Care & Maintenance of Strings by Roger Frood, Dove Dulcimers

Roger Frood is a dulcimer maker, running Dove Dulcimers in Somerset. This article first appeared in the Nonsuch Newsletter (January 1996).

Care and maintenance
Steel strings & water do not mix. Avoid as far as possible all contact of moisture with strings, especially rain and mist. If strings do get any water on them, dry it off thoroughly as soon as you can. In winter, try not to have the instrument in a very cold damp place, as it will almost certainly get tarnished strings over a period of time. Remember, though, that a very hot dry room is bad for the wood of the instrument, and probably worse for the long-term life expectancy of your dulcimer than somewhere cool and moist.

If you do get patches of rust or tarnish on the strings remove hem as far as possible by rubbing with very fine steel wool, grade 0000. You can help to prevent this problem by applying a tiny amount of a very light machine oil (typewriter/sewing machine) to the strings, or use a preparation for Guitarists called Fast Fret.

DO NOT use a spray-on oil like WD40, if any oil gets onto the tuning pins they will lose their grip in the wood, and the dulcimer will become untunable and completely useless.

Handling strings
Avoid touching any strings, new or old, with sweaty hands or fingers since the salt in sweat is quite corrosive. If you want to pluck the dulcimer, try using plectra or guitar finger-picks, or at least keep a cloth or tissue by you to wipe the strings afterwards. Keep children with sticky fingers well away from the instrument!

If you are going to work on replacing strings on your dulcimer, it is a good idea to wash your hands first to remove any sweat, and then to dust your hands with talcum powder.

WARNING. Treat music wire with great respect. Cut ends are very sharp, and they will fight to escape you and fly off whenever they can.

Roger has also written a very helpful guide on replacing hammered dulcimer strings.

Copyright © Roger Frood, 1996. All Rights reserved.