I think Alden's proposal for a construction topic rocks!!! I would like to share photos and ideas and shopnotes on an amateur build. I have made several luthier tools and would encourage others that it is possible and can save a beginning luthier money (you still pay, but in time and sweat equity). Sharpening tools is one of the most basic skills you need to learn for good results in carving a peghead (or any form of woodworking, for that matter). There are so many sharpening methods out there, that sharpening would be a good topic for an amateur construction topic.
I am constructing my wooden mold, or form, for gluing up the body of my first lutebacked gurdy, using Graeme McCormack's jiri plans. I have his plan and believe it has all the info on it needed to build the entire gurdy from scratch. I would also recommend making permanent full-sized templates of each part to use on future builds. Alden's approach to a construction topic sounds good to me. Remember the saying growing up, there is safety in numbers? Home shop builders would learn alot from each other, and avoid pitfalls and mistakes by sharing each builder's experience and frustrations. A construction topic would benefit all of us. Those that are constructing a gurdy would have an area on the forum to exchange information. Those that are bothered, for whatever reason, discussing building, could just ignore the construction thread. Builders that have the patience, skill and time will have an instrument of their own. Builders that find they cannot make their own instrument would still learn alot, but would be more likely to purchase a finished instrument from a professional luthier. My vote would be for using Graeme McCormacks Jiri, but I am willing to contribute in a construction thread building any gurdy the host of this forum would decide on. This is a wonderful opportunity Alden is proposing. If you have any interest at all in allowing a construction topic, please let him know. Sincerely, Tim On Oct 31, 5:45 pm, Alden F M Hackmann <[email protected]> wrote: > As I see it, most of us agree on the following: > 1) Hurdy-gurdies built by professionals are expensive. > 2) An amateur can build a hurdy-gurdy from a kit or plans. > 3) To do so, the amateur needs to invest in some tools and (if building from > plans) some supplies. > 4) The amateur also needs to invest a substantial amount of time in the > building effort. > 5) The amateur should not reasonably expect to create a professional-quality > instrument on the first try. > > With all of that said, I am very interested in what can be done without all > the big tools, basically starting with nothing. There's a lot of room here > for discussion, sharing our experiences. > > I propose the following thought-experiment: let's choose a set of plans > that's available to everyone, and discuss the building process step by step, > tool by tool, piece by piece, to build the instrument as shown in the plans. > Consider how we would approach each problem, what tool(s) we would need to > get to do so, and keep a running list of the (virtual) costs. If something > in the plans is unworkable (such as the Varquin's bearing system) we can > discuss what to do instead. > > I would suggest Graeme McCormack's "Jiri", but the plans are for a modified > lute, not an instrument built from scratch. I don't know of any full plans > available free on the web - if you do, this is the time to speak up. ;-) > > Alden F.M. Hackmann [email protected] > > "Beati illi qui in circulum circumeunt, fient enim magnae rotae." -- 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.
