My first major woodworking project – a 34-string lever harp made of cherry with a 1/8″ birch 5-ply soundboard and a curved back to increase the interior volume of the soundbox. The column is laminated with two pieces of quarter-sawn cherry while the neck (curve) is three ply cherry with opposing grain direction. Each string has a sharping lever which raises the pitch one-half step when engaged. Red strings are “C” and blue strings are “F”. The pitch range is 4 3/4 octaves.
The instrument requires numerous joinery methods as well as internal bracing of the soundbox to counteract the 1,100+ pounds of tension of the strings. – Roger Morgan, Exeter, NH
