I apologize for coming across as 'rude', but as one who has never had a professionally built gurdy, nor any formal training in luthiering (lutherie?), and who has built all his instruments without plans or drawings, I look first and foremost at the functionality of an instrument.
There are only a few real 'standard' things that are common to modern gurdies, they are not 'optional' as they are what makes the gurdy a gurdy and not an HGLO (hurdy Gurdy like object). And I have built several of those before actually building what might be considered my first 'real' gurdy. Starting from the front, if you have a tirant tuning peg (the tuning peg on the tailpiece of the instrument) that signifies that the instrument is to be fitted with a chien - the string / bridge combination that makes the trademark buzzing rhythm of the gurdy. Not all gurdies have a chien, but if they are fitted with a tirant tuning pin, they should. This instrument does not have the buzzing bridge that is the chien bridge. So if you are going to build from these plans, you should either omit the tirant pin and build this as the sound equivalent of a very early gurdy, or you should research the bridge construction and placement, and add it to your gurdy. I suggest the second option. The flexibility and performance options the chien adds are quite worth the effort. Since we cannot see inside the tangent box, there is no criticism that can be given at this time. But once you get to the back, you see some indication of what the instrument was designed for. The ears, the extensions that come out fromt he body/neck of the gurdy that hold the strings away from the keybox, are set up to have 2 strings each. The tuning head has 6 pegs, which translates into (in this setup) 2 chanters or melody strings, and 4 drones. Since the chien is simply a specialized drone, that gives you 3 'static' drones, one chien, and 2 chanters, which is a very common configuration. But we now return to the front of the instrument. The standard gurdy has a bridge for the chanters in the center of the soundboard, and bridges for the drones on each side. Usually these bridges are set up in a kind of ladder-like configuration, with the outside stretcher missing. Like bunk-beds for your strings. The bridges allow in this configuration 2 strings on the 'top' side of the instrument, and one string in the upper position on the bottom side, allowing the chien to pass by and sit on it's own bridge. The notches in these bridges are offset from one another following the same curve as the diameter of the wheel. If you add more drones (bourdons) then you add more steps to the bridge, and each step higher is also a step a little closer to the centerline. The instrument picture on the site you show doesn't have the correct bridges to match the tuning head and 'ears'. It is almost like someone took a photo of a traditional gurdy, and a photo of a very early sinphone or organistrum, and photoshopped them together. The tail end of the instrument, except for the tirant tuning pine (and what looks like a drawn in, loose tirant cable) is set up just like the 14th century box sinphone, and the head end is set up like a modern gurdy. The woodworking, as I said earlier, is nice, but unless you simply intend to build an instrument to hang on your wall, that is not so important. THe appearance is not traditional, but also, I like being unusual - if you look in the archives, you will be able to read a thread about designing a probable medieval instrument, not just a copy of a painting, in order to be different. That instrument is actually under construction, I found some 5 inch thick walnut planks, 14 inches wide and 12 foot long, that I am using to build the body. The design is a conglomeration of designs that we have 'some' evidence that they existed, but the instrument will still be a modern form gurdy with 5 strings (2 bourdons, 2 chanters, 1 chien) with all the accompanying and proper hardware. I started out as you are, with more woodworking skill than instrument making skill, and the biggest reason I succeeded as soon as I did in building an instrument was the knowledge and discussion that I found on this list. Cali and Alden, Roy, Simon, so many others with real skill in the HG building art, chimed in with criticisms, suggestions, warnings and other advice. They treated me like I was part of this community from the get-go, and were honest and clear in their interactions. People helped me make decisions on what to do with my instrument, and they help make decisions on what to do with the newest projects I am building, and sometimes that is critical assessment, sometimes it is enthusiastic agreement, but it is always support, and involved, interested support at that. Many here are professionals (I am an amateur, and will remain so for quite some time I am certain), but they do not act like the professionals on so many other discussion groups - they might be far above us average mortals in skill, but they don't hold themselves above us in status. And that is why this list is so great. I apologize for seeming rude. I do want, as the rest of this list does as well, to see you build something that increases your enthusiasm and love of the instrument, not squashes it. I am certain that you will find that this is EXACTLY the kind of help you really need - not just a bunch of cheerleaders, but people and topics with real, relevant information meant to inform and educate, not to discourage and dismay. Welcome to the family, and again, my apologies if I cam across rude - it wasn't my intent. Chris Nogy rank amateur *********** REPLY SEPARATOR *********** On 5/14/2007 at 11:26 PM john tappan wrote: Well, guys, thanks for the welcome! So far, Ive had one offer for help (thanks, Marc!) and three criticisms of the plans Ive bought. Not exactly the kind of support I was looking for!! To my way of thinking, unless youre going to build an historically accurate hg with historically accurate decoration (pick your builder, your style, and your decade), then a set of plans is just a beginning point. Ive rarely built anything exactly like the plans specifiedtheres always room for changes, adaptations, and some creative license. Im assuming your good intentions, but really As far as Pascal Crangats plans, Ive been looking at hg sites for months and I had never come across that name, so I googled him and found one site in French. I dont read French, so if he does have plans for sale, however good they might be, I wouldnt know it. And if I did know it, Id expect the plans to be in French, as well, so I doubt they would be very helpful to me anyway. Now if he has an English version, I might be interestedI havent built anything yet. John Tappan
