Hi The first hurdy-gurdy I made had a Perspex wheel . This was recommended as a good idea but the surface of the rim is so impervious that it refused to take the thincoat of rosin required for good tone. I hadn't heard of liquid rosin at the time so maybe that would have worked. I've been using MDF for years and find it ideal. It's slightly more dense than Maple and is totally stable . I've tried not using a band on the rim and in my experience, it is far too rough and impossible to get the ultra smooth finish necessary for good tone. Cheers Neil http://www.myspace.com/neilbrook
http://www.hurdy-gurdy.org.uk ----- Original Message ----- From: Arle Lommel To: hg@hurdygurdy.com Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 10:10 PM Subject: Re: [HG] synthetic Wheels? Hi Jim, What do you consider a synthetic? I've recently seen an MDF (medium density fiberboard) wheel. That's not plastic, but it's not really wood either. MDF has some real advantages as a wheel in that it's as stable as can be (the same reason it gets used for bathroom cabinetry). The maker I saw who uses it doesn't even band the wheels with it: he says it's fine as is, but there's no reason you couldn't band a wheel made from MDF, in which case you'd have a traditional wheel for all playing purposes, but one that is super stable. -Arle On Sep 17, 2008, at 4:05 PM, Jim Petersen wrote: good morning ... this would be my first quizzical post to the board. i would like as much information and as many personal experiences that any of you have had with the synthetic wheels being used lately. i have heard great things about them but being a traditionalist on matters of the gurdy ... they kind of scare me. i would like to hear both good and bad and are all synthetics the same are their good ones and bad ones... i have only seen one and it was on a horrible lil symphonie thanks for your support. jim Grey Aengus (aka Jim) http://www.greyaengus.com often in error, never in doubt ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.6.21/1671 - Release Date: 14/09/2008 07:16
