Day 18: It Begins.

Or maybe I should say that I've begun my first dulcimer. But we'll get to that.

Yesterday Dwain's wife got home from her excursion in Kenya, where she went to protect the game wardens from poachers. People go en masse and hike around with the wardens who are protecting the elephants and other beasts. And with Catherine's return comes Sedona, the dingo-like dog. She is so shy and so cute, but she had no problems taking a piece of my snack!

We had a nice breakfast of cereal, fruit, yogurt and tea. We talked
about visiting one of Dwain's friends in PA, and Val is going to drive up and meet us. Then we get to drive home together. The place we are meeting at is amazing, and it has the largest dulcimer collection in the world. And they just live around the place. The B&B is beautiful, and they have great rates!

And we talked about how I'm going to get my name out there and build a solid reputation. Of course, the first thing I have to do is build nice dulcimers. Then I will start reaching out to people.

Today I did the last book matching in the shop. I definitely have the process down. I will have to build a jig for myself, but I now know how.

Dwain finished the Grand that he was working on, and he took measurements and logged a bunch of information. He does this for every machine that he builds so that he has a reference of what he did, plus, if he alters a part of the instrument he can log the results and compare them with further alterations.

Then we went on a field trip to Bernie Lehmann's shop, where he builds guitars and other instruments, like this One Joe. It is eight feet tall. Bernie said that it is an instrument that he made for a group that gets together and tries to make music using instruments that they make--to be in the group you have to make an instrument and perform. What fun!

We didn't get to see his lutherie studio because we were doing business in his showroom, and then a client with a spectacular bass come in to get some work done. So Bernie looked over Dwain's Grand, and they discussed the part that Bernie had to do. They went around for some time, and they finally came to a consensus about what should happen.

There were so many really nice instruments, and there were some really crazy ones, too. I loved the banjo with three necks, and I figured if I got this for Val than I would save on the cost of two other banjos.

We didn't get to go into his lutherie studio, and I will definitely make a return trip to see how he makes his magic.

Intarsia image from www.

Bernie showed us a guitar he as making using spruce and bloodwood, and it was just beautiful. It is wonderful to see a great craftsman making really pretty instruments. It got me wondering about making dulcimer tops with intarsia. I know the tone of the instrument would change, but I wonder how much. And could I even plane down to .070 an intarsia image?

We went on another errand, where Dwain had to buy straps to make straps for the dulcimers that he is sending out. We went to Joann's, where he met a friend that he'd not seen in 10 years. While they were visiting I was trying to find on my phone a Joann Fabric coupons that was send to me. I was  having some difficulty, and I asked the girl, Jessica, who was cutting the straps for Dwain if she could help. She was really sweet and helped me find the coupons online. She'd over heard Dwain say that I was his apprentice and would be making dulcimers, and she said that she is a music ed. major, but wants to go into the instrument repair business, specializing in woodwinds. Well, Dwain was still chatting it up with his friend, so I talked for a couple more minutes with Jessica. I gave her a card and said that if she wanted to tour the shop Dwain would be too pleased. Dwain did seem pleased, and not just because she helped Dwain save over $11!

Then we went into Target so that I could get a pair of head clippers. My hair is so long that it stinks. And then my hat stinks. And then I stink. Plus, I feel like a hippie with all of this hair!

Then we got back and had a snack, which has grown into my number one snack: mango, cottage cheese, and crackers. I added two boiled eggs because I'm not getting enough protein. I was so foul by the time we were eating last night, and I don't like that, not one bit.

Then we started working on my first dulcimer! The fretboard comes first, and there were two pieces of wood from which to choose. Of course Dwain chose the one where I'd have to do the most work--why else am I here?!

So I had to trim the board and plane the sides. It was a challenge because I had to use the jointer plane on its side. So I had to square that blade of the plane--not the body, mind you, the blade--to the table. Finding my stroke was a bit of a challenge, but by the time I did both sides I had a good thing going.

Once I was done with that I had to mark out the wood using the template. Then, I had to use the little band saw to cut away the unwanted wood. Now let me just say that I have hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of hours on a band saw and I can cut with it following almost any line. I'm that good! So my first cut was off by half an inch. The piece had to be glued back into its original spot and clamped tightly.

I'm glad that I didn't brag to Dwain about my cutting prowess! But I did after the fact, which made the whole incident funnier.

And we ended on that note: Mr. cuts-so-great has to repair his first piece. What I didn't say is that every cut after that one was right on, and some of them were pretty tricky. Note to self--always make a practice cut on a saw that is new to me when I'm in another's shop.

Dwain had a meeting tonight at 5, so we knocked off at 4:40. Dwain gave me and the bike a ride home, which was great because I wanted to run at some point this week.
I ran four miles through the city. I got cat-called by a construction worker, but he wasn't my type. So I just ran on. Drivers are pretty considerate when it comes to pedestrian (and bike) traffic. So I finished in under 40 minutes, but I'm not sure of my time. Plus city running is inherently slower than trail running, where I don't have to stop for red lights and intersections.

I had a great dinner of croutons, a can of tuna fish, a banana, and an apple. Then for dessert I had two spicy pickles and five sweet peppers. I was definitely sated!