Day 69-72: A Weekend Included

What a great weekend this has been. There was so much going on in Rochester that I got to walk around so much in the beautiful weather. It has been in the 70s, but some of the trees are putting on their autumn attire.

It is really nice because I've not seen this since 1998 when I was living in Baltimore. But the winters there sucked butter beans. The wind blowing off of the Chesapeak was miserable. Of course, there is a lake up here, too. And I've heard the winters here are pretty crappy. So I'm really happy that I'll be done in late November!

 There really was a lot to do this weekend, and even though I neglected my homework I don't regret one minute that I spent outside. Even cleaning the gutters wasn't bad. Dragging a heavy ladder around the house was no fun, and one time the ladder fell--I felt it going and jumped. There were a lot of soft plants to cushion the fall, but I'm really surprised that Gretchen hasn't seen the man shaped hole in her garden. Maybe the plants have recovered.

I went to the market on Saturday, and there really weren't many people about. There were no bananas in the market either, so maybe all of the missing people were getting bananas somewhere. Maybe. Or maybe it was just so beautiful out that they were having fun in other places.

It must be the end of the flower season up here--did you know that Rochester's nickname is the Flower City. It is really green and flowery and pretty up here, but that ain't all year. I'm betting that they just want to remind themselves of how beautiful it is here when they are suffering the winters.

I went a little crazy and got a variety of peppers, some sweet and some hot. It is really interesting that the hotter peppers are the smaller they are. Weird.

So I got some really sweet ones and some hot ones, and Jim the neighbor grows jalapeños, and he gave me some. So what do you do with so many peppers? You make an omelet, of course.

Now I'm not one in the kitchen. Although I do like good food, I'm more of an "eat it out of the can" kind of guy. There are just so many other things that I'd rather be doing than cooking and cleaning up the mess cooking causes. But I can make an omelet. I learned how to do this in the army. Every morning I get in line in the chow hall and watch the cooks cook eggs a bunch of different ways. But they loved to make omelets, and they were always good. So I do what they did, except I add a little milk to make the eggs fluffy.

I went to an outdoor play, where 300 actors were stationed around a block of courtyards. They were dead, playing dead. So the viewers moved around in shared space and listened to whomever they wanted--there really were a bunch of interesting stories. But if you got bored or didn't like the actor you just move on. It was a great way to spend some time, and then there was a concert afterwards. And all of this for free. It seems to me that no matter where I'm at I can find free stuff to do that is stimulating and fun.

I'm working on a double bouted machine, as you know--maybe you know. The bout is a broad area of a dulcimer. So a teardrop, like the first instrument I made, has only one bout. The hour glass that I'm working on now has a major and minor bout, the major being the biggest.

The instrument I'm building is really pretty, and not just because of the hourglass shape that reminds me of beautiful figure, but the other touches are really important, too. Like the fiddle edges. I love a dulcimer with fiddle edges. If someone asked me to not put fiddle edges on a machine I'd have to tell them to beat it, unless they had some compelling reason for not wanting them, like there dog choked on a fiddle edge and died or something. I put a picture of the instrument on FB, and a woman who plays the dulcimer said how elegant it is. And it is, only I didn't mean that--the design just makes them so. Which is why I am so happy to be with Dwain learning his craft and how to build his way.

The scroll-carved peghead is another fine feature that I love. I know I've talked about this before, but I think that the carving that is done on the front and back ends is beautiful. I watch Dwain as he explains a step in the carving and he is just whipping the tools to and fro with such precision that it is tough for me to imagine myself being that good. But I'm practicing, and my first endeavor is turning out quite well.

An instrument has to be more than pretty and elegant, though, and there is a lot of time put into the mechanics of the instrument so that it will have a great voice with good projection. So there is a lot of measuring in the thousandths (.001) of an inch. I've become very familiar with the workings of  measuring devices that go that small.

There really is so much more that happened this weekend, but it is 11pm and I'm done. Tired. I've been toying with the idea of a book on how to build dulcimers from an apprentice's perspective. There is an editor that may be willing to help. I need a heavy-handed and involved editor. So if you know such a person who may be interested pass on my site. I'm interesting. Really.

Day 68: Cuts

Today was a good day because I had oatmeal for second breakfast. I love oatmeal!

When I was training for my marathon I would make a serving for three and eat it all. I would add in dried fruits and raisins and all of the fruit would swell up. Delicious! I was so worried about my cholesterol then because I was eating at least two eggs a day--and sometimes four, so I thought that the oatmeal would balance it. I guess it did because my cholesterol is low. But I even ate oatmeal as a kid, and I seem to think it was a lot during the winter. My mom would get the instant kind, and I'd mix packages up. I'd always eat two. I don't use instant now, but I still love it.

Today was important because I had to survey the instrument for specific measurements. This is important because the transverse braces on the top need to fit into the machine. One measurement is for the fretboard.

There are four different measurements that are taken for the length and four for the half-width. It is the details like this that make this instrument superb beauty, projection, voice and action--the way that Dwain makes his and teaches me.

Then I had to put in the braces, and, as you can see the measurements that I took are really important here. I can always just eyeball it, but there would be no consistency. And do I really need so badly those two minutes that it will take to do this? Of course it took me a little longer to do this than two minutes, but this is only the second time I've done this. And Dwain had to give me a refresher. My notes are much more thorough this time now that I'm not overwhelmed with new stuff. The third should be even more specific; and the fourth should be more so.

So measure and cut. Done. There is also a brace that goes across the waist of the top. And once I put that name on it I cannot see this without seeing the female form. I know I wrote about this before, but it is really obvious to me now. This is a really pretty shape, and I'm definitely warming up to it. I cannot wait to hear how she sings and in what voice!

Then I worked on carving down the bottom for its fiddle edge. Dwain said as I was trimming down the instrument that it will be a lot easier to cut the excess off with the bandsaw and carve as little as possible. And after doing the edges I now understand why he said that, and I will take more care when cutting off the excess next time--I won't leave so much!

I'm still getting used to carving with a knife. I've always done this, since I was a small child I've carved wood, even if it was into the proverbial spear. One of my favorite things to do when camping is to carve a spear with a head and then temper it in the open fire. I got really good at this, and maybe I'll do that soon to stir some memories.

The wood is sharp, and most of the wounds on my right hand are cuts from the wood. Perhaps the bottom is not so happy to be cut up with a knife first, so he's just standing his ground. Maybe. But after some time I had the edges down and ready to be cleaned up. I'm getting better with the knife, but the wood is still a bit rough in some spots because of my carving. Beaver chewed, I call it. I'll work on that, for sure.

The last thing I worked on was carving the peghead so that the curves line up with the ribs and everting flows from the spiral in the front to the spiral in the back and then back again. Since I've not done one of these Dwain showed me how he approaches it and then just let me go to town. While the same idea will be applied to every machine like this, it is really intuition and aesthetics that bring this together.

By the end of the day I had three bandaids on and some open wounds breathing. At least the cuts are split between my hands!

Day 67: Into the Bushes

When I got back from Iraq we flew into Bangor, Maine. Then we flew back to Washington State, to Ft. Lewis, which is where I was stationed. We got there at night. I don't remember when, but I remember it was night time because there were a lot of persons there to greet us with bright lights. These persons were the family members of those in my unit. My family couldn't travel from FL to greet me, and I know I didn't even ask. So as the soldiers in my unit and their loved ones started leaving for home about six of us got on the bus to take us to the barracks. We had just experienced more than hell and came back homeless and without love. We were as quiet on that bus as we were at stand to in Iraq, and just as weary. We got to the barracks, and Wideman left. He came back in about a half an hour with booze--a lot of booze. We got so drunk that I don't even recall the night. I only remember Sgt. Scott coming in to wake us up to debrief. The army really did teach me how to drink hard. Those stories you hear about womanizing, drinking, and fighting. They are real. Now I have to fight the drinking.

Maybe it is because I went to the march this weekend, and I got to be with other veterans. Maybe it was just a lot of emotion to share with 400,000 persons. Maybe it is because my unit deployed to Iraq in October. I'm not sure why, and maybe it is all of this and much more; but I am feeling a a bit mopey. And when I'm mopey I like to drink. But I cannot drink because the army taught me how to do it so well. I did go through a VA program for drinking too well, and I'm doing really great and have been for years. But that fight goes on still.

A once friend of mine helped me to become aware of these mood swings and how I was self-medicating. She also helped me to acknowledge that awareness by exercising. These were two wonderful gifts that she gave to me, and I use them still. Like today. I went for a seven mile run. I think I'm still mopey but I'm so worn out from my run that I'm not sure. This fight is mine!

But I'm missing some friends for sure. Did I tell you about Paul Ray Smith? I went to high school with him. He joined the army, too. And he went to Iraq with the 11th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division . He was shot thirteen times, I remember hearing, and it was the thirteenth one, the one through the neck, that killed him. His wife got a fancy medal, the Congressional Medal of Honor that Smith paid for with his life. But I bet her bed is cold sleeping beside the medal while lamenting the loss of her husband, her children's father. I can still close my eyes and see the time we through him into the bushes at school. It was a right of passage to become one of the cool kids. He fought hard but went into the bushes just like the rest of us. He fought hard in Iraq, too, but he died just a bit more than the rest of us.

Okay, so officially still fighting the mopey feeling. But just like my trip into the bushes when I was in high school, I will kick and punch and gnash. But I won't quit. Never that. I'll keep fighting. The weight is lifting even now as I tell you this. But please think of all of those poor souls who are suffering immeasurably at the hands of the US. Think of the US soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen and others doing the damage in the world. Consider that 22 vets kill themselves a day--that is in one day. That is almost one an hour. Don't thank a vet for his service, find out how you can serve him. And stop the wars. The damage we do in the world is only going to come back on us. The people we're bombing have nothing to loose; we've destroyed it already!

I could go on, really. But I'll take this to bed with me and dream a little dream or two. Maybe about dulcimers.

I'm not making progress nearly as fast as I want because I'm just not ready for progress as fast as I want. What?! Yeah. I've got to slow down and be in the moment. Everyday I learn a lot from Dwain. And these lessons will be invaluable. I've just got my eyes on the prize, as it were. Did I tell you I got my first commission? There is a musician here in Rochester that plays some Indian (as in Asia) drone instruments, and I showed him the one I built. Then we talked about what he wanted, and he ordered this one from me! WooHoo!

Right when I started working this morning I looked out of the window and saw this huge buck standing in the yard by the garden. What a nice way to start the day.

So all of the braces are in and secure and I've cleaned all of the glue that I slopped around out of the machine. It is really pretty on the inside and out. Plus I did the tap test on the bottom, and it is as bassy as I wanted it to be. Now as long as the top has a baritone/bass voice the instrument should sound as I've imagined it. But there is definitely some magic that happens in the building so an outcome is never guaranteed.

I had to finish putting an edge on the plane, and I really struggled with the second stone, which was frustrating because I got an great edge with the first one. So Dwain had to walk me through the process again, and then he let me go. I eventually got a highly and even polished blade back into the plane. And I used it on my fretboard, which was a big mistake!

I created so much tear out because I went the wrong way--uphill Dwain likes to say--with the tool. But there really was no other way to go. Then Dwain said to not limit myself with one tool and that I should consider other tools, and he pulled out the scraper plane, which needed an edge put on it. Dwain probably showed me this before, but neither of us really remember if he did. We just remember the tools and us being together. Whatever. Dwain showed me the process, and then he let me go. No problems with this, though.

There are very specific measurements to achieve when making a fretboard. There must be a gentle curve from the strum hollow to the nut. The measurements at the 5th fret should be .010 of an inch, and at the 8th fret it should be .006 of an inch. So there is a lot of scraping and planing and measuring and redoing all of that. But I broke out one of my favorite tools, the cabinet scraper. I have so much control with that, and the results are obvious.

Of course there is the curve of the feet, too. So the center foot should be .075 of an inch off of the surface. To achieve this the feet have to be planed down, starting with the center one and working out. Again, there is a method specific to the process. So much to learn, really.

Again, I really do like the cabinet scrapers, and I can see that I will do as much work as I can with them. Scrapers in general are great, and now that I understand how they are used and how important they are I will make some more to fit my needs. When I did it before I had no idea what they were for. And there is still a lot that I will learn about when working with them. But I get it now.

After my run I helped Jim the neighbor move some stuff. On my way home I met Bodhi playing with some fallen leaves on the sidewalk. Those are leaves that fell out of the tree. When do leaves do this in September? Oh boy! But what a nice way to end the day.

I was really hungry after my run, so I made some rye toast with lots of salted butter, some pickle spears, a garlic clove, a jalapeño pepper, some sharp cheddar, an apple, and some chopped melon washed down with jasmine tea.