Harp Building 102: Building soundboards and gluing string ribs

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Pictured here is a composite cedar and sitka spruce soundboard, the pieces of wood glued together, planed in a uniform sander, and placed in a clamp that provides even pressure while we glue the string ribs on the front and back. I was proud to be able to use another macho power tool in the shop: the miter saw (rahh!)

A soundboard like this, where the grain runs perpendicular to the strings, makes for a stronger soundboard than if we'd used the wood lengthwise down the harp. The soundboard would likely crack along the lenthwise grain under the tremendous pressure the 36 metal and nylon strings place on it when its all strung up for playing.




The two different kinds of wood into the soundboard mellows out the sharp upper octave strings and gives good sound to the large bass wire strings. You can't tell from the front of the harp whether the soundboard is composite or not, because we put a beautiful wood veneer over it. But if you look through the sound holes into the back of a harp, you can see the soundboard.

The smell of cut cedar is my new fav-or-ite thing

(to add of course to the list of...cream colored ponies and crisp apple struedels, doorbells, and sleigh bells, and shnietzel with noodle)