No, unfortunatley our shop is not set up to do custom engraving work for customers at this time.

Cherry is one of the nicest hardwoods to work with.  It is light weight yet still quite strong, and it has the potential for some amazing grain patterns along with quite a bit of color variation.  It will also change color with time, getting gradually darker when exposed to sunlight.   If you leave your stand exposed to sunlight for extended periods of time expect noticeable differences in color in areas that were covered by the straps or other pieces of wood.

Maple is stronger than cherry but can weigh half again as much.  It has very little variability in grain pattern compared to cherry and the color and tone will remain the same regardless of sunlight exposure.

Our Extra-Tall Model Hammered Dulcimer Stand is only offered in maple because of the strength needed to hold up a potentially very heavy dulcimer on very tall legs.  For our Standard Model Hammered Dulcimer Stand either wood will hold any model and weight hammered dulcimer out there, but the choice is yours.  All of our other stands are offered in cherry only, because in the end, these stands are intended to fold up and carry with you, so the lighter in weight they are, the better.  

There are two reasons:  First, metal hinges can break – most do eventually, and the screws holding them often loosen with a lot of use.   Second, we wanted a stand that allowed adjustment of the playing angle, and the hinge prevents that.  The double layers of the extra heavy webbing allow playing angle adjustment, will never break, and the screws holding them will never come loose. 

We use brass hinges, screws and washers wherever we can.  The brass looks much nicer than steel and will never rust.  It takes a lot of extra time and more technique to use brass, but once it is in place it will survive anything that normal wear and tear will cause. 

We’ve experimented with a lot of different finishes, applied using different methods, and settled on two finishes applied one after the other.  Shellac goes on first, which is an alcohol-based natural finish made from the deposited secretions of an Asian insect on tree bark.  It is non-toxic to breathe in and makes one of the best sanding sealers known.  Next, three coats of an oil-based wipe on polyurethane are applied.  These products together produce an excellent finish that handles abuse well and protects the wood from humidity. Hammers recieve an additional coat of buffed wax, and bones are finished with shellac only.

Acrylic edges sound almost like ebony, but they just don’t wear out.  Hard core players have been using our acrylic edged hammers over 10 years now, and they look like they were just made.   Ebony edges will need to be replaced eventually, but acrylic will not.

Our felted hammers reduce the volume, but not the quality of the sound, and allow the strings to have the ringing sustain that makes the hammered dulcimer the instrument that it is.  In contrast, dampers mute the sound and cut the sustain short.  Felted hammers are great in a group setting, for practice at home, when you are new to jams or just learning a tune and you don’t want to stand out, or when you are looking for a more soothing sound.

Acrylic grips make up seventy-five percent or more of our hammer sales.  They look great, feel great, and have a finish that wood just cannot compare too.   The other thing they add is weight, but in a way most people do not consider it.   Many players say they want light weight hammers.  What people really want is a hammer that has a light head-weight.  The acrylic grips, with their added weight, shifts the balance point of the hammer, essentially making the striking portion of the hammer lighter.  For example, a hammer with acrylic grips that weighs 10 grams will feel as if it was a hammer weighing in at only 8 grams.   Try a pair, and you will see what we mean.