Introduction to Hurdy-Gurdy Restoration
Who I am
I’m Alden Hackmann, half of the hurdy-gurdy building duo of Cali and Alden at Olympic Musical Instruments. We were active builders for over 25 years, and circumstances took us away from it. Nevertheless we still ached to keep building and restoring, and now we’re coming back to it. We were the driving force behind the Over the Water Hurdy-Gurdy Festival, and we feel very privileged to have made such wonderful contacts in the community with the festival.
Why I’m doing this substack
Cali and I amassed a great deal of knowledge, tools, and wood. We would like to share what we do and how we do it, and why. The hurdy-gurdy world is filled with a panoply of builders and restorers, ranging from wonderful to mediocre. Our goal has always been to nurture the instrument and to continue to raise the standards to which builders and restorers should be held. I’ll never claim that I have The Right Answer. The best I can say is “in my experience.”
A sense of community
We’ve always been about community. Building community takes the needs of all the individuals into account as best we can, and it creates a space for expression without fear. It’s a fascinating instrument, with construction techniques and technical challenges not found in any other. How each of us choose to build is a personal choice, and all of those choices are valid.
What to expect
Generally, I’ll be posting on Mondays or perhaps on Tuesdays, though this may vary depending on the state of progress. There will be photos and more photos, and explanations of what I’m doing, what tools I’m using, what problems I encountered, and how I solved them. The photos will be How Things Are, not staged. I’m writing a blog, and I will try to get good pictures, but I’m not going to try to portray myself, the work space, or the instrument as something it’s not.
Why to subscribe to the paid subscription
I’ve never tried to monetize our expertise like this, and I honestly don’t expect it will break even. On balance, I’d probably be better off writing more of the vampire novel which will be unlikely to see the light of day. So why should you subscribe and pay?
You’ll get insights into the woodworking/metalworking/everything else that go into doing a repair like this. Perhaps you’ll want to build your own instrument one day, or restore one.
Lutherie Secrets. Yes, I’m just going to lay it all out there, what I’m doing and why.
I’ll answer all questions as best I can
Occasionally you’ll get to see me completely fail and have to remake or backtrack or go back to the beginning on something.
If you’re not an aspiring hurdy-gurdy luthier, you can support two people who love our craft, for about the price of a double cappuccino and a blueberry muffin.
This is all new to me, so I’m envisioning that I’ll send out a short monthly blog to non-paying subscribers. We’ll just see how it develops. I appreciate your support in whatever way you give it. I’m also having a little trouble with getting the paid subscription turned on, so for now you can sign up to support me in the future when that gets turned on.
The hurdy-gurdy we’re working on
Here she is. It’s a 19th century guitar-shaped instrument. At first glance it looks relatively intact, but there are many issues that need to be addressed. Among other things, we’ll be replacing the wheel, the shaft, the crank, and the handle.
No guilt
If this isn’t your thing, that’s fine.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge!