A few years back every trip to my favorite lumber-man included a spiel for stack of mulberry wood he had. It looked unsuitable to me for harp making, too dense, and the grain too coarse. But when the third trip…
Maple Enigma
Maple, the blessing and bane of the luthier, the queen of tone woods. It is no coincidence that very fine violins, guitars, mandolins etc. are made of maple. But maple is very hard, even this soft maple, and it laughs…
The Last of the Sassafras
The Ancient Enigma wire strung harp made of sassafras wood. 25 red and yellow brass strings from C below middle C to high F. Sassafras wood is incidental. The scrawny little shrubs whose roots are harvested for sassafras tea will,…
Ancient Celtic
Here is the Ancient Celtic. Here it is “in the white” , that is, with the raw wood scraped down the final dusty surface. Then with some mineral spirits applied to clean away the dust, show how the wood grain…
Muse in the Morning Sun
Today’s work in the morning sun. Today’s work in the morning sun.
Even the Tuning Wrench is Special
A harp isn’t finished until a tuning wrench is made for it. The Folc Harp tradition is to make the tuning wrench out of the same wood as the harp. Not just the same type of wood but from a…
Eyebrows
Carving the mystical Eyebrows of Skepticism
Metaphysical Harp
I dunno. Could I get more for this as a Metaphysical Art piece than I could to finish it as a harp?
Newest Harp Demo
Here in the backwoods one has to make do with wandering mountain dwarves to have demos for the harps. Ah, well…..
Ancient Muse Arise
Too long darkness has reigned in Durin’s halls: “The world is grey, the mountains old The forge’s fire is ashen-cold No harp is wrung, no hammer falls The darkness dwells in Durin’s halls” But no longer. After too long a…