I am constructing a hammered dulcimer. I am just about ready to install the turning pins (steel pins about 1/4 inch in diameter) into their holes in the pin block. My question is: should I shellac the pin block and then drive the pins into their holes? Will the shellac be elastic enough or will it crack/blemish. The pins have to be very tight in their holes to hold the pitch of the string.
The rest of the instrument has been finished with shellac and the wood on top of the pin blocks is 1/4 inch of macassar ebony over hard rock maple.
Thanks everyone,
Tim
Replies
Shellac is one of the hardest and inelastic of finishes. I'm not really sure what you are doing but you should not rely on shellac having any elasticity.
I would think you would finish first and then drive the pins. I'd hate to even think about trying to finish around those 10,000 pins. (Of course, even that would be easier than stringing and tuning one of these things!)
You might also wanna ask over at the musical instrument maker's forum: http://www.mimf.com.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
I would go ahead and shellac first. If driving in the pins cracks the finish you should be able to re-melt the shellac by spraying with ethanol.
Thanks for the advice. I have finished shellacing and I plan to begin driving pins tomorrow. I"ll let you know how it goes.Tim "Harmonica" Henshaw
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