Hurdy-gurdy Mailing List - April 2000Our deepest thanks to Maxou Heintzen for this fabulous photograph, taken at Saint-Cloud near Paris in 1957 by an unknown photographer. The following are the archives of the Hurdy-gurdy Mailing List, sponsored by Alden and Cali Hackmann of Olympic Musical Instruments.
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Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2000 13:07:20 -0400 From: Xavier AIME <XAIME _at_ wanadoo.fr> Subject: HG: Mailing List : introduction - plan Hi Folks, I'm French (nobody's perfect ... ;-) ), and I have been playing hurdy'gurdy for five years (traditionnal, renaissance ... ). I have a web site about this marvellous instrument (http://perso.wanadoo.fr/xaime/vielle.html) where you are very welcome. At the moment, I have a big plan : for her thousandth birthday, try to define "Utopia" then ideal hurdy-gurdy. It consists in the synthesis of dreams or wishes and ideals projects of hurdy-gurdies. For that, I would like to collect more projects than possible. If you have some ideas, don't hesitate to write me mail with your project's description (text, pictures or maps ...). Thank you very much for your participation, Xavier _______________________________________________ Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000 14:13:10 -0400 From: "peter.j.hughes _at_ bt.com" <peter.j.hughes _at_ bt.com> Subject: HG: RE: Hurdy Gurdy workshop Unless my mailer is playing up again you seem to have a had a diappointing response on this one Frank. You can take it that, as usual I'll be up for it although life is rather busy at the moment. Hense my absence at Pied-a-Terre recently. I trust you and the rest of the Norwich crowd are well. My instant thought, ignoring practicality for the moment, is how about something radically different. We've had, and I'm sure will continue to have lots of fun with the French and Anglo-Frenchg styles via Blowzabella/Nigel/Cliff/LeChavenee/Bouffard/Maxu etc, so now what about some Eastern European or Scandinavian music? I can't think of many names off hand, but getting Garmana or Hedningarna over would be really cool! Regards, Peter Hughes. > -----Original Message----- > From: Frank _at_ vickhast.demon.co.uk > Sent: Friday, March 31, 2000 10:59 AM > Subject: HG: Hurdy Gurdy workshop > > Hi folks > > I'm thinking of trying to organise a weekend hurdy gurdy workshop for > folk music here in Norwich, UK for January 2001. Would anyone be > interested in coming? > > If so who would you like to have as the teachers? > What topics would you like to have? > > Frank Vickers _______________________________________________ Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000 15:18:46 -0400 From: Nick Nourse <nick.mapworks _at_ frogwell.telinco.co.uk> Subject: HG: Auction prices hi All A gurdy turned up at a recent auction of musical instruments in Bath (UK), catalogued as: Good 19th C Hurdy Gurdy, Branded Thouvenel Henri A. Mirecourt. This was a guitar body, chromatic over 1 1/2 octaves (may have been more), with a carved head of (claimed) St. Cecilia. The body, keybox and head were all very well worked, but the keys, tangents and all bridges were distinctly rough. About half the keys were missing, as was the wheel cover, and there were several splits in the front around the sound holes. There was minimal play in the shaft, and a reasonably round wheel in place. The instrument sold for £880 (pounds sterling), plus 11.75% buyers premium. Was this a good price? One other point; the front (soundboard) had a series of eight holes drilled through within the keybox (about 1/4 inch dia.) presumably to aid sound transmission from the body. Anyone care to comment? Nick, (with a slowly progressing Bosch model). _______________________________________________ Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000 21:57:28 -0400 From: Henry Boucher <boite _at_ sympatico.ca> Subject: HG: Thouvenel My personnal opinion : I would not pay that much for an instrument with so many parts missing , I would think differently if it was a HG by Baton ,Louvet , Varquain or another great maker from the 18 th cent. but as far as I know , Thouvenel instruments are almost factory made . Not old enough for a true museum piece , to old to be played . _______________________________________________ Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000 22:00:57 -0400 From: Henry Boucher <boite _at_ sympatico.ca> Subject: HG: Thouvenel II The holes in the sound board are supposed to prevent cracks or unglueing from wood dilatation/ contraction , or humidity changes . I do not know if it really works. _______________________________________________ Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2000 02:21:14 -0400 From: Marcello Bono <ghironda _at_ hotmail.com> Subject: HG: Re: HG: Thouvenel I agree : not old enough for a museum, too old to be played, but a true museum gurdy (as Louvet, Lambert, Louvet) would be more expensive: I've never seen an instrument like these for less than 2000 - 2500 english pound (that is 3000 - 3700 US dollars), and lot more than this for a playable instrument. ciao Marcello ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com _______________________________________________ Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2000 04:34:21 -0400 From: Marcello Bono <ghironda _at_ hotmail.com> Subject: HG: just a test just a test does it work? Marcello _______________________________________________ Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2000 07:36:12 -0400 From: Judith Lindenau <judith _at_ taar.com> Subject: HG: RE: just a test Yes. We are just quiet. Some of us are waiting for our new instruments... (smile) judith Judith Lindenau, CAE, RCE Traverse Area Association of Realtors http://www.taar.com icq 6445710 MAILTO:judith _at_ taar.com _______________________________________________ Date: Sun, 23 Apr 2000 02:51:00 -0400 From: Roy Trotter <rtlhf _at_ yahoo.com> Subject: HG: Re: HG: RE: just a test > --- Marcello wrote: > > just a test > > does it work? > It's been quiet all over, I thought maybe my e-mail was broke ;-( > --- Judith wrote: > > Yes. We are just quiet. > > Some of us are waiting for our new instruments... > (smile) ...and some of us are making our new instruments. I got my health back enough to get out to the shop and resume work on another Dewit gurdy (a pretty one). I want to put sympathetic strings on this one and am wondering if I should widen the top: if so how much? Also, I don't really like the soundholes where they are. What would happen if I put them up toward the peg end or set one large rosetted hole under the tangent box? Later Roy T. _______________________________________________ Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 17:46:55 -0400 From: SB/JW <duodrone _at_ earthlink.net> Subject: HG: Re: HG: end block Hello, I am putting the finishing touches on a luteback mould (my first). It's a toast rack type and has 4 sections plus an end block at the pegbox end. I had measurements for all of these. The end block at the handle end raises a few questions though. a) How precise to the inside contour of the ribs/staves does it need to be, and how do I go about obtaining accurate measurements. b) Before I cut the end of my mould off, is there any advantage in building the body as if it were a lute and glueing in the end block after the body is released from the mould? c) The drawing I have of this end block shows a side elevation that is widest were it contacts the soundboard and tapers off towards the ribs at an angle that, I would imagine, make it hard to get the body off the mould once everything is glued. Is there a way round this? Am I imagining problems where there are none? Juan _______________________________________________ Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 18:03:07 -0400 From: Alden Hackmann <darkstar _at_ u.washington.edu> Subject: HG: Broecker book translation - volunteers? Dear HG list, As you may all know, one of the most extensive works written on the hurdy-gurdy is "Die Drehleier, ihr Bau und ihr Geshichte" by Marianne Broecker, published 1977. (The name is actually Brocker with an umlaut over the o, which my computer here at the University seems incapable of doing.) We have in our possession an English translation commissioned by a hurdy-gurdy builder in Vancouver, who lent it to us. Unfortunately it was hand-typed, and the final product was badly photocopied. It's not in any shape to be distributed in any form until it gets typed in and reformatted. At my present rate of typing, I'll be in the retirement home before it's done. Some nice people have offered to help, but it's still a big project. The caveat is that it's not really clear what the fate of the effort will be. I'd like to see the translation put on the Web complete with all the illustrations, but we'd need to get the permission of the author and the publisher to do that. We should at least be able to distribute printouts of the translation in the HG community. The originals (and subsequently the working copies) are bad enough that using a scanner and OCR software is not very effective - it's easier to type it by hand. If you'd like to sacrifice a little of your eyesight and do some typing, or you can help with translating the phrases of German, French, and other languages that weren't covered, please contact me at hurdy _at_ silverlink.net (not this darkstar _at_ etc address.) I'm putting together packets of pages and a sheet of guidelines for formatting, designed to make it easier to collate and edit the final product. It also appears that only the first two volumes were translated, not the supplement which was published seperately from the earlier editions and was bound with later printings. There's some interesting material there, including photos of vielle builder Marcel Soing at work. If anyone is willing to work on translating this, please contact me. Thanks in advance! Alden F.M. Hackmann darkstar _at_ u.washington.edu Web: http://www.hurdygurdy.com/hg/hghome.html "Beati illi qui in circulum circumeunt, fient enim magnae rotae." _______________________________________________ Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 18:16:43 -0400 From: jjandr _at_ netzero.net Subject: HG: Re: Broecker book translation - volunteers? I am still ready to go on this project whenever you are. Joanne _______________________________________________ Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 18:21:00 -0400 From: Judy V Olmstead <shanti _at_ thurston.com> Subject: HG: An astonishing discovery Dear List, I had a very interesting experience yesterday--took my HG to Alden and Cali for repairs--there was an odd warble with the wheel. A kind of wheel sound, not too loud. After they worked on the wheel surface, it persisted, and the idea popped up to put Alden's crank on my instrument--and the warble disappeared. He ptu my crank on his instrument, and lo and behold, the warble appeared on his! He is currently making me a new crank, and the two of them are excited at having learned yet one more detail of HG crafting. This can serve as a preliminary report from a non-maker with ordinary lingo; as they pursue the subject, they will have a lot more to share in much more precise language. The knob on my HG is rather short and doesn't have as much differentiation between the wide top of the knob and the neck--but they aren't really sure what's making the difference. One more horizon in HG-maker-land! Best, Judy Olmstead _______________________________________________ Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 18:25:50 -0400 From: Chris Wright <9741729 _at_ EIGG.SMS.ED.AC.UK> Subject: HG: wanted Hello, I'm a young traditional musician from Scotland. I'm am very keen on the sound of the hurdy gurdy and would like to get my hands on one to learn on. Does anyone have a hurdy gurdy they could sell me (it would have to be relatively inexpensive and near the UK)? Chris Wright _______________________________________________ Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 18:56:51 -0400 From: Judith Lindenau <judith _at_ taar.com> Subject: HG: RE: Broecker book translation - volunteers? I can type, not translate. I also have a printing operation as a part of my business so I have some reproduction capabilities: not glamorous, but it could work. judith Judith Lindenau, CAE, RCE Traverse Area Association of Realtors http://www.taar.com icq 6445710 MAILTO:judith _at_ taar.com _______________________________________________ Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 20:08:08 -0400 From: Alden Hackmann <darkstar _at_ u.washington.edu> Subject: HG: end block Juan wrote: > I am putting the finishing touches on a luteback mould (my first). It's a > toast rack type and has 4 sections plus an end block at the pegbox end. I > had measurements for all of these. Is this the form shown in the extra sheet on the Pimpard plans from Michael Muskett? > The end block at the handle end raises a > few questions though. a) How precise to the inside contour of the > ribs/staves does it need to be, and how do I go about obtaining accurate > measurements. For good or ill, I confess that I just rounded off the tail block to smoothly (hopefully) follow the curves of the ribs. It's pretty much flat at this point anyway - angled a little with regard to the soundboard, and curved a little in both planes, but not much. I'll be interested by the other responses you get. > b) Before I cut the end of my mould off, is there any > advantage in building the body as if it were a lute and glueing in the end > block after the body is released from the mould? We tack or staple the ends of the ribs to the tail block, and the holes get covered by the tail cap that goes on later. I think you need the tail block as a bearing/reference surface to bring all the rib ends together on. If you try it with gluing the tail block in later, please let us know, as we'll be interested to see how it works. > c) The drawing I have of > this end block shows a side elevation that is widest were it contacts the > soundboard and tapers off towards the ribs at an angle that, I would > imagine, make it hard to get the body off the mould once everything is > glued. Is there a way round this? Am I imagining problems where there are > none? If these are, as I suspect, the Pimpard plans, I think you'll find that the head side of the tail block is square to the soundboard. If it's not, I don't think there's any harm in making it so. We did have some interesting moments getting the instrument off the mould. We carefully finished and waxed the solid mould we had used previously, but thought that the toast-rack wouldn't need it. I recommend finishing and triple-waxing the form. Are you taking pictures? ;-) Alden _______________________________________________ Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 02:59:51 -0400 From: SB/JW <duodrone _at_ earthlink.net> Subject: HG: Re: HG: blocks & volunteers Hi Alden Thanks for your comments. The plans I am working from are from Germany and are for a smallish lutebacked hurdy-gurdy by Lasnier. They are on one sheet and offer 4 cross sections, the last of these also shows the inside end of the head block as a bonus. However there is little to go by at the tail end. I have the curve of the central rib and the curve of the soundboard. (No other ribs to follow the curves of). The side elevation shows the tailblock looking like a right angle triangle, the right angle being at the point where the ribs meet the soundboard. This is why I am thinking that if I don't cut away clearance from the mould, I won't be able to get it past the tailbock when the time comes. Your suggestion to make the tail block perpendicular to the soundboard at the head side makes good sense, but I still have to cut the mould so I will stay with the triangular section.( I have spent too much time on it already). Thanks for the tip on waxing. I read somewhere that soap works well too. I have not taken any pictures, but that's a good and timely idea. Also.... I can do some German* translating for you, if it's not too archaic. Sharon is offering her typing skills. * Between the two of us we can tackle French, Spanish, Dutch and Joweleese..should you need it. _______________________________________________ Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 03:58:33 -0400 From: george swallow <swallow _at_ beechcottage98.freeserve.co.uk> Subject: HG: Another newbie I am introducing myself as a newbie, not only to the hg but to email and posting anything to a newsgroup; I hope it works. I first became interested in the HG many years ago after hearing one played at an exhibition in London, the main exhibitor being the Early Music Shop in Bradford, with several of their kits etc. I also talked to another exhibitor, Neil Brook, discovered prices and promptly forgot about the whole thing! Some time after that I signed up to make a viola at the summer school sessions run by Juliet Barker in Cambridge. Several years later (about five weeks really- I never dared touch it between one July and the next) it is ready for varnishing. Whilst there, I came across the Dutch De Wit book that Alden mentions in his home page, (sent to Juliet as a present by one of her pupils) and I started making the hurdy gurdy it contained, working mainly from the pictures and meagre help from a Dutch dictionary. As with most of my projects, there are long fallow periods, and the HG is in limbo at present, waiting for the bridges and the tailpiece to be fitted, plus the dreaded chien, whilst I labour on with a tenor viol, a steam engine, and a clock. Alden sent me the English version of the instructions which cleared up a few blank spots, but it seems to me that the drawings plus a lot of thinking are sufficient. Like all drawings, they contain clods you need to spot in advance. I would like to hear from anyone else making this instument, or any other come to that. I am in Dorking, Surrey England Best wishes to all. George Swallow ("-"-/").___..""`-._ `6_6 ) `-. ( ). `-.__.') (_Y_.)' ._ ), ._. ``-..-' _..'--' ..- / /--' .',/ (il),-" (li),' ((!.-' _______________________________________________ Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 16:34:57 -0400 From: Alden Hackmann <darkstar _at_ u.washington.edu> Subject: HG: Translations again Thanks to all who have volunteered for typing the Broecker translation. I'm making up packets to send and hand out. Alden F.M. Hackmann darkstar _at_ u.washington.edu Web: http://www.hurdygurdy.com/hg/hghome.html "Beati illi qui in circulum circumeunt, fient enim magnae rotae." _______________________________________________ Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 16:51:59 -0400 From: John Roberts <anglo _at_ albany.net> Subject: HG: Hello, and thanks (Alden) for adding me to the list. I mostly sing English folksongs, but got interested in hurdy-gurdy years ago, then met John Ralyea in Chicago, who offered to lend me an old instrument. I lived a bit far away so I declined the offer (big mistake) but later I did get a Volksgurdy and started playing. I now also have a Jean-Noel Grandchamps instrument, which I got from Debbie Dawson. I don't practice anywhere near enough, but do like to get together with people when I can - I just came back from the NEFFA festival in Natick, MA where I finally met Alden and Cali, RT, and a number of other players including a remarkably strong Seattle contingent. I'd not heard about the list before but I'm glad I have now. I have no woodworking skills whatsoever, so that part of hurdy-gurdy life will probably remain closed to me, interesting as it is. I'm in upstate NY. Since it seems to be protocol to introduce oneself to the list, I am, John Roberts. _______________________________________________ Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 18:37:41 -0400 From: Alden Hackmann <darkstar _at_ u.washington.edu> Subject: HG: John Ralyea, NEFFA On Wed, 26 Apr 2000, John Roberts wrote: > Hello, and thanks (Alden) for adding me to the list. My pleasure! > > I mostly sing English folksongs, but got interested in hurdy-gurdy > years ago, then met John Ralyea in Chicago, who offered to lend me an > old instrument. I lived a bit far away so I declined the offer (big > mistake) but later I did get a Volksgurdy and started playing. I now > also have a Jean-Noel Grandchamps instrument, which I got from Debbie > Dawson. I talked to John Ralyea once on the few years ago. He seemed to have lost his interest in the instrument. When did you meet him, and what was he like? > > I don't practice anywhere near enough, but do like to get together > with people when I can - I just came back from the NEFFA festival in > Natick, MA where I finally met Alden and Cali, RT, and a number of > other players including a remarkably strong Seattle contingent. I'd > not heard about the list before but I'm glad I have now. We had a great time at NEFFA, meeting people and playing a whole lot of hurdy-gurdy. Thanks to all the East Coast HG players who showed up and were so gracious to us. > I have no woodworking skills whatsoever, so that part of hurdy-gurdy > life will probably remain closed to me, interesting as it is. The topics vary, depending on who is doing what. Sometimes it's construction, sometimes technique, sometimes it's whose recordings or concerts we're enjoying. Feel free to start new conversations! Alden F.M. Hackmann darkstar _at_ u.washington.edu Web: http://www.hurdygurdy.com/hg/hghome.html "Beati illi qui in circulum circumeunt, fient enim magnae rotae." _______________________________________________ Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 20:23:48 -0400 From: Alden Hackmann <darkstar _at_ u.washington.edu> Subject: HG: Welcome George On Wed, 26 Apr 2000, george swallow wrote: > I am introducing myself as a newbie, not only to the hg but to email and > posting anything to a newsgroup; I hope it works. Reading you loud and clear. ;-) > Some time after that I signed up to make a viola at the summer school > sessions run by Juliet Barker in Cambridge. Several years later (about five > weeks really- I never dared touch it between one July and the next) it is > ready for varnishing. Whilst there, I came across the Dutch De Wit book that > Alden mentions in his home page, (sent to Juliet as a present by one of her > pupils) and I started making the hurdy gurdy it contained, working mainly > from the pictures and meagre help from a Dutch dictionary. > > As with most of my projects, there are long fallow periods, and the HG is in > limbo at present, waiting for the bridges and the tailpiece to be fitted, > plus the dreaded chien, whilst I labour on with a tenor viol, a steam > engine, and a clock. George sent us some pictures of his instrument in progress a few years ago, which I greatly regret I haven't posted on the website yet. The instrument looks to be turning out very well. There are several tricks with the chien. 1) Figure that you will make a lot of them before you get one that works. 2) It's difficult if you don't play already, because you don't know the right motion to make the chien sound. Get someone to teach you the simple coup de un (one buzz per rotation) with a well-adjusted instrument. Then you have half a chance of knowing whether you're getting it right or not. 3) This may not be true of everyone, but in our workshop The Rule of Ugly Dogs seems to prevail. It states that you can make a lot of really nice-looking dogs, and they won't work quite right, and you can make one or two of which you like the sound of but they are Ugly. We continue to aspire to combine function and form. > Alden sent me the English version of the instructions which cleared up a few > blank spots, but it seems to me that the drawings plus a lot of thinking are > sufficient. Like all drawings, they contain clods you need to spot in > advance. > > I would like to hear from anyone else making this instument, or any other > come to that. There are at least two people on the list who have made this instrument. I'm sure you'll be hearing from them. Alden F.M. Hackmann darkstar _at_ u.washington.edu Web: http://www.hurdygurdy.com/hg/hghome.html "Beati illi qui in circulum circumeunt, fient enim magnae rotae." _______________________________________________ Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 23:55:15 -0400 From: John Roberts <anglo _at_ albany.net> Subject: HG: Re: HG: John Ralyea, NEFFA At 6:37 PM -0400 4/26/00, Alden Hackmann wrote: > >I talked to John Ralyea once on the few years ago. He seemed to have lost >his interest in the instrument. When did you meet him, and what was he >like? > > > When I met him he was playing for a Morris dance team in Chicago. Alternating with hurdy-gurdy he was also playing marine trumpet, both highly unlikely imstruments for morris) in duet with a Swiss recorder player whose name I don't recall. He was about to get a new instrument from Kurt Reichmann. He was very enthusiastic about the instrument then, evangelical even, and wrote a short article on it for Come For To Sing, which was then a flourishing folk magazine, having spun off from being the house mag of the Old Town School of Folk Music. This would have been around 1980, I think. I didn't get to Chicago all that often, and I didn't get to see him again. When I started to look for him, I learned he'd joined the Peace Corps and gone off to Africa. I've heard nothing of him since, but I'd be interested to hear if others have met him more latterly. John. _______________________________________________ Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2000 07:34:24 -0400 From: Uwe Jendricke <ujendric _at_ telematik.iig.uni-freiburg.de> Subject: HG: New list member Hello, as a new member of the HG list I send a short description of my HG activities. I live in the south west of Germany (Blackforest) and I am relatively new to the HG instrument. Just one year ago I visited a playing workshop in Frankfurt/Germany, organized by Kurt Reichmann. I was fascinated by the instrument and just a few weeks later I bought a small instrument that was build by Bernd Maier in southern Germany. Since that time I play a lot and get lessons from Bernd Maier. I love playing some french dances and songs by O'Carolan, together with harp, played by my girlfriend. I have set up a hurdy-gurdy web page for the german speaking area with dates, addresses and other information. There you can see a picture of my gurdy too. In the next time I want to add english language to the pages. Just have a look at http://www.drehleier-online.de/ Is there anybody else on this list from germany? Is anybody in St. Chartier this year? Perhaps we could organize a mailing list meeting at St. Chartier this year! See you soon, Uwe Jendricke -- Uwe Jendricke <jendricke _at_ web.de> D- 79098 Freiburg, +49-761-25665 http://www.drehleier-online.de/ _______________________________________________ Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2000 08:38:58 -0400 From: Xurxo Romani de Gabriel <jromanid _at_ medynet.com> Subject: HG: Re: HG: New list member > > > Is there anybody else on this list from germany? > > Is anybody in St. Chartier this year? Perhaps we could organize a mailing list > meeting at St. Chartier this year! I will be going there, as usual. We have to organise a meeting in the "Meca" this year... XURXO _______________________________________________ Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2000 17:51:10 -0400 From: Nick Nourse <nick.mapworks _at_ frogwell.telinco.co.uk> Subject: HG: Wheel banding Hello again, I am one the scrounge again for some more advice on my Bosch HG - on the wheel this time. I have made the wheel from plywood, with two extra facing veneers to improve the appearance, giving a flat wheel of 12mm thickness, turned 4mm (dia) undersize, to accept a 2mm band of holly. I also have a strip of approx. 3x14mm holly of sufficient length. How do I get one to fit around the other? I understand the principal and dimension of the necessary scarf joint, but it is simply (?) the bending and gluing I am unsure about. I assume the best approach to start with is to bend the holly using a bending iron (heat and steam), but the thought of bending a perfect circle sounds horrendous. Also, how do I clamp this strip on to the wheel for gluing? The most over the top solution, but probably the best, seems to be to make two semi-circular clamping blocks, or is there something more straight forward I can try? While I'm here, what would be a suitable finish to apply to the instrument as a whole, oils, spirit, shellac? All thoughts gratefully appreciated. Thanks as usual in advance. Nick _______________________________________________ Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2000 18:09:17 -0400 From: Alden & Cali Hackmann <hurdy _at_ silverlink.net> Subject: HG: Re: HG: Wheel banding Nick said: >Hello again, >I am one the scrounge again for some more advice on my Bosch HG - on the >wheel this time. Yes, the Really Fun Part ;-) ;-) The site looks great! I particularly liked the advice on how to make the peghead. >I have made the wheel from plywood, with two extra facing veneers to >improve the appearance, giving a flat wheel of 12mm thickness, turned 4mm >(dia) undersize, to accept a 2mm band of holly. I also have a strip of >approx. 3x14mm holly of sufficient length. This all sounds perfect. >How do I get one to fit around the other? >I understand the principal and dimension of the necessary scarf joint, but >it is simply (?) the bending and gluing I am unsure about. >I assume the best approach to start with is to bend the holly using a >bending iron (heat and steam), but the thought of bending a perfect circle >sounds horrendous. We use a circular bending jig built specifically for that purpose, with a 200-watt light bulb in the center and a large piece of aluminum pipe or tubing. This is perhaps a little extreme if you're going to just make one instrument. I think that the bending iron is your best bet. Luckily, holly is easy to bend, especially when it's only 3mm thick. I'm sure that with careful work you can get a nice smooth curve. >Also, how do I clamp this strip on to the wheel for gluing? The most over >the top solution, but probably the best, seems to be to make two >semi-circular clamping blocks, or is there something more straight forward >I can try? We use hose clamps. Depending on the sizes available, you may have to join two together end to end. I put a little piece of thick veneer under the worm-screw part so it doesn't dent the wood, and I also use a piece of thin (~0.4 mm) plastic all around the band to protect it. The advantage of hose clamps is that you can see how well your slip joint is fitting together, as well as how the band is fitting all around. I also use a pair of machinist clamps (which look like tiny Jorgensens made of brass) to hold the slip joint ends together, as they tend to form a gap. One last piece of advice for band gluing: polyurethane glue. We used to use aliphatic resins, and they grabbed at the wrong times - very frustrating. The Gorilla Glue is much easier to use in this situation. I've given up on keeping it off my hands in this situation. >While I'm here, what would be a suitable finish to apply to the instrument >as a whole, oils, spirit, shellac? All thoughts gratefully appreciated. That's Cali's department. :-) Alden _______________________________________________ Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2000 18:21:00 -0400 From: Mike Gilpin <mjgilpin _at_ tesco.net> Subject: HG: Re: Wheel banding Hi Nick - I use a Jubilee clip or clips depending on the diameter of the wheel, and to protect the banding from the screw fittings on the clip I put a strip of thin ply (0.8mm) on the outer side with double sided tape. Bending the strip is achieved on the bending iron, and is not as difficult to get a good circle as you might think. If you offer it up to the wheel regularly when bending it, you'll see when you're going off course. I also soak the strip in the bath before bending and this makes it super pliable! As for the finish to your instrument, it really is a matter of personal taste. I've had great success with a finish called Tru-oil, but it does mean the wood preparation takes a while - working through the grades and then finishing off with micromesh (goes up to 12000grit!). You do get a really silky finish, shiny but not too glossy. Mike _______________________________________________ Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2000 18:28:51 -0400 From: "Dfiddler _at_ aol.com" <Dfiddler _at_ aol.com> Subject: HG: Intro and Festival I'm Marjorie Fiddler, I live in Seattle, and although I've belonged to this list since the beginning, I've procrastinated right past the introductions part until now. I was at Saint-Chartier in 1988 while on a camping trip in France and fell in love with the hurdy-gurdy immediately. I didn't have an instrument until five years ago, when I discovered that Alden and Cali Hackmann had organized a festival here in Seattle where Pierre Imbert would be teaching. Beginners were welcome, and I only needed a hurdy-gurdy to be a beginner - fortunately I was able to locate a beautiful Jean-Noel Grandchamps instrument. By the next year several of us signed on to make sure that the festival would continue, and plans are now finalized for the fifth annual Over the Water Hurdy-Gurdy Festival and French Dance Weekend, from September19 -24, 2000. First and most important, you are all invited to come and join us - and if not this year, then soon. We offer five days of classes and workshops for hurdy-gurdy players, and a long weekend of Frence dance workshops for dancers, with everyone joining together for the Saturday evening "Bal Folk". This year's instructors include Marcello Bono, Pierre Imbert and Cliff Stapleton for hurdy-gurdy, and Marilyn Smith for dance. We're looking forward to another wonderful event! The festival is held at Fort Flagler State Park, a former US Army fort guarding the entrance to Puget Sound, and getting there involves a ferry ride and a drive from Seattle. We are in the process of sending out flyers, but in the meanwhile more information can be found at our Web site - http://members.aol.com/vielle/ I was just at the NEFFA festival in Boston, and it was wonderful to meet other players who were there, and to put a few more names and faces together! I look forward to meeting more of you - whether on the list or in person. Regards, Marjorie _______________________________________________ Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2000 21:18:30 -0400 From: Christina Wright <ccwright _at_ halcyon.com> Subject: HG: Re: HG: Broecker book translation - volunteers? Dear Alden, I'm up for typing in at least one chapter. Chris _______________________________________________ Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2000 22:52:15 -0400 From: Roy Trotter <rtlhf _at_ yahoo.com> Subject: HG: Re: HG: Re: HG: Broecker book translation - volunteers? --- Christina Wright <ccwright _at_ halcyon.com> wrote: > I'm up for typing in at least one chapter. Yeah, me too --- & html if needed __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online and get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________________ Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2000 01:03:16 -0400 From: Alden & Cali Hackmann <hurdy _at_ silverlink.net> Subject: HG: Re: HG: Re: HG: Broecker book translation - volunteers? Dear Chris, >Dear Alden, > I'm up for typing in at least one chapter. Great, we'll have some packets to hand out at the meeting. Our lawn is getting long. Is the mower available? ;-) Maybe we could get it on Wed. Alden _______________________________________________ Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2000 01:05:54 -0400 From: Alden & Cali Hackmann <hurdy _at_ silverlink.net> Subject: HG: Oops, sorry... Apologies: The Listmaster should be more careful about doing a reply - I thought Chris had sent that to me personally. Bother. Alden the Embarrassed Listmaster _______________________________________________ Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2000 02:17:22 -0400 From: Oliver Seeler <oseeler _at_ mcn.org> Subject: HG: Re: HG: Re: HG: Re: HG: Broecker book translation - volunteers? At 01:03 AM 4/28/00 -0400, you wrote: >Our lawn is getting long. Is the mower available? ;-) Maybe we could get >it on Wed. Can I please have it over here in Albion, California on Friday? With an operator would be nice .... Thanks. Oh, by the way, I'm fluent in German and so perhaps I can help with that aspect, if you haven't yet found anyone to translate the supplement, etc. Regards, Oliver Oliver Seeler Director, Nova Albion Research oseeler _at_ mcn.org & bagpipes _at_ mcn.org ~visit our sites~ ***The Universe of Bagpipes*** ~over 30 kinds of bagpipes~ ~sound clips & hundreds of photos~ ~a new CD, Bagpipes of the World~ http://www.hotpipes.com ~ A Yahoo! Weekly Pick ~ ~and~ *** Sir Francis Drake *** ~ an international educational resource ~ http://www.mcn.org/2/oseeler/drake.htm ~ recommended by The History Channel ~ _______________________________________________ Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2000 02:40:12 -0400 From: Marcello Bono <ghironda _at_ hotmail.com> Subject: HG: Re: HG: Wheel banding Hi Nick I agree with other people suggestion about wheel; don't forget to make a tilted cut where the strip is jointed. >While I'm here, what would be a suitable finish to apply to the instrument >as a whole, oils, spirit, shellac? I love to put shellac as preparation, then I rub with wax and pumice powder ciao Marcello _______________________________________________ Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2000 03:30:49 -0400 From: Alden & Cali Hackmann <hurdy _at_ silverlink.net> Subject: HG: Lawn mowing and translations Oliver said: >>Our lawn is getting long. Is the mower available? ;-) Maybe we could get >>it on Wed. > >Can I please have it over here in Albion, California on Friday? With an >operator would be nice .... Thanks. Oh, by the way, I'm fluent in German >and so perhaps I can help with that aspect, if you haven't yet found >anyone to translate the supplement, etc. I'll take you up on that. If we can get it done, I'll even see if we can come mow your lawn ;-) ;-) Alden _______________________________________________ Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2000 17:11:53 -0400 From: Alden & Cali Hackmann <hurdy _at_ silverlink.net> Subject: HG: used copy of Bröcker book available Dear List members, With all this talk of the Bröcker book, I thought I would mention that there is a used copy available from the Von Huene workshop. I don't remember how much it was, but it was not cheap. For more information, contact Eric Haas, eric _at_ vonhuene.com. Alden _______________________________________________ Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2000 20:07:41 -0400 From: Dave Praties <dave _at_ dpraties.freeserve.co.uk> Subject: HG: Varnishing Hi all, Nick raised the question of suitable varnish for his instrument. This problem has vexed me for some time, and in trying to improve my varnishing skills, and have tried many different types and combinations. On the whole, I like shellac and use the white variety for the first coat, and orange for subsequent ones. However, this does not bring out the best in the wood, due to the refractive index of the shellac being different from that of the wood. ( Yes, wood does have a refractive index!). I have had better results using rosin oil as a ground, and then continuing with shellac. I have tried traditional oil varnish, but I am simply not skilled in its use yet, and the process gets frustrating, messy and expensive. A colleague of mine, Ephraim Seggerman, has produced various publications on the choice and use of traditional varnishes, and if any body is interested, I could post them here on this site. Cheers, Dave Praties. ( an almost silent, but keen list member) _______________________________________________ Date: Sat, 29 Apr 2000 02:05:46 -0400 From: george swallow <swallow _at_ beechcottage98.freeserve.co.uk> Subject: HG: Re: Wheel banding Nick Nourse If you can't find hose clips of large diameter in your local hardware store, I recommend my solution of using a strip of about 26swg steel or brass tape. I got mine from a building skip, and it was the kind of tape that holds pallets of house bricks together. If you fold the ends over once or twice, then drill holes for a nut and bolt(about 2BA will do) , it does the same job as a hose clip. Or you can use both, cut the hose clip in two, straighten the cut ends and silver solder them to the tape. Of course, freshly steamed holly and steel tape in contact with it overnight will make a fine old mess, so leave enough on for truing up! George Swallow _______________________________________________ |
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