The Varquain style hurdy gurdy that I am currently building is shown in the drawing as having a 1/2" thick wheel. I would like to try using some fibre resin board for the wheel as it is very stable however the nearest thickness that I can find is thinner, closer to 1 cm.
Does anyone know whether this would present any problems when playing the instrument?
I have a feeling that it probably doesn't really matter at all. In fact the Pimpard that I just finished had a 3/4" thick wheel, but I would still appreciate any insight that folks might have.
Hurdy gurdy wheel dimensions
-
Barry Black
- Posts: 53
- Joined: Mon Jul 01, 2013 9:51 pm
- Location: Comox BC Canada
-
Yuri Terenyi
- Posts: 134
- Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2012 12:56 am
Re: Hurdy gurdy wheel dimensions
What's a fibre resin board? And before using it, are you sure it will take rosin?
The thickness of the wheel makes the sound stronger or weaker. Also less or more refined. Some folk gurdies have very thick wheels, I know of a few that weigh in at 18mm. The French classical ones tend to be around 12mm or so (the 1/2") The thicker the wheel, the louder the sound.
The thickness of the wheel makes the sound stronger or weaker. Also less or more refined. Some folk gurdies have very thick wheels, I know of a few that weigh in at 18mm. The French classical ones tend to be around 12mm or so (the 1/2") The thicker the wheel, the louder the sound.
-
Barry Black
- Posts: 53
- Joined: Mon Jul 01, 2013 9:51 pm
- Location: Comox BC Canada
Re: Hurdy gurdy wheel dimensions
Thanks for the response Yuri.
Fiber resin board used to be used a lot as an insulator in high voltage applications and sometimes for printed circuit boards. It's usually medium brown colour and looks like fabric sheets glued together with some kind of fibreglass resin and is relatively dense/heavy. It's kind of nice because when I cut out the wheel and smoothed the edge, it produced a very consistent finish.
I am not sure at this point that rosin will adhere very well but if that becomes an issue, I will band it with maple like I did the wheel in the Pimpard hg. I know that epoxy sticks well to it.
Fiber resin board used to be used a lot as an insulator in high voltage applications and sometimes for printed circuit boards. It's usually medium brown colour and looks like fabric sheets glued together with some kind of fibreglass resin and is relatively dense/heavy. It's kind of nice because when I cut out the wheel and smoothed the edge, it produced a very consistent finish.
I am not sure at this point that rosin will adhere very well but if that becomes an issue, I will band it with maple like I did the wheel in the Pimpard hg. I know that epoxy sticks well to it.
Barry