Cutting a rosette for an OUD

For this rosette,I use a large saw frame.I use different saw frames depending on the size of the rosette...the larger the saw frame ,more difficult it is because of the balance of the frame...I brake 2 saw blades on this one!!!not too bad!!

making a hand carved Rosette

To make a rosette,I use several plies of alternating grain veneer epoxied together and cured in a press.The thickness of the wooden plate is now 3mm. I draw the pattern directly on the wood and spray it with fixative to avoid smearing of the pencil marks while working.I drill the voids and cut out the design with a jeweler saw, using a 2/0 (antiloppe) saw blade.I then use small wood chisels, small jeweler files to carve out the pattern in 3 dimensions.
Depending on the intricacies of the design a carved rosette can take several days to complete,thus several days to dream about my next project

Between paintings and making musical instruments....

At my age!!!still dont know what I'm going to do when I grow up...Here is a photo of my new painting "Opening up" and my new Melochord in a setar shape

My first melochord

This is the first melochord I made, the design is inspire from a 3 (gut)string,fret less instrument from Kyrgyzstan called a Komuz.The body and neck of my instrument is cut out of one piece of wood, it has no braces behind the sound board,but the sound board is slightly bent for sturdiness...it produce a very nice and clear sound.it is fully chromatic and has 3 double strings tuned in unison

My inspiration to create the melochord

The instrument on the right is the first Saz that I made.The saz is a Turkish 3 double string instrument....The one I made is called a Cura Saz, it has a shorter scale instrument.The one on the left is a  Gambus Melayu that I made earlier.

Creating a Hybrid Instrument

The Melochord is a hybrid instrument. It combines the design of the American mountain dulcimer and the Turkish Saz. I have done many musical instruments in my life, but lately I have a particular interest in making a more complex type of dulcimer, which offers more musical range than the diatonic American dulcimer. Here is photo of my successful prototype!