Musicmakers Hurdy Gurdy User Manual

Hurdy Gurdy

Musicmakers

P.O. Box 2117

Stillwater MN 55082

[phone]

[e-mail]

HURDY
GURDY

1 set of assembly instructions

WOOD PARTS:

a 1 heel (walnut)
b 1 tail block
d 1 predrilled inner brace
dd 2 support blocks for drilled brace
e 1 triangle inner brace
f 1 soundboard (solid mahogany)
g 1 back (cherry/walnut laminate)
h 1 peg head
i 2 pre-bent sides
ii 4 lining strips (soft wood)
j 2 keychest sides (walnut)
k 2 keychest base pieces (walnut)
l keychest head end (walnut)
m 1 keychest wheel end (walnut)
n 1 keychest lid (walnut)
o 12 keys (walnut)
p 1 button stock (walnut
q 1 tailpiece (walnut)
r 1 wheel (walnut)
s 1 wheel cover (curved walnut)
t 2 wheel cover blocks (walnut)
u 1 melody bridge (walnut)
v 2 drone bridges (walnut)
w 2 drone nuts (walnut)
x 2 drone anchor blocks (walnut)
y 2 dowels, 1/4" dia, 2" long
z 24 key tangents

KIT

2

HARDWARE:

1 axle 5/16” X 7”
1 T-nut, 5/16” (in wheel)
1 brass cap nut, 5/16”
1 washer
2 steel hex nuts
1 wood screws, 1-5/8" drywall
1 brass crank, 1/8 x 4 x 1-1/4”
1 crank knob & screw
1 nylon axle bushing, 4” long
4 black tuners/w screws, sleeves,

2 Nylon covers for drone gear posts
1 set strings

2 melody, Viola D
1 drone, Cello G

1 drone, Cello C
2 hinges with screws
1 cake of rosin
1 ball of cotton
1 strip of thin felt, ½” X 12”
2 small rosettes for peg head

washers

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Please take the time to check over the parts of our kit now, to make sure everything is there.

If you discover a problem, call us right away so we cat rectify it quickly without causing you much
delay in your project. We also suggest skimming through the entire directions before beginning, just
to get an overview of the project. You may decide that you need to gather more tools or purchase a
few optional decorations or accessories to enhance the finished instrument. Now is a good time to
make those plans so you can avoid delays later when you reach those steps of construction.

A NOTE ABOUT GLUE

DO NOT ASSEMBLE THIS PROJECT WITH EPOXY OR SUPERGLUE OR HOT MELT GLUE! Find a
good woodworking glue. Many luthiers (guitar & violin makers) still use the natural hide glues that
have been around for centuries, carrying on a fine old tradition, but that does not mean that you must
do the same. We build this instrument with modern woodworking adhesives (such as Elmer's
Carpenter's Wood Glue or Titebond) because they hold the parts even more securely than the old hide
glues. The few advantages that some people claim with hide glue are more than offset by the
strength, durability, ease of application, and availability of the modern woodworking adhesives.

When gluing parts together, be sure to put enough glue on the joint to wet the entire surfaces
to be joined. A good sign of proper gluing is that a little excess will squeeze out around the joint when
clamping pressure is applied. Too little glue may cause the parts to separate later, whereas too much
glue makes things messy. We always keep a damp rag handy for quick cleanup, as necessary. It is
especially helpful to keep your fingers clean while gluing, because gluey fingerprints have the
embarrassing tendency to appear on the finished product in places you never expected. Most
woodworking adhesives "set" sufficiently after 30 minutes of clamping to allow you to proceed. Check
your dispenser for recommended drying times.

3

ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS:

______1. The soundchamber SIDES are pre-bent and

must be joined at the tail end.
Check the fit of each SIDE into the HEEL BLOCK,
sanding the ends as necessary to make them slip into
the slots easily.

______2. Tape the tail end of the SIDES together, on
the outside, and glue the TAIL BLOCK to the inside,
centering it on the seam. Line up the edges carefully.
The hole in the tail block should be centered on the
seam. Use clamps to hold the parts together until dry.

CAUTION: Double check to see that the TAIL BLOCK
does not "drift" out of position under the clamps. You want good alignment of this piece in order to
glue the SOUNDBOARD and BACK successfully.

______3. Use a 5/8" drill bit to open the hole in the
TAIL BLOCK all the way through the SIDE. Take

care to keep this hole clean and straight.

NOTE: If you do not have a good 5/8" drill
bit, use a smaller bit and then use a rat-tail
file to carefully enlarge to the same size as
the hole in the TAIL BLOCK.

______4. IMPORTANT: There is a top and
a bottom to these parts. The top of the
TAIL BLOCK is nearest the hole for the

axle, and the top of the HEEL BLOCK has
the narrow slots nearest the square
corners. You'd be smart to mark the top of
the HEEL and TAIL BLOCKS.

______5. Test-fit the SIDES into the HEEL
BLOCK without glue first. If they don't

slide into the slots easily, just sand the
inside surfaces of the SIDES near each
end, as necessary to achieve an easy fit.

______6. When satisfied with the fit, glue the SIDES into the slots, as shown, on a very flat table top
(or floor).

Use masking tape to hold the SIDES in the slots until the glue dries.

4

THE SOUNDBOARD

______7. Find the
SOUNDBOARD. We have already

cut out the wheel slot and two “f”
shaped “soundholes” on one face.
Draw a center line down this face
(if it isn’t there already), centering
it on the “f” holes and the wheel
slot.

POINT OF INTEREST

The “soundholes” are a bit of a mis-nomer, as they do not contribute to the volume
or tone of the instrument. There is enough opening around the WHEEL to take care
of that.

______8. Sand the edges of these holes in the SOUNDBOARD now. It will be harder to do

that later on.

3-1/4”

5

______9. Before proceeding further, you should check the symmetry of the SIDES of the
instrument. To do this, trace around its shape on a large piece of paper, and then flip the
frame over and compare the shape to your outline. Use strong tape pulled across the
instrument to change the curves until you are satisfied with the symmetry. No need for
perfection here, but you don’t want
the instrument to be obviously
misshapen.

______10. Leave your bands of tape
in place while gluing and clamping
the four LINING STRIPS inside the
SIDES, so the edges are flush, as
shown. Clothes pins do a nice job of
clamping these LINING STRIPS.

When dry, the instrument should hold its correct shape pretty well. Carefully sand all four
edges so they are flat and smooth, ready for gluing the SOUNDBOARD and BACK.

Check for symmetry again, stretching tape across the backside if necessary, and then
proceed with the next step.

______11. We cut the SOUNDBOARD a bit oversize, just to make sure it will fit, so you

need to line it up carefully on the soundchamber. Transfer the center-line to the backside
of the SOUNDBOARD and align the soundchamber on it so the center-line matches the
seam at the TAIL and the middle of the HEEL BLOCK. When satisfied, glue the assembly
to the SOUNDBOARD, using weights or clamps to hold the parts firmly together.

Leave roughly
equal overhang
all around.

6

______13. Position the PREDRILLED INNER BRACE inside the SOUNDBOARD, just 1/8" from the
edge of the wheel slot, as shown.

Before gluing, taper the ends of the NYLON BUSHING and insert it
through the TAIL BLOCK and into the INNER BRACE. Then insert the
AXLE into the BUSHING, making sure that you can turn it easily with
your fingers. Glue the INNER BRACE to the SOUNDBOARD, about 1/8”
from the wheel opening, making sure the AXLE remains easy to turn. Use
weights or clamps to hold the brace until the glue dries.

______13a. Glue the
TRIANGLE INNER BRACE

along the other side of the wheel slot, 1/8"
away from the edge of the hole.

______14. This is a good time to secure the
NYLON BUSHING in place so it doesn’t slide

or turn when you play the instrument. Leave
1/8” of the BUSHING showing in the WHEEL
OPENING, as shown. The excess length
should stick out at the tail end. Put some
epoxy glue or Superglue on the BUSHING at
the inside edges of the BRACE and the TAIL
to secure it in this position, keeping the glue
away from the outside of the instrument.

Add the two SUPPORT BLOCKS over the
ends of the PREDRILLED BRACE, gluing them onto the ends of the brace and to the inside of the
SIDES, as shown. This anchors the BRACE securely at the ends and helps reduce unwanted
overtones in the melody strings. Clamp them to the sides until dry.

THE BACK

15. Check the fit of the BACK to the soundchamber. When satisfied, glue the BACK to the

soundchamber, spreading glue all the way around the circumference, including the HEEL and TAIL
blocks. Use weights or clamps to hold the parts firmly together until the glue dries.

16. Now is a good time to trim off the excess SOUNDBOARD and BACK to match the SIDES.

A router with a flush-cutting bit makes short work of this step, but you can also accomplish it by
hand with a rasp or some coarse sandpaper wrapped around a wood block. You may, if you wish,
leave a small lip of wood overhanging the sides.
In either case, it is important to clean off any excess glue that squeezed out along the joints. Glue
blobs, smudges, and drips may be difficult to see now, but they will show up on the finished
instrument like spinach in your teeth, so it is best to take care of these things as you go along. We
like to clean away excess glue before it gets rock-hard, using a sharp chisel or knife to peel it off the
wood.

7

_____17. (OPTIONAL) Another nice option, if
you have a router, is to inlay some decorative
binding around the circumference of the
SOUNDBOARD and BACK. All you need is a
straight bit of any size (good and sharp). Here
is how to set it up:

a) Make a guide board to clamp to the base
of your router or to the top of the router table.
This is simply a triangular shaped scrap of
plywood with one point hanging over the router
bit, as shown.

b) Adjust the depth of the cut by sliding
the guide board over the top of the router bit.

c) Adjust the height of the cut by raising or
lowering the router bit.

d) Make a sample cut in a scrap of wood
and check your inlay banding to see how it fits.

e) When satisfied with the adjustment of
the cut, rout a ledge all the way around the
circumference of the soundchamber, stopping
where the SIDES meet the HEEL (it is hard to
bend the inlay banding around the sharp curve of
the HEEL BLOCK).

f) Glue your INLAY BANDING into the

slot with the appropriate adhesive
(carpenter's glue for wood inlay, or
airplane cement for plastic binding).
Use masking tape to hold the
decorative strips in place until dry.

8