MIMF

I'm building my first hammered dulcimer. The bottom is going to be maple plywood. The plans I have has the pin blocks and frames resting on top of the bottom panel - so the plywood edge would show. The plans call for a thin trim around all edges, which would of course cover the plywood edge. I'm thinking of going a different route and have come up with 2 options. First would be to route the bottom panel into the pin blocks and frames. I'm not sure if this would negatively affect the overall strength. The second would be to edge the plywood with 1/2-in of maple so it presents solid wood at the edges.

I'm a novice woodworker with a limited number of tools - besides hand tools I've a table saw and a router. Any suggestion on the best approach?

Routing a ledge into the frame would be the most elegant solution and would not effect the strength. A router or table saw will work for this cut. On my dulcimers I used screws and glue to attach the plywood base.

Thanks!

I repaired a hammered dulcimer that had the back inset into a 3/4 inch dado in the top and bottom rails and into the pin blocks. Over time the pin blocks rotated from the string tension and because solid wood was used for the back panel it cracked from humidity changes.
Hammered dulcimers are under a lot of tension. The back panel is a major force to counteract the pull of the strings. I would be inclined to edge the plywood and glue it to the entire surface of the pin blocks and rails as some of the better makers do.