Thread: Harp making

Welcome to the forum.
Is the ply for a template? Reason I ask is I see no reason that a template needs to be birch ply. Most decent ply will do for that. A full sheet is 2240 by 1200mm and places like Mr plywood will cut the sheet for you.
Regards
John

Hi John. Thanks for your reply. The ply is for the the soundboard of the harp and needs to be 3mm 5ply aircraft ply for strength and resonance. When the harp is fully strung the soundboard will need to withstand almost 500kg of pressure but be thin enough to still vibrate. I've actually been using 9mm hardwood ply for my templates. Regards Deedad.

I didn't realize harps are so big.
Boat builders get long pieces of ply by scarfing pieces together.Not sure if this would be suitable for the soundboard as I presume it would be visible. Perhaps a dark stain would hide the joint sufficiently Also the joint may affect the tone of the instrument.

these guys are in Melbourne but it shows that it can be done.

Birch Laserply | Plyco

Originally Posted by doug3030

these guys are in Melbourne but it shows that it can be done.

Birch Laserply | Plyco

Try this place a Mt Ku-ring-gai (Northern Sydney). Eco-Core | Eco-friendly building materials

Welcome to the Forum, Deedad

These guys in Boolaroo might be worth a phone call:
Plywood Timber Suppliers | Direct to Site | Newcastle & Hunter Valley
You might find that they only sell by the full sheet - say 1200 x 2400 mm.

An advantage of laminating two sheets of 1.5 mm is that you can do it over the bending form, and it will largely retain that shape after the glue dries - minus a little spring back. I use a food vacuum press - Ezivac brand that cost about $200 seven years ago - for laminating and maequetry work. Buy the bags - in 6 or 12 metre rolls - from a hospitality supplier - their customers will not tolerate crap!

Also in Mt. Kuringai, I've laminated large sheets from these people using Techniglue, and I think you would find that three layers would give you a rigid soundboard.

Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions. I'm currently following them all up to see where they lead.

I have bought the bendable ply from Mr Ply & Wood in Newcastle.
Full sheets were 2400 x 1200.
They had thin (about 1.5mm) and a thicker ply (close to 3mm).

Good quality and expensive.

I used them for cajon tapas.
I use Titebond to add veneers to the front and back of the bendable ply.

It gives me a better sounding tapa with good rigidity.

A little off topic, but Mr Ply & Wood is in liquidation.

That would make sense. There were a few things recently that seemed off.