musical instruments

Woodworking is one of my many hobbies and making wooden musical instruments with strings has long been on my bucket list of things to do. The COVID-19 pandemic provided an excellent opportunity to do so. My initial goal was to make an instrument for each of my grandchildren and a few friends but as is common for me, the exercise got out of control with over two dozen instruments being produced. My tools limited me to making smaller instruments with necks having no more than four strings and bodies no larger than parlor guitars. Here are examples of the various types of instruments that were produced.
 

Electric Hollow Body

Sitka spruce top, sides and back, passive single-coil electric pickups and volume/tone electronics. My best guitar.

Sitka Parlor Guitar

Acoustic, Sitka spruce top, mahogany sides and back, Martin-style X-bracing.

Sittern

Ancient instrument that predates the guitar. Acoustic with electric pickup. Engelmann spruce with mahogany sides and back and maple neck. Radial bracing.

Maple Parlor Guitar

Acoustic. Maple top, back, and neck.

Maple Parlor Guitar

Tiger stripes in the maple back.

Parlor Guitar

My first parlor guitar. Englemann spruce top, mahogany side and back, maple neck.

Dobro

With pot lid resonator on plywood top.

Pineapple Ukulele

My first parlor guitar. Englemann spruce top, mahogany sides and back, maple neck.

Solid Body Guitar

Made from scrap wood. Passive single-coil electric pickups and volume/tone electronics.

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Teardrop Dulcimer

My first dulcimer.

Pineapple Ukulele

Made from scrap wood left over from building guitars.

Hourglass Dulcimer

Perhaps the most common shape of dulcimers to be played on the lap.

Fancy Back

Mahogany and maple back.

Diddly Bow

The diddley bow is a single-stringed American instrument which influenced the development of the blues sound.

Psaltery

My first parlor guitar. Englemann spruce top, mahogany side and back, maple neck.

Radial Bracing

Traditional bracing commonly found in many European guitars.

X-Bracing

X-bracing was made famous by C.F. Martin guitars. Photograpy is distorted.

Dulcimer Case

Making cases is time consuming and not nearly as much fun as making the instruments.

Banjo

Unfinished. Mahogany top.

Cigar Box Guitar

Early three-string cigar box guitar.

Head

For a ukulele.