Popular Woodworking 2002-04 № 127, страница 58
Tuning head 9 5/16"- 11 3/8"- 12 5/16"- 13 3/16"-14"- 15 9/16"- 16 7/8"-17 1/2"- 18 11/16"- 19 11/16"-20 1/8"- 21"- 21 3/4" 22 7/16"-22 3/4" Bridge #2 -\ 5 6 Extra 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 All patterns shown half-scale Tuner 1/2" stock Outline of / brace ' ^^ below Bevel in 12°^ Tuning head plan i 1/2" stock J! Bevel in 4.5° Bevel out 22.5 Tuning head brace plan 13/8" stock Tailpiece ■ Tailpiece profile Heart cutout plan square stock, make two light, open braces, like the ribs in an airplane's wing, H" x 13/4" x 15". Glue them across the bottom, one-third of the way from each end. Leave the top open for now. Dueling Fretbars Cut two fretbar blanks 29" long. Before you build your fretbars, however, decide if your instrument will be for left- or right-handed players. (More on that later.) Using a square, pencil a line across the fretbar about 1/2" from one end. Bridge No. 1 (called a "nut" by professional instrument builders) will go here. This is the tuning head end. Physics dictate that the playing length of the strings must be 28" — so exactly 28" from bridge No.1, make a mark for bridge No. 2, at the tailpiece end. Lightly pencil each fret's position following the fretbar layout diagram at left. A quick word about the fret at 133/16". Some people consider this fret unnecessary. I can't remember where I learned about adding this extra fret. Many old dulcimers don't have it — but I know from experience that many tunes can't be played without it. Before installing the frets, cut out the picking hollow using a band saw or coping saw. Make it about 33/4" long, starting 13/8" from the tailpiece end. Use 3/64" brass rods for making the frets. Starting with pieces slightly more than 2" long, bend 1/2" legs down from each end with square-nosed pliers. After making each bend, use the pliers as a mini anvil and lightly hammer the staple corners square. With a little practice, you'll soon be hammering out perfect little croquet wickets, 1" wide, with 1/2"-long vertical legs. Make 18 for each fretbar. Now draw two parallel lines lengthwise on the fret- 4 58 Popular Woodworking April 2002 |
