On How to Properly Sand, and do a Hand Rubbed Finish

I really like Minwax Wipe On Poly.  I have been using it for years now as a sealer under shellac, but have recently discovered how to do a really nice hand rubbed finish with it.

The secret is in the sanding.  The finer the grit the surface is sanded to, the less poly it will absorb, and the quicker a gloss will develop.  So I currently sand starting at 100#, then 150# over the whole dulcimer.  The edges are sanded on a big edge sander, and the top and back are sanded with a stroke sander.  After that, I sand 150# with an air powered  random orbit sander followed by 180# on a different sander, and 220# on a third.  By this time the surface is feeling silky smooth.  Then I go over the whole dulcimer lengthwise to the grain by hand with 400# on a sanding block.

Then blow off the dust followed by wiping down with a tack cloth, then apply the first coat of Wipe On Poly as thinly as possible, but making sure the whole surface is covered.  I don't wipe off the excess, just make sure there isn't so much on as to drip or drool, then hang the dulcimer up to dry in the clean room.  After a couple hours the poly is cured enough to scuff sand with 220#, just enough to remove any dust motes, and make the surface smooth again, then blow off and wipe down with the tack cloth again.  The sparingly apply a second coat of Wipe On Poly and hang up to dry.

Next day I go over the whole surface very lightly with a worn out piece of 400# paper, just enough to get off any dust motes.  Then wax, and the finish is silky smooth!  I've been using the satin Poly, and it has a beautiful glow done this way.  I think if I wanted a higher gloss, after the 400#, finish sanding the wood with a quick once over with 600#, and in between coats of poly, scuff with 400# instead of the 220#.  The gloss Poly would also help.

Amplifying Hammered Dulcimers

There are many different performance situations where you would want to amplify your hammered dulcimer.  If you are doing more than just jamming with friends, playing at home, or playing for more than a few people, then sound reinforcement is almost necessary.  There are several ways to do it.

Cheapest and easiest is to just point a standard dynamic mic like a Shure SM 57 or SM 58 at the dulcimer from above, and hook it to whatever sound system is available.  These work well in most situations, but if sound volumes are high, they can start to feed back.  Also, they aren't very sensitive, so the closer they are to the dulcimer the better, and sometimes they can get in the way.  The closer they are, the less they pick the other sounds going on in the room, so there's a happy spot somewhere above the treble bridge, coming in from the top, and just high enough to be out of the way.  If you have two of these mics, you can do a better job of picking up what you are doing pointing them at the dulcimer from either side.  The dynamic mics don't pick up everything that your dulcimer does, but are a pretty good choice for live performance with a band.  Sound techs usually understand them, and can get your sound to come through farily well.  Sometimes you can point a dynamic mic at the back of your dulcimer and get good sound, especially if there is a sound hole there, plus the mic will be out of the way, so it can be really close to the dulcimer which will exclude sound coming from other sources.  You might tell the sound tech to cut the highs back, and try boosting the midrange and possibly basss on your dulcimer.

There are several different onboard pickup systems that can be built in to your dulcimer, or installed after the fact.  They are all piezo type pickups which is the same thing installed in the street which senses your car is there when you stop at a light.  The pickups are small and light and can be adhered to many different points on your dulcimer.  Some folks just buy the piezo elements which are very cheap, and glue them to the under side of their soundboard in several different location, then wire them to a jack.  Drawbacks to these systems are they will need some type of active (battery powered) control box to run through before sending the signal on to the sound system.  The control boxes are readily available, since this is guitar technology, but can be quite expensive.  Then there is hammer noise to contend with which these systems will pick up strongly.  If the pick up elements are on the sound board, hammer noise can be very bad, and distracting.  They are also prone to feedback with the pick ups installed on the sound board.  This can be lessened by putting them on the rails or pin blocks of the dulcimer, but this also lessens how sensitive they are, so you have to turn the control box and possibly the sound board way up.  You'll never get rid of hammer noise completely with these systems.

There are a couple professional systems made for hammered dulcimer that work.  Schatten makes a two element system with the pick ups embedded in a silicone block to lessen the noise, and they sort of work.  They also sell a control box to go with the system, but it is pricey.

Another company called Pick Up The World makes a nice system which is complete based on two ribbon pick ups which I have found best to install one on the lower rail, and the other on the upper rail.  There is also a control box, and the system works quite well.  Their system is meant for retro fitting to the outside of the dulcimer, but then there are wires running everywhere, and things to get banged up.  It could be installed inside, but that would be best done while the dulcimer is under construction.  Then there's the cost, some where north of $500.00.  But if properly installed, it works pretty well, sounds surprisingly warm, and is quite feedback resistant.

So since I don't like the piezo systems, I stick with microphones, and have found what I believe to be the Holy Grail of hammered dulcimer mics.  The Audio Technica 2035 is a studio quality condenser mic at a very affordable price.  Condenser mics are more sensitive than dynamic mics, and the AT 2035 hears everything your dulcimer is producing very clearly.  Since there is more and better information being sent to the sound board, it can be adjusted, and you can get the sound you want out of the speakers.  Condenser mics need power fed to them from the sound system, it is called 48 volt phantom power.  Most sound systems have this capability, but free standing smaller amps do not, so small, cheap battery powered boxes are available to put in line between the mic and the amp to make the power.  You can sometimes pick them up for $20.00.  The AT 2035 new price is around $150.00, and will include the shock mount holder to put on the mic stand, and a bag for the mic.  The mic has a 10db pad switch, and a low cut switch, both of which I use when recording with mine.   The only drawback I can think of with this mic is it could be feedback sensitive in high sound volume situations, like a loud praise team at church.  For general use, though, I think it is the best.  When recording, two of these mics would be good, one on either side of the dulcimer from above.  They would be out of the way, and the sound will be very clear.  But then, of course, we are forced to be really good with our playing!

My friend Rick Thum told me about another mic which he uses, and it is good.  It is called DPA d:vote 4099G.  DPA stands for Danish Professional Audio.  The mic is very small, and used for all different sorts of instruments.  The G at the end stands for guitar, and indicates the type of holder they include with the mic system.  You attach the mic to the cool little holder, then attach that to the edge of your dulcimer and point the mic, which is directional, across the sound board.  It requires phantom sound, and is amazingly expensive, full retail is $600+.  The mic is really hot and faithfully picks up every nuance of what the dulcimer produces.  It doesn't color the sound at all, very transparent.  If you are prepared for that, it is wonderful.  Great for solo performance, and in a small group onstage.  I used one in church, and it was picking up the neighbors on either side, too until the sound guy figured out how to set it.  Then it worked well.

For recording videos in my little office, I have found the best setup is just two Shure SM58s.  Since the room is small and not well sound proofed, both the AT2035 and the DPA mic will pick up too much room noise and echo.  So the video setup is a Canon EOS Rebel T2i SLR camera which I bought for still photographs, but will also record video in full HD.  But the camera has an automatic gain control which is annoying.  If there isn't sound coming in, the AGC turns up the gain trying to pick up stuff, then turns it back down when something comes in.  It makes a rumble on the video.  So to take care of that, I have a Beachtek DXA SLR interface.  It will accept two mics, and record in stereo, but uses one channel to make a low hum which is below the threshold of hearing, but which the camera hears, and sets its gain accordingly, so the level going into the camera is uniform.  It works great.  I can plug two mics into the Beachtek but have found that it only records one side that way when set to kill the AGC, so I also have a little Mackie 1202 VLZ3 mixer.  Plug the two mics into that, then two outputs into the Beachtex, then into the camera, and I have stereo.  The mixer has tone controls, and also pan knobs, so I can set one mic to go into one side of the stereo, and the other into the other side.  I only need a little bass boost, and usually set the treble and mid at unity since I am trying to get the most accurate recorded representation of the actual sound I hear acoustically.  I also have a decent pair of headphones so I can hear exactly what is going into the camera as I am recording.

Darkening Cherry With UV Light

At upwards of $12.00 per board foot for the good stuff, Walnut has gotten too expensive.  We used walnut for all our bridges and the rails of the Phoebe hammered dulcimers for 20 years.  Wood prices run in a cycle based on whether dark woods are in style, or light woods.  For the last 20 years, light furniture, light kitchens, pickled woods, white on white were the vogue, so walnut was affordable.  But now the trend has reversed.

So we had to find another wood that could contrast well with the birch top of the Phoebe, as well as sound good.  We had used cherry bridges many times, and it sounds great, but when new is sort of a bland salmon color, but darkens with time to a rich dark red which is beautiful.  Cherry is one of my all time favorite woods.  Trouble is we send out brand new dulcimers, but want them to look nice right away.  The bridges are unfinished, at our price point, a finish is out of the question, so the bridges need to just look good the way they are.

My wood dealer, Mark Hill of Hill Hardwoods in Iowa City, Iowa suggested that I might be able to darken cherry quickly with UV light.  He didn't know the particulars, but I was intrigued.  So I went to the internet, and there wasn't much out there, but lots of folks asking the same question I was.  I did find one mention that UVA was what you needed.

After much searching around, I found that a bug zapper bulb produces UVA.  UVB is what gives you a tan.  UVA is what causes cancer, so this is something to be very careful with.  Don't look at it without  eye protection.

Since the bridges are less than 20 inches long, I bought a 15 watt 18 inch bug zapper bulb on eBay, and got an 18 inch fluorescent fixture at Menard's.  The bulb was $15.00, and the fixture was $10.00.  I built a wood long enough to contain the bridges, mounted the fixture on the lid, and lined the whole thing with aluminum foil to keep the light bouncing around in there.  It works slick!  The lid fits tight, so no light escapes.   3 or 4 days in the box, and cherry gets quite a tan!  They look great on the dulcimers, and the position marks show up nicely.  It really is too cool!

Shellac Finishing Small Parts

I have to thank the guys at Woodsmith on PBS for this great technique.  It needs to be shared with the world.

Since shellac is a universal sealer, and will stick to anything, you can put it right on over wet oil, and it will seal the oil in.  Pretty amazing.  Hand rubbed oil finishes are the deepest and most beautiful, but take a lot of time.  But with shellac in the mix, you can do a complete finish in an hour or so.

First, rub on boiled linseed oil or whatever oil finish you want to use.  Wipe off the excess.  The oil really brings out the color and grain of the wood better than any other finish.  Immediately you can pad on shellac, and it dries right up, and seals the oil in.  Pad on as much shellac as you want to get the gloss you want, or switch to some other top coat, and you're done.  The oil will go ahead and cure under the shellac over the next few days, but you can use your item right away, it is done.  I finished one of my mountain dulcimers in an hour with 1) boiled linseed oil, 2) shellac padded on until I got tired of it, 3) wax.  It looks great!

This technique is the best way to finish dulcimer hammers, or any small item.  The only tools needed are some clean rags.

Spraying Shellac Revisited

I have been spraying shellac in production finishing of our hammered dulcimers for a year now, and have come up with a few more tricks, so thought I'd update.  Read the former post on the same topic, this is additional material to that.

I have found that shellac sprays best if it is mixed at an EXACT one pound cut.  This is pretty easy to do.  I have a jar that I dissolve the flakes in that is something less than one gallon, so just dump the flakes in, fill with alcohol, and stir several times the first day.  If I stir well a couple times within the first hour, the flakes will all be dissolved by the next day.  Then I filter the mix into a gallon jug, and top off with alcohol to get the right mix.  This is probably a little stronger than a one pound cut, but works best for me.

Jugs:  glass is best.  Milk jugs work, but are thin, and the shellac can actually find a weak spot, and eat through, and leak.  But you won't lose much, because the shellac dries, and is self healing.  I found a much heavier plastic jug that vinegar came in, and it has been working very well.

Since I had sprayed lacquer for so long, it took me quite a while to get the feel for the shellac.  I was putting it on too heavy.  So, one pound cut, spray light, and move fast.  Shellac goes on different than lacquer, it does not need to wet and flow out, so you wind up moving much faster than you'd think.  I am using about half the material I was, and getting a much better finish.  The surface may look a little pebbly, but give it a minute, and it will settle down, and gloss.  Go especially light on the first couple coats, which are your seal coats.  Much less grain raising that way.

Color:  I have gone to using just the Blond flakes that I still get from shellcshack.com.  They give just a little warm glow to the finish.  I no longer mix colors, but this is still a good trick for special finishes.  But production finishing, just the Blond.

Gun cleaning:  I clean after each time I spray, never leaving shellac sitting in the gun.  By cleaning, I mean, pour the remaining material back in the jug.  Put a little straight alcohol in the gun, shake it to get the alcohol all through the cup, then spray a little of the alcohol.  Pour the remaining alcohol into a separate container that I label "Gun Rinse".  Then pour a little more fresh alcohol in the cup, shake, then spray.  You can let the gun sit as long as you like now.  When getting ready to spray again, pour the alcohol in the cup into the gun rinse can.  The gun rinse alcohol can be used in mixing up the next batch of flakes, so you don't waste any of it.  It is a good idea to take your gun apart a couple times a year, and soak and thoroughly clean all the parts.

Shellac is harder, and more durable than lacquer.  I have switched to it completely.  I don't spray lacquer at all now.  So much better!  It is also more beautiful than lacquer.  I still use the Minwax Wipe On Poly as a sealer, as described in the former post.  It works great, and helps the shellac build faster.  I just wipe it on straight, and let sit overnight.  Then scuff lightly with 220 grit paper on a sanding block. For scuffing in between coats of shellac, I have found 400 grit best, wrap 1/4 sheet around a rubber sanding block, and move your hand slowly and with very light pressure, basically just the weight of the block and your hand.  Don't press down.  If you do it right, the paper won't load at all, but if you move your hand too fast, or press down too much you will generate heat, and the dust will load the paper.  I have a piece of carpet on my sanding bench, so just wipe the paper on that to get the dust off.  With a smooth couple of seal coats, I don't need to do much sanding, just go over it lightly to get the dust motes off.  If there is a rough spot, I can do more sanding there to get it smooth.

Final polish:  With the much better job of laying the finish on that I have developed, I don't need to rub out.  The gloss is there, just like I want.  So for the top of the dulcimer, I just pass over it VERY lightly with a worn out piece of 400 grit paper to remove any dust motes.  You can't see that I have done this, and it doesn't affect the gloss at all.  For the back and sides, I still love the feel and look of wax, so I sand a little better, then wax.  I probably wouldn't need to wax, just go over the whole dulcimer lightly with the worn out 400 grit.  I just really like the feel of the wax.  These are by far the best finishes I have done in over 20 years.

I have gotten good enough with my move fast, spray light technique that I have been able to drop the use of the bed of nails on the turntable, and go back to suspending the hammered dulcimer bodies from a string hanging from the ceiling of my spray room.  I worked this way for 20 years spraying lacquer, and it is much faster.  I can spray all around the body at once.  I do six at a time.  To do the whole finish on six dulcimer bodies used to require a little less than a gallon of lacquer mix.  Two quarts of sealer mix, and 2 quarts of semigloss mix.  With my move fast, spray light technique, I am down to just over a quart of 1 pound cut shellac to do the same job, and the finish is better.  So about 1/3 of the material, and shellac works out to be cheaper than lacquer.

So; shellac is harder, more durable, and better looking than lacquer.  It takes a little longer to apply, but the results are worth it.  I am using a lot less material than I would lacquer, and I believe this has translated into cheaper.  Shellac is safer, I don't need to keep 5 gallon buckets of hazardous materials around.  It is safer for the environment, safer for me.  It is also safer for customers since there are no chemical sensitivity issues.  It is better for the economy since I am not supporting a large chemical company, just small businesses like shellacshack.com, and the guys in India that produce the flakes.  It is a win/win/win/win situation.  What isn't to like here?

In going over these posts I realize I have left out something big.  Spraying shellac can be dangerous.  An aerosol mixture of alcohol is explosive.  Don't try it in your basement.  You either need to be outside in the open air, or you need explosion proof facilities inside.  There are two types: A spray booth, and a spray room.  A spray booth is a 3 sided box with a very large explosion proof exhaust fan in the back, and over spray arrestors to filter the air before it goes through the fan.  Large spray booths are where body shops paint your car, and they require a LOT of air to keep any of the aerosol spray mix from escaping into the shop.  A spray room uses a much smaller fan, but takes up a large foot print in your shop.  To be up to code, a spray room needs to be covered on the inside with 5/8" drywall, the lights need to be explosion proof, have an explosion proof fan to exhaust outside, and all electric switches need to be on the outside of the room.  This is what I have, and with the amount of spraying I do, it has been one of my best investments.  

Spraying Shellac

It was impossible to find any info on this on the net, and since I have been working on it very hard for several months, and have it figured out, thought I'd post my experience. I have been spraying lacquer on the hammered dulcimers that we build now for over 20 years. Figure I have finished at least 5,000 of them myself, so am pretty good with a spray gun. But lacquer is toxic, and even though I protect myself very well with a respirator, and complete HAZMAT suit, I still get a small dose. So I had been looking around for several years for a healthier alternative. Water based lacquer isn't feasible in my shop because it is temperature sensitive, and I can't maintain the warm environment year round. It is also a product of chemical companies, and works much the same as solvent based lacquers. But I finally found the right alternative... Shellac!

 Shellac is old fashioned. It is what was used before lacquers came along over 100 years ago. It has some advantages over lacquer, but it is different, so needs to be handled differently. But once you learn how it works, I think you'll like it as much as I do. One advantage is that it is totally nontoxic. Shellac is a natural material, produced by a bug that lives in India and Thailand. It is harvested by hand, and much of the processing is done by hand. It is edible, and you have eaten lots of it like in coatings on candy and medicine.

Shellac comes as flakes that you dissolve in denatured alcohol. I get my flakes from www.shellacshack.com. They come by the pound in several different colors and grades. Denatured alcohol is available at home centers, hardware stores, and paint stores by the gallon. Not all brands are the same, I use the Sunnyside brand, and it works well. There is lots of stuff on the net about applying shellac by brush or pad, but none about spraying except to say that it is possible. So I had to do the experimenting myself. This is how it is done.

Use what is called a one pound cut. Which means dissolving one pound of shellac flakes in one gallon of alcohol. It takes a while for the flakes to totally dissolve. Just put them in the alcohol, and stir several times a day, and they will eventually completely dissolve. Use a glass jar for dissolving the flakes.  It may take several days, be patient. Once they are dissolved, I filter the solution through a paint strainer into a clean plastic milk jug. Don't try to store shellac solution in metal containers, it is corrosive.

Shellac at a one pound cut can be sprayed through any gun that will spray lacquer. I am still using lacquer for some things, so I have a separate gun reserved for the shellac since the solvents are totally incompatible. Keep your gun clean! You want to make sure all the shellac solution is out of there before the end of the day. You can leave some alcohol in it, but no shellac.

Shellac can be sprayed directly on bare wood, but the alcohol being a polar solvent will raise the grain of some woods. Most of mine is sprayed on birch ply, so I need to seal the wood before spraying. I have found Minwax Wipe on Poly to be ideal for this. It can be used straight, or cut 50% with mineral spirits, either way. Wipe it on like it was stain, wipe the excess off, and let dry over night, and it is ready to go first thing in the morning. Shellac will stick to anything, so there are no compatibility issues.

One big issue here... GET RID OF THOSE OILY RAGS IMMEDIATELY. In the winter mine go straight in the wood stove. In the summer, they get spread out on the driveway to dry. DO NOT LEAVE THEM IN YOUR SHOP, they can spontaneously combust. I know a contractor in Missouri that burned their paint building down 3 times before they figured this out.

Spray the shellac thin, just like you would lacquer, but you have to be very careful if spraying it vertically. It runs and drools much easier than lacquer. So I lay my dulcimers flat on a turntable, and spray that way. It only takes a few seconds for the alcohol to gas off enough for me to turn the dulcimer over, or hang it up out of the way. I have a bed of nails on the turntable so the dulcimer is lying on the tips of the nails, not a flat surface. Standard paint room trick.

Best thing to do is 2 light coats, then let dry for an hour or so, then scuff down with 320# or 400# paper. Then another 2 light coats. The stuff will load your sandpaper so be prepared to use more than you would with lacquer. Shellac is by nature a high gloss finish. You can control the amount of gloss you get by how much you spray on. I want a satin gloss, or maybe just a little higher, so I stop at 4 coats. If you want more, scuff down again, and put on some more.

If the wood is sealed well, the shellac will build up a nice flat coat, and next day I can polish it. If it is rough, I will sand it flat with 400# paper, then rub out with 0000 steel wool, and carnuba wax. I use the Trewax brand from the hardware store. After buffing the wax, the finish has a soft matte glow, and feel that is out of this world. If the finish is fairly smooth, I will skip the steel wool, and only lightly go over the surface with a worn out piece of 400# paper to take off any dust motes that might be there. Then wax with a rag, no steel wool. This gives me the gloss that I really want, which is just enough so there is a little shine, but not glassy.

For the top of the dulcimer, since the bridges are not fastened down, I use Meguiar's #7 Glaze which is at the auto parts store. Wax is too slick, and the bridges might moved too easily. The Meguiar's seems to do the job just fine, and isn't so slick.

Color: Shellac comes in several colors depending on how refined it is. Platina is almost water white. Super blond has just a little color, you'd have to put on a lot to see it. Blond has some color, and is nice. Garnet is the old fashioned orange that you have seen on wood work in old homes everywhere. I use the dewaxed flakes. I like to mix Blond and Garnet shellacs. I mix up separate jugs of the two colors, and find a mix of 75% Blond, and 25% Garnet gives my birch ply a beautiful golden glow. I like this stuff a whole lot better than lacquer.

Top coat: If for some reason you want something else on the surface, you can use the shellac just for color coats, then top coat with anything. Shellac is the universal sealer, and anything will stick to it. I sometimes do this if I want the color, but also need the dependable semigloss of lacquer without the wax. Works fine.

So the disadvantages of shellac are that it is a little more complicated to do right, takes a little longer. I don't think it costs more, about the same as the Sherwin Williams lacquer I have been using. You also have to think ahead to have it ready when you need it. It also won't keep forever, needs to be used within 6 months of being mixed up.

But the advantages out weigh the disadvantages. I no longer need the HAZMAT suit. I do use the respirator, but as soon as the surface is dry, I can shut off the explosion proof fan in the spray room, and there is no smell at all!  No gassing off for days, and making me sick. I can spray the shellac in the morning if I want to, polish it up after lunch, and we can put the strings on the same day. No waiting for several days for the dulcimer to quit stinking. Also no worries of sending it to somebody with a chemical sensitivity, and making them sick even after we can no longer smell it. And we are not supporting large chemical companies, instead we are supporting small business both in India, and here, like Shellac Shack. And it is much better for the environment.

Finishes

I have been spraying lacquer for twenty years now. Hated it the whole time. It is nasty stuff. I have to wear a complete hazmat suit, respirator, rubber gloves, boots, and still I can't help getting a small dose. It is also bad for the environment. I can't see how I am being a good steward of the Earth by spraying these chemicals out into the air. But it is fast, and looks good.

I have been looking for an alternative for years. I looked at water borne lacquers, but they require a warm environment, and warm materials, which I can't guarantee year round. Whatever I do has to be sprayed. Brushing or wiping finishes on are too slow, requiring multiple coats and risk dust settling on them before they cure.

So last year I discovered that I could spray shellac, then when it is dry lightly sand it, then rub out with steel wool and wax. This is a very nice finish with a soft satin glow, and feel that is out of this world. We like it a lot. It is an all natural finish, completely non toxic, and totally green. Shellac is an insect resin that is collected in India and comes as flakes of various shades which are then dissolved in denatured alcohol. It can be sprayed on all in one session, unlike the lacquer which requires two. And also unlike the lacquer, it doesn't gas off (stink) for several days. The shellac is well cured within a couple hours, and can be rubbed out the same day. So we are switching all the Phoebe and Wood Thrush dulcimers to the new shellac and wax finish as of this year.

Still experimenting with another natural finish for the Warbler and Whippoorwill dulcimers. I have discovered that a few drops of Japan driers added to Tung oil makes it cure super fast, almost as I am rubbing it on. So at least two coats can be applied in a day, and a third the next day develops a very nice semigloss shine. This one will have to wait for more experimenting, but looks promising.

Two years ago I developed a completely different approach. Since I was a cabinet maker, I am know how to work with high pressure laminates (Formica). So I designed a dulcimer made of Okoume marine plywood that I could then cover with whatever laminate the customer chooses. They work just great, sound wonderful, are water proof, and stay in tune. And the design possibilities are unlimited. We have built a fair number. They never fail to get noticed. One of our friends had us make one for her the color of blue jeans. Another one looked like a beautiful piece of dark marble with mica flecks in it. There are wood grain laminates, some with textures, metals, and every color imaginable. Call us if this sounds interesting.