Awesome idea, Alden! Since there don't appear to be any good public / free plans to start with, perhaps it would be interesting to start a project with a discussion of some of the simpler body types such as the box shaped symphonie/organistrum which seems particularly well suited for amateur construction. I started with an instrument of this sort from Bernard Ellis (inspired by the instrument Ben Bagby played in Sequentia), and found it both playable and simple.
I'm not suggesting a historical model, but something more modern and generalized - Perhaps we could come up with sort of a Symphonie "1000 year anniversary edition"! My second thought is a bit more radical, but I have to mention it. I've been working with laser cut birch ply (I have a makerbot 3D printer in the shop), and I love the material, and the "Maker" aesthetic that goes with it. I keep thinking about (hallucinating?) an open-source symphonie design with a laser cut birch ply body and soundboard, finger jointed, assembled with hex screws (so it could be taken apart and re-worked). Most cities have places to cut the parts inexpensively (there are a couple maker associations in my neighborhood in Seattle for example, and parts can also be sourced over the net). Critical components such as the keys might be made from laser cut UHMW. Perhaps even a laser cut MDF wheel? The resulting instrument would not win a traditional beauty contest, but I suspect that it could make an excellent chassis for an inexpensive instrument, and still be quite playable. All speculation, at the moment of course. What do YOU think? --Norm On Mon, Oct 31, 2011 at 7:45 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] <mailto:hurdygurdy%[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. -- 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.
