Well, that's a little bit beside the point. I built my first for less than that probably less than $100. Yes it was mostly scrap wood and metal. And it took every spare minute I had for at least 6 months, the last three of which entailed a great deal of hoping that it sounded OK, I mean the Hurdy -Gurdy. I had never heard one (well, It turns out I had, but I just thought it was very smooth-sounding bagpipes). So I went to OTW for help on the final stages and realized that I had undershot by a huge margin. I went ahead and bought a nice one for quite a bit less than I've seen non-domestic guitars sell for. Then I tried to shore up my original. That didn't work either. Now I'm too beat up, to try again.
That's not the point either; here's the point. Where does one get off trying to get all of us to essentially give him a free-to-cheap instrument, "but it's got to be nice or it's not worth my while". And then he has the %^&#$ to whine about our treatment of him. !!!! Good riddance. I guess I ought to clear out before I say what I REALLY mean (I don't think Alden and Kali allow that sort of language here anyway). I do miss the lot of you. Roy T. (as opposed to R.T. and several others) On Mon, Oct 31, 2011 at 11:59 AM, Bruno Fournier <[email protected]> wrote: > guys, guys, building a HG is difficult, yes, but nothing out of the > extraordinary. Just need a lot of patience and trial and error. I built a > symfonia to begin with, to get myself familiar with the concept, and then > built a Hurdy Gurdy. Complexity is the model you will build, if lute back > it will be more complex. As for the cost, you can easily build for less > than 500 $ of materials, not calculating your labor. > > regards > > Bruno > > > On Mon, Oct 31, 2011 at 11:37 AM, Augusto de Ornellas Abreu < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> Come on, don't be like that! >> >> NO ONE here discouraged building, we just told the ORIGINAL poster that >> his perspective of building himself a gurdy for less than a very affordable >> kit, with enough profit margin to sell it for 1200 was not a realistic goal >> to have. >> >> People on my side of the discussion made the point (with actual figures >> to support it) that one should build for the fun and personal satisfaction >> behind the endeavour, but not to get his hands on a cheap instrument. HG >> makers do NOT work with a wide enough margin to make it self-evident and >> certain that anyone with some tools and some woodworking experience would >> be able to - in his first attempt - make himself an actual working gurdy >> (and not a HGLO) for much less that someone with a fully equipped shop, all >> jigs and molds already properly made and spare parts already made and >> fitted (bushings, bearings, tangents, etc). >> >> What there is no place here for is this kind of immaturity that >> interprets a very good discussion with great points being made on BOTH >> sides of the argument and twists it immensely, taking it personally and >> distorting the whole point. >> >> On Mon, Oct 31, 2011 at 12:48 PM, timw <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Description The general subject of the list is hurdy-gurdies: their >>> music, players, maintenance, recordings, events, construction, and >>> anything else that seems pertinant. We welcome discussion of all >>> aspects of the instrument. >>> >>> This group seems to delight in not supporting construction, but rather >>> discourage it. I am the obvious newcomer here and this hasn't been a >>> welcoming group. >>> >>> You can sigh comfortably, this is my final post. Tim, newcomer and >>> amateur luthier. >>> >>> On Oct 30, 9:52 pm, Felicia Dale <[email protected]> wrote: >>> > Well said, Leonard. >>> > >>> > Felicia. >>> > >>> > On Oct 29, 2011, at 11:16 AM, Leonard Williams wrote: >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > > I built my own hurdy gurdy after years of longing to own one >>> > > without the means of purchase. I had some experience with >>> > > woodworking, some good tools (power and hand), and very good plans >>> > > for an early renaissance model purchased from a professional >>> > > builder. Because of the bizarre grain of the wood I had (American >>> > > elm), I had trouble finding someone willing to surface the wood (a >>> > > rough plank) to my dimensions; I had to rough it on a table saw and >>> >>> > > get final thicknesses with a hand plane and scrapers. With some >>> > > patient telephone coaching from the designer of the instrument I was >>> >>> > > able build a simple (no trompette, single chanter, 3 drone) hurdy >>> > > gurdy. Howerever, it was a number of years before I finally got the >>> >>> > > “finished” instrument set up satisfactorily (This forum was a great >>> >>> > > help in the final stages!). >>> > > I am no longer sure of the material costs, but it was far >>> > > less than a professionally built instrument. I am proud of the >>> > > result of my labors, and builcing my gurdy fulfilled a desperate >>> > > need. BUT—would I do it again? I think not—I’d try to save up and >>> > > buy one from a craftsman/artist who knows what he’s doing. This is >>> > > certainly not intended to discourage anyone from trying to build a >>> > > hurdy gurdy or any instrument on his own—by all means try it if you >>> > > really want to! I learned a lot from the experience and do not >>> > > regret it—just be aware that it requires a good deal of patience. >>> > > There is an element to instrument building that is purely >>> > > mechanical, but every collection of wooden parts is an organic >>> > > entity which requires its own peculiar tweaking to become a musical >>> > > instrument. >>> > >>> > > Regards, >>> > > Leonard Williams >>> > > _ >>> > > [: :] >>> > > / | | \ >>> > > | | | | >>> > > (_==_) >>> > > !~¿ >>> > >>> > > On 10/26/11 4:46 PM, "Steven Tucker" <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> > >>> > >> Ulrich, why would want this discussion to stop? It's getting >>> > >> really interesting. There is considerable knowledge and talent >>> > >> here on this forum and I think the subject of "Affordable Hurdy >>> > >> Gurdy Construction" is worth delving into. I guess I'm assuming >>> > >> that someone who is looking into building their own gurdy will >>> > >> search this forum and discover this thread an so it's appropriate >>> > >> to discuss the costs and ramifications of attempting to build one >>> > >> from scratch within a budget. >>> > >>> > >> On Wed, Oct 26, 2011 at 7:25 AM, Kazimierz Verkmastare >>> > >> <[email protected]> wrote: >>> > >>> Alden, I hope you don't mind me using you for an example. >>> > >>> > >>> Steve, will you agree with this statement - "If what you want is >>> > >>> an Olympic Chinook, then you shouldn't expect, unless you are Cali >>> >>> > >>> and Alden, to be able to build one for less than they do. They >>> > >>> have streamlined production and amortized costs, and probably >>> > >>> can't lower costs (materials + labor + tools) further." >>> > >>> > >> I would actually say that if what you want is an Olympic Chinook >>> > >> then you shouldn't expect to be able to build one at all unless >>> > >> you're Cali and Alden. Now if you were an experienced luthier and >>> > >> had an actual Olympic Chinook in front of you, and were experienced >>> >>> > >> and proficient at top voicing, then you might expect to be able to >>> > >> make a reasonably good copy, but not for less than they do. >>> > >>> > >>> So say you want a Chinook, if you are as skilled and >>> > >>> knowledgable as the Hackmans, you can build yourself one for >>> > >>> probably $1700 or $1800, real cost. (Don't remove labor cost from >>> > >>> the equation - your time is worth it). >>> > >>> > >> I agree with almost everything you've been saying except the part >>> > >> about counting labor time as real cost. Now this is true if we're >>> > >> talking about someone who is thinking about going into business of >>> > >> making hurdy gurdies to sell, but if I want to spend my unpaid time >>> >>> > >> on learning about and building a hurdy gurdy, and don't buy premium >>> >>> > >> AAAA luthierie woods, then my total cash outlay for a Chinook-like >>> > >> hurdy gurdy would be around $300 or less -- even accounting for >>> > >> precision bushings and a shaft from McMaster Carr and a AA spruce >>> > >> top from Luthier's Mercantile. >>> > >>> > >> The expensive exotic hardwoods and highly figured woods that >>> > >> luthiers use in their instruments don't have anything to do with >>> > >> the sound quality or stability of the instrument. ( I could launch >>> >>> > >> into a huge discussion proving this statement, but it's already >>> > >> been hashed out quite thoroughly in many forums and technical >>> > >> papers.) Beautiful wood is an artistic choice. >>> > >>> > >> [...] >>> > >>> > >>> Tools? You don't need tools. A pocketknife, a piece of broken >>> > >>> window glass, a hacksaw blade nailed to a bent willow twig, a >>> > >>> carpenter's pencil and a leather punch, that's all you need, >>> > >>> right? No. >>> > >>> > >> I would contend that all you need is a bow saw with a thin blade >>> > >> and a thick blade, a luthier's knife (made from an old file), a >>> > >> steel scraper, a drill, and possibly a wood carvers gouge. >>> > >> (Assuming you buy the shaft, bushings, and top wood). >>> > >> [...] >>> > >>> > >>> [...] But a player who wants a good instrument but can't afford >>> > >>> one and has little woodworking skills does not stand a great >>> > >>> chance of success in building a great gurdy fast and with only a >>> > >>> couple of hundred bucks to throw at the project. And those are >>> > >>> the folks we address here. >>> > >>> > >> A few years back, at a music camp, I met a very excellent gurdy >>> > >> player who had built his own. It had a great sound, easily >>> > >> comparable to the $5000 range instruments also at camp. It was the >>> >>> > >> first instrument he ever built (he was about 24 years old), and he >>> > >> made it using only hand tools and a power drill in his apartment >>> > >> living room. The body was a converted $10 classical guitar, the >>> > >> shaft and bearings were wood, and the wheel was made from a scrap >>> > >> of Baltic Birch plywood. It was quite fascinating to watch the >>> > >> "nose in the air" disdain from other gurdy players turn to >>> > >> mortification when they realized that this disreputable looking >>> > >> instrument made their very expensive showpiece sound like a thinly >>> > >> wailing rodent. (their words, not mine, said in good jest I'm sure.) >>> > >> This kid wasn't a genius, didn't come from a professional >>> > >> woodworking family, had only had the experience of playing on a >>> > >> friends gurdy "a few times". He told me it took him about two >>> > >> weeks of evenings to put together and the hardest part was cutting >>> > >> the key guides and getting the dog to buzz right. >>> > >>> > >> -S >>> > >>> > > -- >>> > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> > > Groups "hurdygurdy" group. >>> > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] >>> > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> > > [email protected] >>> > > For more options, visit this group at >>> > >http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy >>> > >>> > > The rules of posting, courtesy, and other list information may be >>> > > found athttp://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm. To reduce >>> > > spam, posts from new subscribers are held pending approval by the >>> > > webmaster. >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "hurdygurdy" group. >>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected] >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> [email protected] >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy >>> >>> The rules of posting, courtesy, and other list information may be found >>> at http://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm. To reduce spam, posts >>> from new subscribers are held pending approval by the webmaster. >>> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >> Groups "hurdygurdy" group. >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected] >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> [email protected] >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy >> >> The rules of posting, courtesy, and other list information may be found >> at http://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm. To reduce spam, posts >> from new subscribers are held pending approval by the webmaster. > > > > > -- > > Bruno Cognyl-Fournier > > www.estavel.org > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "hurdygurdy" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy > > The rules of posting, courtesy, and other list information may be found at > http://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm. To reduce spam, posts from > new subscribers are held pending approval by the webmaster. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hurdygurdy" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy The rules of posting, courtesy, and other list information may be found at http://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm. To reduce spam, posts from new subscribers are held pending approval by the webmaster.
