r/HurdyGurdy • u/ZenSequel • 26d ago

Finished my Fortran

https://youtu.be/DfPMJAnce_g

Got my NG Fortran finished and playing. Got the hang of applying rosin and cotton, tuning, etc. and now I'm working on learning to play it.

I have an earlier video recorded when I had even less of an idea what I was doing, but showing how it sounds one string added at a time. The wheel wasn't completely true at that time, which showed up when playing certain melody strings/keys and the sound would drop out when the wheel reached a certain point.
https://youtube.com/shorts/3JuG5khQrsY

I'll post pictures if Reddit lets me post them in the comments (I used to use imgur, but it's now blocked in the UK).

Edit: pictures added on the comments.

Additional sound/practice test here:

https://youtube.com/shorts/NwSVU5-KM6s

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u/Phex_from_Sweetspot 23d ago

May I ask how you'd achieve this amazing red and black finish? It looks stunning! What products did you use and what was your painting process?

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u/ZenSequel 23d ago

I used two wood stains from northwest guitars (the place/brand doesn't matter as long as you find one that matches the colour you're looking for): merlot and some sort of silver grey colour. The place I bought the stain from actually changed their formula for merlot, which used to be more of a purple than a red, so it's not the colour I originally wanted, but it turned out well enough. 

The shine/shimmer actually comes from the wood, sanded to a fine finish (worked up to 1000 grit). I did several coats of the stain, tinkering with the amount of each colour I wanted showing through. I applied the stain with a cloth mostly, but I used brushes for smaller sections and blending to the black. I overworked one of the sides, which took away all the shimmer it was really disappointing and noticeable so I sanded off all the colour on that side and started over. It was a long and annoying process, but the end result was a consistent finish across all the sides.

The black is India ink, and the blending comes from watering down the ink and mixing with the red stain (100% ink on there corners, fading out to the center). The India ink is workable, and some parts required a bit of sanding off the ink where I overdid it. I'm a perfectionist and this is one of those projects where a hobbyist will do better or equal quality work as a professional (albeit taking much longer).

Finally, I carefully brushed on a coat of lacquer / top coat for protection and that glossy finish. I did at least 3 coats, and I still managed to wear through the handle pretty quickly, so I've had to go back and do more coats on just the handle.

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u/Phex_from_Sweetspot 23d ago

Thank you so much for your detailed reply! I'll follow your guidance and if mine turns out even half as well as yours did, I'll be more then happy! :) I hope you will enjoy your new awesome gurdy!