Something Old, Something New

Quite a lot has happened over the last couple of weeks. My ex, who I hadn't seen for 10 years or more, called to say she was going to be at her parents for a few days and only about 45 minutes away. She wanted to get together for lunch and give me an instrument she found at an antique store. Also, she has an old Gibson J-45 that she felt needed new frets, so she brought that along too. We met at a Mexican restaurant that we used to frequent in the 1960s-1970s in San Juan Bautista. She brought her 90-year-old mother along. It was good seeing them both again.

My ex had no idea what the instrument was when she bought it. All the dealer told her was that she though it was Hungarian. As soon as I saw it, I knew immediately that it was a Hungarian zither, an instrument that dates back several hundred years. It is incredibly weathered, looking as if it had been left outdoors for the last 75 years or so. It looks like weathered barn wood. It was probably found in a California gold rush town, since that's the area where my ex lives now with her family. It was simply made and the hand carving was elementary chip carving--no real design elements, just some edge fluting. The wear next to where it was strummed shows it was played a lot.

Traditionally, Hungarian zithers are backless. The back is open. Since these were usually played on a table top, the table would act as a resonating surface. This one has 13 strings. Nine come off the main head piece, and two each on the two shorter side heads. Inside there is some faded writing that looks like a Hungarian name and possibly a date. I first thought it was kind of a stylized representation of 1928 or 1938, but on further examination, the numbers seem to represent something else. Also, the writing seems to be in faded ink and might have been written many years after it was made. There are nails used as bridges and some are used to hold the top to the sides. They are not old 19th century square  cut nails, but manufacture round wire nails. That means this would have been made after 1890, when round nails became more common.

The first thing I did with the old zither after I got it home was to measure it and create a technical drawing so I could reproduce the instrument one day.

Meanwhile, back in the shop...

I few weeks ago, my old Dremel rotary tool started to act up again. The flexible shaft began to get hot to the touch, which means the cable was unraveling and about ready to break. I've gone through several cable already, and the cost was getting to high to maintain the tool. I bit the bullet and ordered a larger, professional quality Foredom rotary carving tool. So far, it's proven itself to be a good heavy-duty carving machine. The first results are shown in the next picture. Two walnut heads and one maple. I've also carved out bowls on ten spoons. The Foredom has a foot pedal, so it makes it easier to regulate the carving speed.

There are three dulcimers and one Pennsylvania German-style scheitholt on my workbench right now, as well as the Chapter House Harp, that I've started working on again. More about those later.

Onward through the fog.

B-a-a B-a-a Black Sheep...

The first month of 2009 is speeding by and is almost over. In the last few weeks I was able to finish three of the instruments that I started after Open Studios last October. With guests, holidays, traveling, and the big business and web site change from Coog Instruments to Ron Cook Studios, I felt guilty for not spending enough time in the studio. I just have to keep telling myself that there's not enough hours in the day to do everything. Plus, I have to stop to smell the roses once in a while--and sleep.

New Work

Well, I'm awake now.

I've shown little bits of some of my new works, and now you can see the finished pieces. My newest pride is called "The Black Sheep". It's the third of my banjo-dulcimers. Like the others, this  one is almost 100% salvaged and recycled wood. The neck is laminated lacewood and zebrawood, more woods from a local spear gun maker (for diving sport fishermen), with a maple fingerboard (the only new wood). The rim is mahogany, cut from an old patio table. The back is olive, poplar, and maple. The olive came from a tree cut down to make way for a  new house across the street from us. The poplar was from logs given to me by a friend. The maple was scrap. The top is 125+ year old Douglas fir, salvaged from a Portland, Oregon, warehouse that was torn down. The body is larger than the previous banjo-dulcimers and has a much deeper tone. It's very easy and fun to play.

My other two pieces are nearly identical. They are the second and third of my Cantigas Psaltery series. The surface wood is all  recycled white oak, like the first one, that came from an  old broken drop-leaf table some friends gave me. Bindings are purpleheart, on one, and black walnut on the other. These small psalteries have 15 nylon strings (two diatonic octaves) and have a pleasant harp-like tone.

Coming Up

I've returned to the carving of my Chapter House Harp. I've been working on this off and on for the last few years. Originally, I was carving not only a face, but braids and decorations all the way down the harp's post. It got a little overwhelming, and I put it away for a while. Recently I re-thought the design and came up with a lovely and more traditional look. It's going to be a spectacular piece. More on that later.

I'm also working on another test piece for my Chapter House Portative Organ. I'm trying a different key and wind chest design, and I thing this one will work much better than the first. More on that later too.

In March I'll be heading for Scottsdale, Arizona, for the Scottsdale Arts Festival. It's held in the Civic Plaza Park area March 2o-22. It occurs during baseball's spring training and is one block from the Giants training field. If you're there for the baseball, or if you're vacationing, or if you live there, come on by and see the great arts and crafts at the Festival. My booth number will be available soon.

Once again, for now, onward through the fog.