Hammered Dulcimer build

[David Knutson]

I'm working on building this 12/11 Dulcimer. There are no instructions - just the drawing. I will glue the pin blocks and frames to the base. The bridge braces will also be glued in place. What I'm not sure about is the soundboard and the side bridges - should they also be glued in place?

I was thinking that this design uses a floating top, but now I'm not sure.

[Barry Daniels]

On my dulcimers, everything was glued except for the bridges. String pressure holds them in place. A few wood screws were also used during assembly of the frame.

[Clay Schaeffer]

I knew a builder who left his tops "floating", with only the string tension holding them in place. He relied on the frame rails and internal framing to hold the pin blocks in place. He liked that he could get inside the body of the dulcimer if he needed to. The internal framing made a heavy dulcimer. I think gluing the soundboard and back to the frame, as Barry mentioned, might allow for a stronger and lighter construction.

[Barry Daniels]

The tops on my dulcimers were made from 1/8" thick birch plywood (door skins). So secure attachment was necessary to keep them from flapping around. I always wanted to try a solid spruce, floating top but never got around to it.