.
These difficult f-holes were, undoubtedly, a hall¬
mark that makers took pride in, and their careful ex¬
ecution was a measure of the maker's skill.
The manner in which these f-holes were made
is also a mystery. I am convinced that they were not
carved into the top, a method that would have made
the carving of the top an extraordinarily difficult
job. After close study of several old fiddles, I have

140. Completed fiddle showing

overlapped f-hole

141. Ellef Johnsen fiddle

showing f-holes approximately
full size {Sloane photo)

120
mm

^'?■*‘''iJ)lfi.
m¥^[Link]
M
p®
Wt' wf■ , ^:'4|vlkk»iEw
 come to the conclusion that the f-hole was an will not affect the epoxy-glued center joint, and the
oblique cut made between the end holes that was only thing you have to worry about is cracking the
then artificially spread to achieve the overlapping ef¬ top through abrupt or excessive pressure.
fect. Moreover, the unusually large end holes support After the top was dry, the f-holes were carefully
the theory of artificial separation because they tend to trimmed with a sharp knife to their final appear¬
minimize the chance of splitting the top if the f-hole ance. The free ends were squared off and leading
is wedged apart. On some fiddles the spread is as edges thinned to about Vie". The long bevel was
much as ^/s". smoothed with a fine flat file. It is standard practice
Proceeding on this theory, I drew the f-holes in to cut violin f-holes using only a knife because it
place and cut out the end holes with a razor-sharp offers the best chance for precision. If you use a file
knife similar to a scalpel. I was afraid to use a large- or sandpaper to true the edges of an f-hole you will
diameter drill on the delicate soundboard. Then I quickly learn why this is true. The softer, white
cut the long connecting slot at a 45 degree angle to springwood in the annular divisions of the wood
the top. Working slowly and after innumerable will wear away faster than the harder, darker sum-
slices with the knife, I broke through to the back. merwood when subjected to abrasive action, leav¬
All the feather edges were trimmed to a blunt edge ing a ragged edge.
with the knife. At this stage only rudimentary
cleaning up of the f-holes was done, the final shap¬
ing postponed until after the spreading of the slots.
The f-hole areas were moistened by placing a
wet sponge on both sides of each f-hole and weight¬
ing it with a board to make sure the sponges were
squeezed into good contact. After about an hour of
damping, I removed the sponges and inserted small
felt wedges into the slots to gradually force them
apart. The wedges were about two inches long with
a gradual taper that permitted pulling them through
from the underside of the top. When the opening in
the slots was large enough, I inserted a ^he” x W x
4V2" wooden slat through one slot and out the other.
The slat was carefully rounded on both edges so that
in cross-section it appears somewhat elliptical. To
prevent any general distortion of the top that might
result from this stress, I clamped the top to the mold Bass Bar
in eight places. It was left to dry for three days.
The size of the gap possible in an f-hole de¬ Bass bars on early violins were carved in relief out
pends on the carving of the top. If the top is carved of the back of the soundboard. Gradually, they
to drop off rather steeply at the f-hole location with evolved into a separate piece that has been enlarged
an exaggerated valley or scoop at the bottom, a large over the years to make it stronger. A higher playing
gap is easily possible. The only advantage I see in a pitch, heightened bridge, and longer string length
large gap is that it makes placement of the sound- all contributed to an increase in the pressure on the
post much easier.
top, necessitating a stronger bass bar to prevent col¬
If you are not happy with your gap, the wetting lapse of the belly. The basic function of the bass bar
and wedging operation can be repeated using is to transmit to the soundboard the vibrations of
thicker wedging and a thicker slat. The moisture the left foot of the bridge and compensate for dif-

122
 ferences in the resonant pitch of the soundboard
caused by cutting the sound holes.
Cut a piece of straight-grained spruce to
thick X ^/i6" high x IOV2" long. The grain should run
parallel to the ^he" dimension, the same as the grain
of the top. Mark lightly the exact position of the
bass bar on the back of the top. Looking at the back
of the top, its position will be on your right. Place
the bar in position and pencil a rough approxi¬
mation of the curved surface underneath it on the
side of the bar. Trim the ends so that the center of
the bar is less than Vie" from the belly. Hold the bar
in place with one hand and slide a one-inch stub of
pencil along the belly so that the pencil point traces
the curve onto the side of the bass bar. Plane the
bottom edge to this contour and fit the bar to the
exact curve of the belly. Shave it with a scraper
blade until it makes contact with the belly at every
point. Glue in place with Titebond and deep throat
clamps. Trim the bass bar to the final shape shown
in the blueprint.

142. Completed belly with bass bar

143. Gluing in bass bar

144. Two views of
Ellef Johnsen fiddle
head (Sloane photos)

124
 145. Another view showing
crown detail and nut notched
for passage of sympathetic strings

Cut the neck from a block of maple IV2" x 2V2" x 12". ensemble can be clamped upright in a vise or hori¬
Draw the shape of the dragon head, peg box, and zontally, in which case rubber bands can be used to
neck on the side of the block. The dragon head, a secure the neck to the support. Carve the crown
recurrent motif in Scandinavian folk art, is often first. Use chisel and file to define the shapes, peri¬
carved with bone teeth (set in later) and protruding odically sighting down the neck from the head to
tongue, features I have omitted from my design. maintain symmetry. Carve the scooped-out part be¬
Saw out the back and front contours of the hind the jaw to bring into relief the stylized mane.
block with a bandsaw or coping saw. Save the back The entire mane is carved as a round, blank entity
piece, which will serve as a support when carving and the head carving completed before the veining
the head and peg box. Drill eight V4" holes for the is done. Beware of getting the head too small. It will
pegs and draw the peg box and neck shape on the weaken the final appearance of the fiddle if the head
front of the block. Saw off the long tapered piece on looks disproportionately small. The head is a pow¬
each side of the neck and peg box, leaving a small erful device and should be executed boldly.
margin of extra wood on the neck portion. To carve out the peg box cavity use the drilling
Saw off as much surplus wood from the head as system used to simplify the carving of the plates.
you can with a coping saw before starting with a Set the drill to leave a %2" thickness of wood in the
chisel. Rest the neck in the saved back support peg box back and drill a lot of ^/le" holes in the peg
cushioned by a thin sheet of rubber or leather to box. During drilling, hold the neck so that the plane
compensate for the wood that became sawdust. This of the peg box resting on the bolt is always at right

125
126
 ir

lr

147. Method of sawing out basic neck shape

angles to the drill.

Position the neck in the support block clamped
horizontally in the vise and clean out the peg box
cavity with a V4" chisel. When all the waste is
cleaned out, true the inner sides of the peg box with
a %" chisel and file. The back of the box can be
cleaned up by using a chisel as a scraper. Finish the
peg box by beveling inwards the top edge of the
sides, a simple refinement that lightens the appear¬
ance of the peg box.
Begin the carving of the veining or V-grooves
in the mane by drawing a center line down the back
of the mane. Carefully pencil in the deepest grooves
and carve these first. After they are finished, pencil
in the narrow grooves and cut them in. Round the

127
underside of the neck and carve the heel to shape
but do not cut off the surplus wood at the bottom of
the neck. This portion is not cut off until the neck is
fitted to the body. Smooth the entire neck and head
with fine garnet paper and riffler files to get into
narrow recesses in the dragon carving.
Cut the small mortise at the bottom of the peg
box which will carry the ivory nut for the sympa¬
thetic strings. Cut and fit the nut but do not glue it
in.
Norwegian fiddle makers used gold or bronze
paint for gilding the crown and mane, but I prefer
to use gold leaf. Bronzing paints are sold in art
supply stores but will not give a result anywhere 148. Fiddle head, anonymous
{Smithsonian Collection, Sloane photo)
nearly as attractive as leaf.
A wood carving, no matter how carefully
smoothed, cannot be leaf-gilded successfully unless
the wood is covered with gesso to transform it into
a hard, absorbent surface that will permit bur¬
nishing. Gesso gilding was a highly refined art dur¬
ing the Middle Ages and recipes for gilding and the
illuminating of manuscripts have come down to us
most notably through Cennino Cennini's The Crafts¬
man's Handbook, a fifteenth-century treatise on art¬
ists' materials and techniques.
After the figurehead was chiseled and
smoothed to a careful finish it was clamped upright
in the vise without the back support. Rabbit glue in
granular form (or calfskin glue) was dissolved in a
double boiler—1 teaspoon of glue to 3 tablespoons
of water. I use a small Pyrex glass bowl seated in the
top of a small saucepan as a double boiler. The mix¬
ture must be stirred while the water heats. As the
solution heats up, the glue will dissolve, but the
glue solution must not be allowed to boil. Stir con¬
tinuously until the glue is thoroughly dissolved.
Apply the glue while still warm to the crown
and mane with a small artist's brush. After several
hours apply a second coat and allow a day's drying
time. Prepare another batch of glue and add a table¬
spoon or slightly more of whiting (powdered cal¬
cium carbonate). Mix these together off the heat but
while the glue is still warm. Mix to a smooth consis¬
tency with a liquidity approaching heavy cream.
This is now gesso, a white filler held together with a

128
 149. Chiseling out peg box waste after drilling

glue binder. Paint a coat of gesso on the glue-coated to the tack stage. Gold leaf is applied as described in
areas with a small brush. In a few hours this gesso drum decoration (page 168).
coating will solidify to a hard white substance with Gold leaf applied directly onto gesso with a
a matte appearance. It can be carved and sanded commercially prepared bronzing liquid cannot be
with much more precision and refinement than successfully burnished to a high metallic luster. In
wood. I gave my figurehead three coats of gesso order to do this the gesso must first be coated with a
with some carving and slight sanding between coats gilder's clay or bole which has some glue mixed into
to avoid the loss of small detail. it. Several coats are used and smoothed carefully to
The final coat was allowed to dry a full day and a fine finish. Leaf is applied to the clay-coated sur¬
final carving and smoothing was completed using face by first brushing on some water, which ac¬
small chisels, riffler files, and sandpaper. When all tivates the glue, producing sufficient tack to adhere
surfaces were perfectly smooth, I used an agate bur¬ the leaf. This kind of gilding can be burnished to a
nisher to burnish all exposed surfaces to a high high luster with an agate burnisher. The soft luster
glossy sheen. Gesso has a slight tooth and springi¬ produced by the leaf-on-gesso method is more
ness that permits burnishing to a marble finish, an appropriate to a violin figurehead than a really high
ideal surface for laying down gold leaf. metallic shine, and much superior to bronze paint.
Mordants, the adhesives used to adhere gold I gave my figurehead two coats of gold leaf. The
leaf to gesso, are sold in art supply stores as bronz¬ neck is complete, at this point, except for the ream¬
ing liquids. They are essentially varnishes with ing of the peg holes and the final finishing that fol¬
good leveling properties and a predictable tack stage lows installation of the fingerboard. It must be han¬
at which point the leaf is applied. The liquid is ap¬ dled with care and guarded against knocks that
plied with a small artist's brush and allowed to dry might fracture the gesso.

129
 150. View of assembled fiddle

130
 251. Full-size inlay pattern
for fingerboard

Fingerboard and Tailpiece

Hardanger fiddle fingerboards are almost flat and I
curved mine to a radius of 9V4". The fingerboard is a
composite of a thin layer of marquetry glued to a
wedge-shaped board. On early fiddles, the neck was
fastened in line with the horizontal plane of the
body. Angling of the fingerboard to elevate the
strings to bridge height was accomplished with this
wedge. The wedge makes fingering difficult in the
higher registers because the neck gets much thicker
near the body. This is not a problem for Hardanger
fiddle players; their music confines them pretty
much to the first position. But by 1800, the demands
of modem violin technique forced the discarding of
the wedge in favor of a neck of uniform thickness
set in at an angle. Hardanger fiddles after the 1860's
exhibit a modified wedge combined with an angled
neck, and this is the compromise I adopted.
The marquetry facing is made up of ebony,
ivory, and mother-of-pearl. Norwegian fiddle
makers used horn and bone in place of ebony and
ivory. For the ebony, I sawed a V4" x IV2" x 7" block
of ebony in half through the V4" dimension. This
gave me two pieces I filed and scraped to a
thickness of Vie". The pearl was purchased in

131
 roughly 1" x 2" blanks of .060" thickness, and the
ivory came from piano key facings.
Draw your fingerboard design, keeping in
mind the following: (a) the inlay pieces must be ar¬
ranged to preserve the vertical articulation of the
facing so that it will bend to the curve of the finger¬
board without breaking; (b) avoid a design that
brings the point of, say, a star to the edge of the
fingerboard—it will break off; (c) if you use a hori¬
zontal design element that runs from edge to edge,
it will have to be kerfed—partly sawn through at in¬
tervals—on the back.
On my fingerboard, I made use of a five-ply
ivory-ebony sandwich that horizontally separated
major design elements. These were all kerfed in
about eight places on the gluing side. Single hori¬
zontal elements will bend without kerfing, and pearl
cannot be used as a horizontal edge-to-edge ele¬
ment—it will break.
Make a careful drawing of your design on a
sheet of tracing paper and then trace this design
onto a sheet of heavy vellum tracing paper. This
parchment-type tracing paper is sold in art supply
shops and is the backing to which the marquetry
facing will be glued.
Use the lightweight tracing paper to transfer the
152. Partially completed montage of inlay design to the ebony, ivory, and pearl. Carbon paper
pieces glued to backing of heavy vellum
works well for ivory and pearl, white typewriter
(vegetable parchment)
correction paper will work for ebony. Cut out all the

132
 153. Completed inlay with neck gluing block and concave caul

pieces with a jeweler's saw. (See banjo inlay, page sible—in cutting and fitting the marquetry elements
46.) Paste them into place on the vellum, filling in because the lampblack and epoxy filler applied af¬
all the spaces like a puzzle. terwards will conceal all defects. It is helpful to have
A checkerboard pattern of ebony and pearl is the pearl, ivory, and ebony of reasonably proximate
made by cutting three pieces of ebony and three thickness before cutting. Glue all the pieces to the
pieces of pearl each IV2" long by whatever width the vellum with white glue applied sparingly to prevent
squares will be. Each length must be precisely the glue from seeping up through the crevices and
same width. Glue up two assemblies, one with edge-gluing pieces.
ebony outer strips and a pearl center strip, the other When the entire assembly is completed, trim off
with pearl outer strips and an ebony center strip. the vellum close to the facing. This completed face is
Edge-glue with epoxy by positioning each assembly the side that will be glued to the spruce wedge that
on a piece of wax paper over a board, and using is, in fact, the fingerboard. Carefully file it level over
push pins to squeeze them together. When dry, cut its entire face. Individual sections can be filed sepa¬
them into segments and alternate them to get a rately by flexing the inlay. Horizontal elements can
checkerboard effect. In my design I used squares of be kerfed by simply folding back the inlay on each
slightly different size for the different units to avoid side of the element. Avoid filing the facing too thin
halving a segment. because some filing will be required on the reverse
Absolute precision is not necessary—or pos¬ side after the facing is glued down.

133
 If you are using my marquetry design, drill the The tailpiece is made from the portion cut from
Vi6" holes at the bottom zig-zag cutout but do not the bottom of the fingerboard or a V4" x 2" x 5V2"

cut out the points. These are cut out after the facing spruce block. It is arched to the same radius as the
is glued and the fingerboard completed. fingerboard and the marquetry facing is handled in
Prepare a fingerboard of straight-grained the same way. Eight V16" holes must be drilled for
quartersawn spruce ’^li" x 2" x 9^/2". Round the sur¬ the steel wire crooks that hold the strings and secure
face to a 9^/4" radius using as a guide a template cut the tailpiece to the tail button.
out to this radius. Draw the shape of the finger¬
board on this rounded face, centered on the block.
Glue a thin strip of veneer along the top and side
edges as a retainer strip to keep the facing from
shifting when it is glued down. Prepare a wooden
caul the same size as the fingerboard with a concave
radius that matches the curve of the fingerboard.
Mix some epoxy with enough powdered lamp¬
black to color it black. Smear this mixture over the
face of the marquetry strip and position it on the
fingerboard vellum side up. Cover it with a sheet of
freezer wrap or wax paper. Over this lay a thin
sheet of rubber at least as wide as the facing, and
then the fitted caul. The rubber sheet is designed to
equalize the pressure if all your inlay parts are not
the same thickness. Apply a clamp to each end of
the ensemble and lock the center portion in a vise to
get good clamping pressure throughout.
Leave overnight to dry. The next day, remove
the fingerboard and strip off the vellum backing.
Remove the veneer strips around the edge. Use a
fine flat single-cut file to smooth the facing level. If
you use fine garnet paper, fasten it to a long block of
wood. Mix some more filler and fill all crevices.
Allow to dry and repeat the filling operation until all
crevices are gone and the facing presents a smooth,
unbroken expanse from top to bottom. If you are
using the zig-zag cutout in your design, avoid fill¬
ing the drill holes.
Saw out the shape of the fingerboard, smooth¬
ing the sides and top flush with the facing edge. For
the zig-zag cutout, cut the wood off flush with the
ends of the points. Draw the wedge profile on the
side of the fingerboard and saw it out. Save the
sawed-off piece to make the tailpiece. Chisel out
the cavity underneath the fingerboard to make room
for the sympathetic strings. Use a small gouge,
gooseneck scraper, and sandpaper to make this 154. Full-size pattern for tailpiece

cavity. •

134
256. Underside view of wired tailpiece and completed fingerboard

>

'
mm fees:

135
 157. Gluing top to rib frame
with small clamps over
leather cauls

Assembling Body essary. Hide glue is sold in granular form for mixing
by the user. (See gilding, page 128.) It is also avail¬
able in prepared liquid form sold in hardware stores
Position the top on the rib frame, making sure it is (Franklin Hide Glue). I mixed my own glue but see
correctly aligned with a uniform edge overhang all nothing wrong in using a liquid hide glue. This
around. Clamp the top in this position and mark for glue has a slower setting time than hot glue, an im¬
drilling points at opposite ends of the top, each spot portant advantage that will give you more time for
just clear of the center joint and ^/s" from the edge. assembly.
Drill each hole with a drill going about V2" into Glue the back on first. Thin the glue to an easy-
the end blocks. Two round toothpicks are used to flowing consistency and apply it to the top edges of
pin the top accurately and quickly in place when the ribs and linings, and the blocks. Apply it also to
gluing it on the rib frame. Remove the top, reverse the gluing edge of the back, using a small brush. Let
the rib frame and drill the holes for pinning the it dry thoroughly and give the blocks a second coat
back in the same manner as the top. if they look like they need it. Have at least ten small
Animal or hide glue is used for gluing the clamps handy along with a pair of leather cauls for
plates to the rib frame because its water solubility each clamp, and some round toothpicks.
makes it easy to remove the plates for repair if nec¬ Brush the glue over all the gluing edges, pin the

136
back in place with the toothpicks, and apply the your name on the back. Glue the top to the rib
clamps. If you are using a hot glue, work in a warm frame in the same manner.
room to gain some assembly time before the glue When both plates are properly glued on, finish
gels. Apply the clamps with just enough pressure to the toothpicks flush with the plates. Check the
bring the joint into tight contact without distorting overhang for uniformity and file away uneven
the ribs. If you find an unglued portion when the spots. On many Hardanger fiddles the bottom edge
glue has dried, place a drop of water in the joint. of the overhang is rounded off, on others the top
Squeeze the top against the rib to force the water and bottom edges are both rounded slightly.
along the joint and work some fresh glue into the Cut the mortise for the saddle and make an
crack with a thin spatula and clamp. Clean away ebony saddle. Fit it to a tight fit by cutting the sad¬
glue ooze with a clean, damp cloth. Make sure the dle slightly oversize, reducing it gradually to size.
inside of the box is smooth and clean before signing Glue in place with Titebond.

158. Clamping arrangement for gluing fingerboard to neck

137
Joining Neck to Body
Saw off the surplus wood at the bottom end of the correct, the lower end of the fingerboard will have
neck and the bottom of the heel, leaving a slight its top face ”/i6" from the surface of the soundboard.
margin of extra wood. Shape the heel to its final Affix the fingerboard to the neck with a small clamp
contour, taking care that both sides are symmetrical. to check this.
Mark the center line of the neck block and cut off If the end of the fingerboard is not ^Vi6" above
that portion of the top overhang where the neck will the surface, you should be able to achieve this dis¬
be mortised. From each edge of this opening draw a tance by increasing the angle of wedge under the
line across the ribs to the bottom edge. These two fingerboard. The only thing to guard against here is
guidelines must be parallel to the center line. narrowing too much the depth of the tunnel
Butt the neck against the body, centered be¬ through which the sympathetic strings must pass. It
tween the lines, and trace down its contour. Draw may be better to increase the angle of the neck if the
the shape of the mortise on the top and drill two tunnel looks like it is already narrow enough.
^lie" holes to facilitate chiseling out the mortise. Cut Once the proper relationship is established be¬
the mortise to a tight fit that requires gradual en¬ tween the neck, fingerboard, and body, they are
largement to seat the neck. In this way you can seat separated. Gluing of the neck and fingerboard are
the neck so snugly that it will remain in position postponed until after all inlay and drawing are com¬
unsupported. The bottom of the heel must fit pleted. It is infinitely more convenient to draw on
squarely against the button. If your neck angle is the neck and the body while they are separate.

159. Side view of fiddle by A. Heldahl, 1885

(Smithsonian Collection, Shane photo)

138
Decoration
Except for a few minor details, my surface drawings
are copied from the Ellef Johnsen fiddle (115). His
drawings have an airy Spencerian grace reminiscent
of Pennsylvania Dutch fraktur work. This graceful
style is a hallmark of the Helland family and many
of the design elements recur in slightly different
form in their fiddles. I omitted Johnsen's use of
pearl inlay around the edge of the top and peg box,
thinking it could be added at some future date. It is
much easier to do beforehand, however, so if you
are using pearl inlay do it before any surface draw¬
ing is done. (See banjo inlay, page 46.)
The drawings I have examined on old fiddles,
including the Johnsen fiddle, appear to have been
done extemporaneously. Major elements, such as a
flower, were probably drawn in first as a skeletal
framework for drawing in fhe rest of the design. Eor
a novice, it is prudent to make a careful rendering of
the design and trace it in position on the fiddle.
Sand the entire body smooth with fine garnet
paper and then go over it with a clean, damp cloth.
This will raise the grain and in about an hour you
can sand it to a super-smooth finish. The body must
then be given a wash coat of shellac (1 part shellac, 5
parts alcohol) to seal the surface and keep India ink
from fuzzing into the grain. Shellac has a short shelf
life and after repeated disappointments with pre¬
pared shellacs that never dry, I now make my own.
Shellac is sold in granular form or buttons and is
dissolved in denatured alcohol to make the familiar
cloudy solution. The cloudiness is caused by imper¬
fectly soluble waxes contained in shellac which dry
transparent in a shellac coating. A white refined de¬
waxed grade of shellac is sold by Behlen & Bros.
(See Suppliers, page 159.)
1 tinted the wash coat by adding a pinch of an
alcohol-soluble aniline dye color, Bismarck brown.
Application was by mouth-blown spray pipe, which
gives a perfectly uniform coat that can be repeated
in fifteen minutes to get a deeper tone. This cannot
be done with a brush without streaking the finish.
Make your tracing into a transfer paper by coat-

139
 ing the back with a soft 5B graphite pencil. Rub the
pencil back and forth until there is a jet black layer
of graphite on the paper. Wet a small wad of absor¬
bent cotton with some benzol or naphtha and
squeeze it almost dry. Pad the graphite-covered area
very briskly until there is a uniform coverage of
dark gray and all the excess graphite is on the pad.
This rubbing process makes a smudge-proof
transfer sheet. Test it on a piece of paper to see if
you get a good line image. If not, the blacking and
padding operation can be repeated. This kind of
graphite transfer paper can be erased easily—
typewriter carbon paper cannot.
Start on the back of the fiddle first. Scotch-tape
your tracing in position and trace it down lightly
with nothing harder than a 2H pencil. Avoid mak¬
ing a debossed line in the wood surface. Draw in
the design with a small artist's brush or pen, which¬
ever you feel most comfortable with. I used both a
#1 brush and a crow quill pen. Proceed with care
because mistakes or blots are hard to undo. When
the drawing is finished, erase any graphite tracing
lines still showing. As each section is completed—
back, ribs, top—give it a coat of varnish. Use a good
grade of clear violin oil varnish applied with a soft-
haired brush. Be careful around the f-holes to avoid
dripping varnish into the interior.

161. Back view showing head

detail and surface decoration

140
 (1
1 •> 1
1 1
1
1
1

(^
162. Full-size plan of bridge
1
with small ivory inset as saddle 1
for sympathetic strings

=t

Assembly
Glue the neck into the mortise after making sure it sympathetic strings.
is exactly centered on the longitudinal axis of the Bend thirty-five gauge stainless steel wire (just
fiddle. This can be checked by fixing the neck in the under Vie" diameter) into a U-shape and flatten the
mortise slot and aligning a thin flexible metal rule or top of the U. Fit two of these into the holes for the
wooden slat with the neck and belly center line. K main string crooks. Fit them so that the ends of the
the mortise is a loose fit, you might be able to crooks jut out Vs" from the top of the tailpiece. The
wedge it with thin veneer strips to permit checking two crooks for the sympathetic strings (two strings
the neck alignment without worrying about the work off each crook) jut out only V2" from the edge.
neck falling off. Misalignment of fhe neck is cor¬ Attach the wire for the lower end of the tail¬
rected by filing off slightly one side of the neck face piece. This wire rides over the saddle or tail rest and
that butts against the front of the mortise slot. Glue wraps around the tail button. Assemble all the wires
the neck in place with Titebond and a clamp applied and then wrap the tail button and insert it in its
over the top of the mortise and under the button. hole. This hole is reamed with a tapered reamer so
If you are using the fingerboard zig-zag cutout, that the tapered button wedges in place.
redrill the holes and saw out the points, leaving at I made the eight pegs from standard ebony vio¬
least %2" of wood under the points. Fasten the lin pegs filed flat and faced with ivory on both sides
fingerboard in place with some masking tape and fit of the button. Two V64" holes were drilled in the
the ivory nut. Position the small nut that carries the lower center, cut through with a jeweler's saw, and
sympathetic strings. File the top to the correct finished with a file. Ivory finials—footed knobs like
height and saw four equally spaced shallow cuts for a tiny bolt—were turned from a Vs" ivory rod and
string grooves with a jeweler's saw. Glue the nut in epoxied into holes drilled in the top of the pegs.
place with Titebond and set aside the main nut and Peg holes were reamed with a peg hole reamer
fingerboard. They are not glued in place until after (#2 Morse taper pin reamer) after the pegs were
varnishing of the fiddle is completed. shaved to a perfect round on a violin peg shaver.
Make the bridge (162) from a piece of maple The peg holes were reamed to permit the pegs to
wifh fhe grain running parallel to the flat plane of protrude about Vis" from the exit hole. A Vis" string
the fiddle. Saw it out with a jeweler's saw and clean hole was drilled in each peg. This hole should be
it up with small files and fine sandpaper. Glue in placed close to the entering peg hole so that when
the small triangular ivory saddle that will carry the the holes become enlarged the string hole will not

141
 163. Adjustable peg shaver

drift into the exit hole. Pegs work beautifully if pegs After varnishing and polishing are completed,
and holes are perfectly round and of identical taper. glue on the fingerboard using hide glue (158). Glue
Pegs can be lubricated with peg soap sold by the nut in place with a few dabs of Titebond, just
dealers in violin accessories. enough to keep it from falling off. Fasten the tail¬
Setting of the soundpost, a ''■U" spruce dowel, is piece and string up the fiddle, starting with the
done with a tool bearing the straightforward name sympathetic strings. These four understrings are of
of soundpost setter. It is a simple, inexpensive de¬ identical gauge and match a super-light electric gui¬
vice you may have to bend a bit to work with your tar E or first string (.008"). Hardanger fiddle over¬
particular f-hole. If the f-hole gap is wide enough, strings are unusual in that they use a half-overspun
you may be able to manage the soundpost with a D string.
pair of tweezers. There are many tunings for the Hardanger fid¬
Gauge the approximate height the soundpost dle but the most common one is standard violin
should be and cut it slightly oversize. Impale it on tuning for the overstrings with the G string raised
the sharp end of the setting tool and try it in place. to A. For this tuning, the understrings are tuned
Adjust its length until it is gently wedged in posi¬ D, E, Fit, A. In standard violin tuning (G, D, A, E)
tion without spreading the plates; the pressure of the Flf on the understrings is raised to G.
the bridge will hold it in place. Sight through the A bilingual booklet, "The Hardanger Fiddle,"
tail button hole to check that the post is in vertical by Sigbjom B. Osa, can be purchased from the pub¬
position. The scalloped end of the soundpost setter lisher: Musikk-Huset A/S, Karl Johansgt. 45, Oslo,
is used as a prod to move the ends of the sound- Norway. This booklet contains tuning and playing
post. The position of the soundpost has a profound instructions along with examples of popular Nor¬
influence on the tone of the fiddle, and finding the wegian folk music. Hardanger fiddle strings are also
right position may take some experimenting. available from Musikk-Huset A'S.

142
Violin Materials List
Top, two-piece spruce @ 4V2" x ^/s" x 15" 2 end blocks, spruce @ 2" x 1" x iVs" high
Back, two-piece maple @ 4V2" x x 15" Bass bar, spruce. Vie" x Vie" x 10^/2"

Ribs, maple, three pieces @ Vk" x Vie" x 15" 8 tuning pegs, ebony or rosewood
Linings, spruce or willow, Spruce fingerboard block, 2" x V2" x 9V2"
four pieces @ Vie" x V32" x 9V2" Bridge, maple, IV2" x V4" x 2"
” " " " 5V2" Ebony endpin
" " " " 71/2" Ebony or ivory saddle, x ^U" x IVs"
4 comer blocks, spruce @ IV2" x 1" x iVs" high Soundpost, V4" spruce dowel
Neck, maple, IV2" x 2^/2" x 12"

164. Peg hole reamer and soundpost setter

 drying; the bottom of the dowel rests in a hole in
Finishing the workbench. Allow a day or two between coats
for drying.
Hardanger fiddles are sometimes made in a blond or After the final drying period of three weeks, the
straw-colored finish and this is the color I chose for varnish is smoothed with #400 wet-or-dry silicon
mine. Darker colors can be achieved through the carbide paper and water. Dip a folded piece of the
use of a deeper-toned wash coat of shellac or spirit paper into water and carefully sand away all lumps
varnish, or colored oil varnishes available in various and unevenness. Work under a good light and in¬
shades of yellow, red, and brown. Varnishing and spect the surface frequently as polishing proceeds.
polishing of the fiddle must be done with consider¬ After initial smoothing has been accomplished,
able care because of the drawings. switch to #600 wet-or-dry paper and sand with
After the initial protective coat of varnish, I ap¬ water until all surface scratches are polished out. Be
plied three more coats before I began light sanding very careful when sanding edges, the easiest place
between coats with a worn piece of fine garnet to go through the finish. When all shiny areas (low
paper. The gilded portion of the figurehead received spots) are gone and the surface has a uniform matte
only three coats in all and was not sanded or pol¬ appearance, it is ready for final polishing. The sand¬
ished. Eight coats of varnish were applied to the ing with water softens the finish and a few days of
rest of the fiddle, which was then allowed to dry hardening should be allowed before polishing.
thoroughly for a period of three weeks before pol¬ Powdered rottenstone and mineral oil (John¬
ishing. son's Baby Oil) rubbed with a felt pad will produce
Apply varnish in long, even strokes with a min¬ a lustrous satin finish. Mix a small quantity of rot¬
imum of brushing. Work in a warm room free of tenstone with oil and dip it up with the pad. Rub it
unsettling air currents that circulate dust. Violin over the surface using a small circular motion. For a
makers often use a dowel through the tail button higher finish use water instead of oil or polish with
hole to hold the violin upright for varnishing and Duco #7 Auto Polishing liquid.

144
166. Hardanger fiddles are tuned to the pitch which produces the best sound. The A string
should be tuned to approximately B natural. Over twenty tunings are known, the one dia¬
grammed above being the most common. If standard violin tuning is used (G, D, A, E) the
sympathetic F sharp string is raised to G.
 167. Finished recorders ready for shipment

The Dolmetsch
Recorder

Arnold Dolmetsch (1858-1940) was born in Le Mans, performances.

France, the son of an organ builder. He received an The concerts introduced to Victorian England
early training in the making and repair of keyboard the works of early composers including Dowland,
instruments and at age twenty-one went to Brussels Locke, Vivaldi, Frescobaldi, Scarlatti, Rameau, and
to study music. From there he moved to London to Couperin. Dolmetsch brought to his crusade ex¬
enroll in the newly established Royal College of traordinary musical insight and a variety of useful
Music. His chance discovery in the college library of talents. He was a gifted musician, a showman, a
some early music for viols stimulated the researches first-rate craftsman, but above all, an artist.
that became his life's work. He began a personal In 1917 the Dolmetsch family settled in the
crusade to bring to public notice the buried music house at Haslemere which is still their home today.
of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and the The following year, spurred by the loss of a favorite
ancient instruments on which this music was recorder by Pui Bressan, Dolmetsch decided to con¬
played. , struct one for himself. After many experiments he
During the 1880's he formed a family consort succeeded in building the recorder that brought
using viols, lute, clavichord, and harpsichord. They about the modem revival of interest in the recorder
gave candlelight performances in period costume, and its music.
musical events that attracted Bloomsbury notables The small family workshop begun in Haslemere
including William Morris, George Moore, Aubrey is now Arnold Dolmetsch Ltd., a busy enterprise
Beardsley, and a music critic who became a valued headed by Dr. Carl Dolmetsch. He continues in the
supporter and friend, George Bernard Shaw. Dol¬ same spirit the work his father pioneered. Early in¬
metsch built many of the instruments used in the struments made according to the principles evolved

146
 168. Recorder in F by Pui Bressan, London, c. 1720-24.
Boxwood with ivory rings and mouthpiece (Dolmetsch Collection).

by Arnold Dolmetsch are hand-produced in the

company workshops and include harpsichords,
spinets, clavichords, viols, lutes, rebecs, and tabors.
The company produces a full range of superb re¬
corders that are shipped each day to players all over
the world.
Dr. Dolmetsch, the first modem recorder virtu¬
oso, pursues an active international concert career
and is also musical director of the Haslemere Fes¬
tival, an annual celebration of early music begun by
Arnold Dolmetsch in 1925.

Alto Recorder
Construction
Numerous woods are employed for making re¬
corders, including Honduras rosewood, boxwood.
East Indian rosewood, African tulip wood, pear,
grenadilla, maple, satinwood, and cherry. The wood
is carefully seasoned for several years before being
cut into octagonal billets to facilitate lathe turning.
All the billets are drilled through and stored an ad¬
ditional year. For alto recorder, a hole is drilled
in the mouthpiece, hole in the barrel, and V4"
hole in the end section or foot. Drilling is ac¬
complished on a lathe operating at slow speed (400
rpm). A lever-action ram-feed device is used to
press the wood against the drill while a hand-held
clamp is used to steady the billet during drilling.
The barrel is drilled from both ends.
All the sections are then reamed with tapered
shell reamers to bring the bore to final dimension.
The mouthpiece reamer is not tapered except for the
plug portion. Recorders are usually built with a uni¬
form taper in the barrel bore but the Dolmetsch re¬
corder barrel reamer is cut to produce a taper in
three subtle stages of gradation. The jogs fall at
nodal points that control octave spacing. Dr. Dol¬
metsch explains. The foot is reamed with a tapered

148
Recorder in F by Thos. Stanesby Sr., London
(d. 1734). Boxwood with ivory rings (Dolmetsch Collection).
169. Drilling boxwood barrel with ram feed lever
and hand held clamp as steadying device 149
170. Preset gauge accurately marks barrel length 171. Measuring barrel diameter

reamer that makes a smooth extension of the barrel

bore through to the bell.
The reamed sections are then turned to cylin¬
s
drical shape. Each section is mounted on a mandrel
tapered to fit the bores, the face-plate end held rigid
172. Wooden shell by a lathe dog. Each section is cut to exact length on
reamers
the lathe. The size is marked off and turned down to
9

/■
a thin section, which is cut off with a sharp knife.
The three sections are then reamed again to ensure
that all have the correct bore.
A socket is bored in foot and mouthpiece with
an end mill mounted in a drill press. The socket
depth is gauged with great care as are the tenon
ends of the barrel; the shoulders must butt tightly
on both ends with the tenons seated against the
bottom face of the sockets.
The barrel is remounted on its mandrel and
turned down to finished dimension. The end tenons
are channeled to receive the cork sleeve that will
join the sections with a tight friction fit. A strip of
cork sheeting is glued into the channel with a lap
joint that is smoothed flush with sandpaper on the
lathe. The mouthpiece and foot are turned to shape
with the beading cut in mainly by eye. Smoothing
is done on the lathe with garnet papers, beginning
with #100 (coarse), ranging up to #240 (fine). Lathe
speed for these turning operations is approximately
1300 to 1500 rpm.
A final run-through with the reamers to make
173. Turning contour rings with diamond 174. Fine sanding while work spins
point tool

doubly sure that the bore is true completes this

stage of construction. The joints are fitted together
with a dab of lanolin on the cork to prevent seizing
of the joint. A plug is inserted in the bell and the re¬
corder is filled with banana oil, a trade name for an
amyl acetate formulation of nitrocellulose lacquer.
The plug is removed, the fluid drained, and the re¬
corder hung up to dry. After an hour, the bore is 175. Box jig for
cleaned with a rag pushed through with a dowel. accurate drilling of finger holes

This treatment leaves the bore glisteningly smooth

and offers some protection against the moisture that
occurs during playing.
Finger hole drills are kept in a color-coded box
which also serves as a holding jig for positioning
the drill holes. Drills are a mix of standard inch and
metric sizes including numbered and letter drills.
Thumb, second, and fifth holes are the same size.
The double holes in the foot are drilled with a
wedge under the box jig to give these holes their
proper angle. A drilled ivory bushing is glued into
the thumb hole, and the double hole fingering de¬
pressions are filed with a half-round file.

151
176. Full-size plan of alto recorder.
Dimensions in millimeters.
{Drawn by Geert Vermeiren)

CNI

CNJ

<->
o6 go
 ALTO RECORDER FINGER HOLE SIZES
Dia. Dia.
Hole Drill inches millimeters
Thumb I .2720 6.9088
1. #1 .2280 5.793
2. I .2720 6.9088
3. H .2660 6.7564
4. %2" 5.5562
5. I .2720 6.9088
6. #29 .1360 3.454
7. #22 .1570 3.988
#25 .1495 3.802
*9. #21 .1590 4.039

*Note: Holes 8 and 9 drilled at30 degree angle toward bell

177. Bandsawing mouthpiece held in box jig

Mouthpiece
Three small holes are drilled where the window Cutting of the underside of the mouthpiece is
gap falls, to facilitate knife and chisel entry. The done on a bandsaw with the mouthpiece held se¬
side outline of the window is traced with a sharp curely in a box jig. The cutout is smoothed on a
knife and the ramp is cut at a shallow angle down to drum Sander. Boxwood, because of its light color,
the drill holes. A chisel is used to cut down and soils easily and is sometimes covered with masking
define the sill end of the window and the gap is tape to keep it clean while it is being worked on.
cleared out with a sharp knife. With the fipple edge The mouthpiece is mounted on a peg-shaped
(also wind cutter) at least %2" thick, the mouthpiece holding device secured in a vise to complete the
is fitted onto a lathe in a special spring-tensioned cutting of the window and fipple edge. Chisel and
holding device with screw adjustment. A two-step knife are used to cut these to their final dimension.
broaching tool designed to cut both windway and Cutting is done with slow precision to ensure that
slightly lower baffle is repeatedly pushed in and out this critical area is flawlessly correct. Small, curved
of the mouthpiece with a lever-action ram-feed. sanding sticks are used to smooth the ceiling of the
Pressure is gradually increased on the mouthpiece, windway and give it a slight degree of longitudinal
pressing it down onto the cutting edges of the arch. The underside of the fipple edge, the baffle, is
broaching tool. A steadying support under the also given a slight degree of longitudinal arch with a
shank of the broaching tool helps ensure stability curved broaching tool inserted from the embouchure
during this delicate operation. The windway is ex¬ end. All of the windway surfaces are immaculately
amined at frequent intervals while broaching pro¬ smoothed with fine garnet paper wrapped over
ceeds. Rough cutting of the windway and baffle is small sticks.
followed by a finishing cut with a finer broaching The sides of the window are canted outward a
tool. few degrees and the fipple edge is finished to a

153
A
178. Recorder sections fitted ivith ivory rings
and mouthpieces

thickness between .010" and .015". A knife edge plane define these edges. When the sides of the
would quickly warp from moisture-laden air blown tongue are down about the rounded top of the
by the player. This edge cuts air blown through the tongue is flattened with a block plane.
windway about one-third of the windway height The plug is repeatedly tested for fit as tapering
above the floor of the windway. The gap left be¬ proceeds with block plane and file. A light wooden
tween the end of the fipple plug and the fipple edge mallet taps the cedar plug in place so the fit can be
is about .175" wide. examined under a strong light by sighting from
A red cedar plug turned to an oversize tapered both ends. The plug must make an airtight seal with
shape is fitted to the mouthpiece in the final stage of the mouthpiece bore. The plug is knocked out with
construction. The long edges of the tongue are a light tap from the thin mallet handle. As tapering
scribed with a sharp knife; chisel and bullnose of the plug continually increases its interior access.

180. Cutting window with sharp knife

 181. Special broaching setup for cutting windway and baffle
{two inch area extending forward from fipple edge toward barrel joint)

the sill end of the plug must be kept ground down

to avoid striking and damaging the delicate fipple
edge.
When the plug is finally seated with a moderate
degree of forcing, the tongue is tapered from about
Vi6" on the sill end to ^/64" on the embouchure end.
The excess plug protruding from the mouthpiece is
cut out with a chisel and sanded to a smooth conti¬
nuity with the underside of the mouthpiece. Final sill
end height of the windway is about .042" and .085"
on the embouchure end. The last step in fitting the
plug is to impart a slight concavity to the longi¬
182. Broaching tool
tudinal face of the tongue—about .005" at the center.
The plug is held in place by friction, never glued.
183. Fine sanding windway and baffle At Arnold Dolmetsch Ltd. final voicing of each
instrument is done personally by Dr. Dolmetsch and
his close associates. Voicing techniques include
subtle variations in finger hole size; flaring the un¬
derside of finger holes; slight modifications of
windway; flaring of exit bore at bell; occasional
rereaming of bore. The process begins by cutting
slight chamfers in the sill end opening of the wind¬
way. As voicing proceeds, the instrument is played
to test modifications and determine where further
improvement is needed. Many instruments are
voiced to specific requirements of expert players
 184. Dr. Dolmetsch flaring
inside edge of finger holes

with well-defined ideas about the kind of tone they

want. This final, indispensable step in the construc¬
tion of a recorder is one for which Dr. Dolmetsch
feels a personal responsibility. Each instrument re¬
ceives the benefit of his unparalleled experience to
ensure that it will reach the player possessed of its
utmost capacity for a rich, balanced tone.
After voicing and tuning are completed, the re¬
corder is hand-polished with a specially formulated
lacquer to enhance the grain and protect the wood.

185. Cutting small chamfers on sill

end of windwaxj opening
Bibliography
Baines, A. European & American Musical Instruments. New Hines, C. How to Make and Play the Dulcimore. Harris¬
York: Viking, 1966. burg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, 1973.

Baines, A. Musical Instruments Through the Ages. Bal¬ Marcuse, S. Musical Instruments, A Comprehensive Dic¬
timore: Pelican Books, 1961. tionary. New York: Norton, 1975.

Benade, A. H. Horns, Strings and Harmony. New York: Mayer, R. The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Tech¬
Doubleday Anchor Books, 1960. niques. New York: Viking, 1950.

Blades, J. Percussion Instruments and Their History. Lon¬ Montagu, J. Making Early Percussion Instruments. London:
don: Faber and Faber, 1970. Oxford University Press, 1976.

Buchner, A. Musical Instruments Through the Ages. Lon¬ Murphy, M. The Appalachian Dulcimer Book. St. Clairs-
don: Spring Books, 1961. ville, Ohio: Eolksay Press, 1976.

Campbell, M. Dolmetsch: The Man and His Work. London: Osa, S. B. The Hardanger Fiddle. Oslo, Norway: Musikk-
Hamish Hamilton, 1975. Huset A/S, 1952.

Cennini, C. The Craftsman's Handbook. New York: Dover, Robinson, T. The Amateur Wind Instrument Maker. Am¬
1956. herst, Mass.: University of Massachusetts Press, 1973.

Constantine, A., Jr. Know Your Woods. New York: Scrib¬ Scruggs, E. Earl Scruggs and the Five-String Banjo. London:
ner's, 1959. Music Sales, 1968.

Gurvin, O. "The Harding Fiddle." Studia Musicologica Sevag, R. "The Harding Eiddle." In Mette Muller, ed..
Norvegica 1, Oslo, 1968. S. 14. From Bone Pipe and Cattle Horn to Fiddle and Psaltery. Co¬
penhagen: Musikhistorisk Museum, 1972.
Flagberg, K. A. and Saporito, J. F. "Early Developments in
Tambourine Technique, ca. 1800." Unpublished disserta¬ Untracht, O. Metal Techniques for Craftsmen. New York:
tion. Rochester, N.Y.: Eastman School of Music, 1975. Doubleday, 1968.

Heron-Alien, Ed. Violin-Making as it was and is. London: Wake, H. S. The Technique of Violin Making. San Diego,
Ward Lock, 1885. Cal.: Published by the author, 1973.

Hill, W. H. Antonio Stradivari. 1902. Reprint; New York:

Dover, 1963.

158
 Werco
2340 W. Nelson St., Chicago, Illinois 60618
Skin heads for drum, banjo, tambourine.

A. Constantine & Son, Inc. H. Band & Co., Ltd.

2050 Eastchester Rd., Bronx, New York 10461 Brent Way, High Street, Brentford, Middlesex TW8 8ET
Veneers, spring steel banding, precut discs for release forms, England
epoxy, woodworking supplies. Cloudy-calf drum skins, white calf for banjo and tambourine
only. {Ship worldwide)
Metropolitan Music Co.
Mountain Road, R. D. #1, Stowe, Vermont 05672 Allcraff Tool & Supply Co.
Violin and dulcimer wood, tools, supplies. 215 Park Avenue, Hicksville, New York 11801
Metalworking tools and supplies.
Vitali Import Co.
5944 Atlantic Blvd., Maywood, California 90270 Paul H. Gesswein & Co., Inc.
Violin and dulcimer wood, tools, supplies. 235 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10003
Jeweler's and engraver's supplies. {Minimum $10)
Woodcraft Supply Corp.
313 Montvale Ave., Woburn, Massachusetts 01801 John L. Rie div. Cresthill Industries Inc.
Highest quality imported and domestic woodworking tools and 196 Ashburton Ave., Yonkers, New York 12010
supplies. Mother-of-pearl, abalone. {Minimum $20)

Brookstone Company Conklin Brass & Copper Co., Inc.

Peterborough, New Hampshire 03458 322-324 W. 23rd Street, New York, New York 10011

Silver solder, hard-to-find tools. Brass, nickel silver, phosphorus bronze, aluminum. {Minimum
$15)
H. Behlen & Bro. Inc.
Vera's Art Box
Box 698, Amsterdam, New York 12010
752A Frederick Rd., Catonsville, Maryland 21228
All wood finishing materials. {Minimum $20)
Ivory saddles, nuts, odd-size pieces.
Stewart-MacDonald Mfg. Co., Inc.
F. Friedlein & Co., Ltd.
P. O. Box 900, Athens, Ohio 45701
718-20 Old Ford Rd., London E3 2TA
Banjo parts and accessories.
England.

Liberty Banjo Company Ivory.

2367 Main St., Bridgeport, Connecticut 06604
Sydney Evans Ltd.
Banjo parts and accessories.
45 Regent Place, Birmingham B1 3NB
Bucks County Folk Music Shop England
40 Sand Road, New Britain, Pennsylvania 18901 Woods, instrument making supplies.
Banjo and instrument making supplies.
Clifford Essex Music Co., Lfd.
Henry Potter & Company 20 Earlham Sf., London W.C.2
26-28 Grosvenor Road, Aldershot England
Hants GUll 3DP, England Banjo parts, accessories.
Military drums, drum accessories. {Ship worldwide)
Scoff E. Antes

Fames Drum Company 905 North Avenue N.E.

6 Drummer Lane, Wakefield, Massachusefts 01880 Massillon, Ohio 44646

Drum making accessories. Expertly drawn full-size blueprints banjos, dulcimers, others.

159
(Continued from front flap)

APPALACHIAN DULCIMER
Currently enjoying great popularity, the dul¬
cimer is a simple instrument to make. Easily
mast°red techniques for building a quality
instrument include the building of an inex¬
pensive bending iron. This is a good project for
the novice luthier who may wish to move up to
guitar making.

HARDANGER FIDDLE
This charming Norwegian folk fiddle serves as
an introduction to the art of making fiddles and'
viols. Throughout, the author stresses an indi¬
vidual, creative approach different from the
orthodoxy of traditional violin making. Novel
techniques include a simple jig for foolproof
bending of the sharply curved ribs of the inner
bouts. Carving, gilding, inlay, and surface
drawing make this an interestingly varied
project.

DOLMETSCH RECORDER
A thoroughly detailed description of the mak¬
ing of an alto recorder by the world famous
English firm of Arnold Dolmetsch Ltd. Nu¬
merous photographs illustrate drilling, ream¬
ing, turning operations, and cutting of the
mouthpiece. An absorbing account of recorder
construction for the recorder enthusiast as well
as craftsman.

IRVING SLOANE is a skilled craftsman who

brings to instrument making the eye and expe¬
rience of a professional designer. His working
life began as a sailmaker's apprentice, an initial
encounter with traditional craftwork that de¬
veloped into a continuing, active interest in
craft. This is his fourth book about musical
instruments. All of the instruments built by the
author for this book were built in a workshop
at the renowned Brussels Museum of Musical
Instruments in Belgium.

jacket design by Irving Sloane

A Sunrise Book
EfP. Dutton
2 Park Avenue
New York, N.Y. 10016
by Irving Sloane

Classic Guitar Construction

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even it you don't intend to build a gui¬
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Guitar Repair

"Virtually every ailment that may befall a guitar is

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Steel-String Guitar Construction

This first comprehensive book about steel-string

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ISBN: 0-87690-293-X 0778