Collection of images from construction since I last updated.

This post will not have many words, but will be more a connection of all the photos I have taken since my last update a while ago.

The back piece is now done:

I have also completed bookmatching on the bottom board

The sodes have had their walnut strips glued on.

The keybox is close to completion.

The wheel has been glued and cut to a rough shape, 

I fashioned a new peg board for the peg box,

This is what the current pieces I have look like set together unglued

Glueing the body.

Major Progress on the Sides

My hurdy gurdy now has sides!

I have two beautiful pieces of Honduras mahogany at about 1/8th inch thick that are cut out and are in the process of being sanded to the exact shape needed.

Here are the beauties.

I also got the bottom, walnut, pieces of my gurdy sanded(using a drum sanded) also to the correct thickness! these pieces also look amazing.

I also thought I would assemble (sort of) my pieces to get more sense of what the instrument will look like.



In my opinion I think it is looking good.

(sorry for the blurry picture)

I also think I need to improve the lighting in my shop. A better way of lighting everything is next on my list of stuff to purchase.

A New Tool, and more sanding.

I got another tool!
This time it is a sleeveless sanding drum. This one specifically. It is an awesome tool. It makes sanding my pieces much much easier, and lets my drill press do much much more.

This is what it looks like installed.

  And here is the awesome that it can do:

This is the other sanded side. Both sides looked like this before sanding.

And this is what my ribs are starting to look like, and it is awesome.

Well now that this post is done I am off to go sand more.

Saw, Ribs and Sander

Lots to add, it has been a while since my last post and some awesome stuff has happened.

First of all I got a scroll saw! This is such a useful tool.

I will be able to use this for all my cutting out needs, on my side panels back piece and the ribs of my gurdy.


This is my saw:

It is a bottom of the line scroll saw, but it will do exactly what I need it to do.

This is the first piece made on it, turned out well. It is rib A.

In addition to that first rib I have cut out ribs B and C. Here are the three of them shown together. They all need more work sanding them to get them down to the correct size and so they have the correct curvatures and are smooth. They are neat now, but can only get better.

I have saved the coolest part for last. After looking at the tools I have and what I need to do I have come to the realization that need a spindle sander. The only problem is that they are expensive, or I would have to travel to another persons shop to use them. So instead of getting another tool I decided to try using my drill press. Lo and behold it works. My original test involved taping a piece of sand paper to a pencil. It worked ok, but I will probably be getting a set of sanding drums that are made exactly for this sort of thing.

This is what my drill press sanding setup looked like.