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Help for the Harp Do-It-Yourself-er

Posted by Davy Clark on

Some of our harp kit customers are first or second time woodworkers. What this means is they have never built a wood project before nor ever held a job at any time in any woodworking capacity. However, too, a number are experienced hobbyists or are amateur Luthiers, experienced in not only woodworking but in musical instrument making. 

This particular blog post is directed to first time or occasional hobbyists with limited woodworking skills and experience. More specifically, when we inexperienced need help, these days we have the Internet to help us. Many highly qualified woodworkers can be found on YouTube, readily sharing with us, at no cost, all their years of experience, tips & tricks on how to obtain higher quality results in our own woodworking.

Much of this is centered around safety & correct use of saws, tools, how to handle hazardous wood finishes, shop set up, etc. And, as harp building enthusiasts, we can learn very much from these professional & skilled, amateur woodworkers.

I highly recommend several of my favorites that can be found on my Awesome Links page on this website. Before you begin your harp, I suggest you take a few days to view a number of the YouTube video's from the sites I've linked to. You might be surprised at all the information you might not know you needed or had questions about which you didn't realize you had! I know I had through the years.

For instance, Steve Ramsey (Woodworking for Mere Mortals) cuts through all the red tape on how to quickly and efficiently sand your wood components and what finishes are best to use & when and what really works. 

Collin Knecht (WoodWorkWeb) offers so many woodworking tips and tricks, like his simple easy instruction on how to use a router quickly, effectively & most importantly, safely. 

Or, Alex Snodgrass' most essential Band Saw set up video. I've used his techniques and have had great results from them. 

I've also linked to a couple of commercial websites, that I am not affiliated with, but I find are most essential in helping me do my own woodworking harp projects better & faster.

As always, safety in all your woodworking projects should come first. You alone are responsible in your shop to be sure you are safe & don't take unnecessary risks that may injure yourself or damage your project. The woodworkers I've linked to often point out the ways to work our wood projects in a safe manner. Yet, while caution is always necessary, don't let any implied, underlying danger hold you back! Correct knowledge is freedom to move forward successfully with confidence & with wisdom at the same time.

And, feel free to share your harp project with us and we'll publish a photo or two of your finished harp project for the world to enjoy. And, maybe by sharing your own woodworking experience, harp building in particular, you might just inspire the next person to venture out and say, "Hey! I can make my own harp, too!"

The main page blog photo is from one of our first-time woodworker customer's recent harp projects, a 36 string Kovac model Paraguayan built from scratch. Well done!

Thanks for reading and happy, safe building your own harp!

Davy C

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