Topic: Dulcimer Maintenance February 13, 2007

[dreadmon]

Jim, Erin, Sue, Jon, Dan and Lee (and Stephen, in absentia) - thanks for the advice! I will experiment with Fast-Fret and various bodily excretions (hey, it's free, and always available, right?) The reason I ask mainly is that with my old beat-up dulcimers, I don't care much about the finish - but will be getting some newer instruments soon and wanted to be sure I don't aid in killing the finish. Thanks again!

[Ken Bloom]

Hi guys,

I'm new here but I'll try to address some of the issues raised. I have always found that if you keep your instrument clean you don't need any lubricants. If you are using a good and efficient technique, then a clean instrument is a happy instrument. With regard to keeping your finish looking good, it depends on the finish. A lacquer finsih just nneds to be kept clean. If it really gets befouled, a trip to the auto parts store may be in your future. Meguiars makes a range of polishing products and these are used by most top guitar buildiers to polish their lacquer finishes. Don't overuse fine abrasives or you'll remove the finish. A good cleaning once a year should do it. If you are wearing off finish, time to carefully examine your technique as well as thinking about how to patch up the instrument.
Sudden changes in humidity and temperature can cause cracks. It's very simple. If you go to a very dry environment, the wood gives up moisture quickly and shrinks. Wood is basically a bundle of very small tubes. When those tubes contain moisture, they maintain their size. When they lose it gradually the cell wall can accomodate the change. If the change is too sudden...........CRACK!!!!!!!!!!!! Cracks can be repaired. Leave it to the professionals. An improperly repaired crack is much more difficult to fix.
Strings lose their brightness from wear and dirt. Again, you don't need a physics degree to account for this. For a wound string, dirt lodges in between the windings adding weight and dampening vibration. For the unwound strings, they can develop tiny flat spots where they hit the fret. Once you have these inconsistencies the string will no longer vibrate in a manner that produces a consistent overtone series. The metal does not change molecular structure. It just gets hammered. It can also corrode, again becoming inconsistent and no longer able to vibrate smoothly. Strings do break from metal fatique but normally only at major points of stress i.e. the bridge or the nut. When they sound lousy, change 'em.
It's a good idea to look over your instrument and check for loose screws, or anything out of place. Polishing your frets occasionally with 0000 steel wool is a good idea. Gets rid of dirt and corrosion. Leave fret leveling to professionals unless you are prepared to invest in the proper tools and learn the technique. You can get all the information and tools from Stewart-MacDonald if you want to do it yourself. It's not difficult, just a bit tedious. I think I've addressed all the concerns raised here. Hope some of this is of some use.

Ken Bloom