Nerdy Gurdy Assembly instructions V6 – Thingiverse DIY version

This manual describes how to assemble a version 6 Nerdy Gurdy kit. Go to http://www.nerdygurdy.nl for more
info about these instruments.

Jaap Brand
The Netherlands
October 2018/ April 2019

General directions:
 The parts are glued together with regular wood glue (not included in the kit).
 Don’t glue the bridge or any part that’s adjustable.
 Make sure that all surfaces that touch are fully glued together. This prevents undesirable vibration when
you’re playing.
 When removing parts from the plate that are still attached, it’s best to cut the attached points with a sharp
knife, to avoid splintering.
 Before gluing, it is wise to assemble the parts without glue, so that you’re sure how they fit together. You
can assemble most of the instrument without glue, to get an idea of how the parts go together.
 It’s best to read through the whole sequence, before starting.
 If you do something wrong, it is possible to release wood glue by heating it (e.g. with a pressing iron).

Please note: If you live in a very hot and/or humid climate you may need to take extra care with the type of wood
glue that you use. Some glues may not be able to keep the required strength.

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

Parts that you need

wood sheet 3mm 4x

sheet 6 mm 1x

Loose parts Locking nut M8 1x

nut M3 2x
bolt M3 x 10 6x
Bolt m3 x 20 2x Optional, for new drone bridge
Screw 2,5 x 13 4x
Screw 3,5 x 17 8x
spacer ring 8x
Strip of felt 1x
string holders 4x Ground ring terminals
Bearings 4x Standard skate bearings
bolt M2,5 (for tangents) 48x
nut 8mm 10x
Metal tuning pegs 6x
wooden pegs 2x I use 1/16 violin tuning pegs
threaded rod M8 6,5cm 1x
threaded rod M8 22cm 1x

strings chantarelle low G 1x viola G

chantarelle high G 1x viola A
trumpet C 1x 1.3 mm nylon, e.g. String Trimmer
trumpet G 1x 1 mm nylon, e.g. tennis racket
bourdon high C 1x cello G
bourdon low G 1x cello C

printed parts knob 1x

tangent high 28x
tangent low 20x
shaft nut 1x
Bearing holder ring 2x
strap pin 2x
backplate glueing help 1x
buzzing bridge support upper 1x
buzzing bridge support lower 1x
buzzing bridge 2x + spare
Upper trumpet edge support 1x
Drone support bushes 2x Optional, for new drone bridge

A strip of 1 – 1.5 mm veneer

Verneer for wheel rim 1x

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Not included in kit
You will need the following materials to build your Nerdy Gurdy (not included in the kit):

 Wood glue
 (retractable) knife
 A number of glueing clamps
 Varnish (optional, but recommended)
 Sand paper
 Some tools (screw drivers, 13 mm spanner, etc.)
 Some basic woodworking skill and patience :)

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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Glue the borders to the top and bottom of the Nerdy Gurdy

Notes:
 The top and bottom are symmetric: use the sides that you like best on the outside.
 The two borders are symmetric and identical.
 Make sure that the parts are nicely centered. You can use mating parts to check alignment (picture below).
 You can use some books to press the parts together.
 There should be a plate thickness all around the glued-on ridge.

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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Assemble the ‘head’

Head

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Glue the front bearing support together

Front bearing support

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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Mount the head, pillar and rear between the top plate and bottom plate.

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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Notes:
 Make sure that the opening at the rear side is at the top of the Gurdy (red circle).

Front bearing
It’s easiest to install the front bearing before you install the sides of the instrument, but if you have a long
screwdriver and some patience, you can also do it after the sides have been glued in place. Below is a picture of
how it needs to be placed.

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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Mount the sides, starting from the head

Notes:
 You can glue the parts in steps, if you don’t have enough clamps (like me).
 Make sure that tabs are fully inserted into the slots.
 Make sure that all surfaces are glued together well, especially at the rear of the instrument. This is
necessary to resist the force of the strings.

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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Install the bridge

 You don’t need to glue the bridge: it may be nice to be able to replace it. A spare part is included.

Assemble the machine heads

Note: You’ll need to add an extra washer to the machine heads, else you won’t be able to tighten the nuts (the
stack of wood would be too thin).

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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Assemble the tailpiece

Note: you can use the left and right plates as temporary spacers (don’t glue these)

Notes:
 Make sure that you insert the nuts, before you glue everything together.

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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 You can use any strip to align the parts for gluing (don’t glue this in)

Notes:
 Use two of the M3 bolts to make sure that there is no glue in the nuts.

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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Place the bolts, wedge parts and bridge segments

Don’t glue these, they need to be adjustable with the bolts!

Glue the rear cover pieces together

A tool is included to align the pieces for gluing

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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Assemble the key box

Glue the lid pieces together

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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Apply lacquer
You may want to lacquer or paint your parts at this point in the assembly.

Glue the key-box to the body

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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Assemble the drone bridge support

Notes:
 The two strips are not glued in: they should be able to slide to adjust the string position.

Alternative the drone bridge support

Recently I’ve added a new type of bridge for the drone strings. Both versions are included in the kit: decide for
yourself which version you lilke best, and let me know:

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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Assemble the supports for the buzzing bridges

Mount the supports to the body

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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Assemble the tail piece

You don’t need to glue the tail piece in place, but it makes it a bit more stable.

Glue an extra layer on top of the short keys

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Notes: The numbers are on the top of the keys. That’s the side on which you need to stick the extra layer.

Assemble keys and tangents

The strip of felt is glued inside the key box, to dampen the sound of keys dropping back.

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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Assemble the shaft

The printed ring is screwed to the back plate, to secure the bearing (2 x [screw, 2.5 x 13]).

The knob is fixed with a locking nut (red circle). Alternatively, you can glue a regular nut into place.

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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Glue the wheel together and glue a strip around the wheel
First you need to glue the two layers of wheel together. Next you need to glue a strip of veneer around the
edge.

This is the hardest part of building the Nerdy Gurdy, and it’s important that you do this well. The roundness and
smoothness of the wheel will determine the quality of the sound to a large measure.

The best way to achieve a smooth wheel is to glue a strip of wood around your wheel. The thickness should be
about 1 mm. This can be a bit hard to come by: if all else fails you can reduce a strip of 4 mm plywood with a
router (that’s what I did for my first few wheels)

Here’s what you do:

 Obtain a piece of 1 - 1.5 mm thick veneer, and cut a strip along the grain direction. The strip should be a few
mm wider than your wheel.
 Soak the strip in hot water, and gradually bend it. I usually put the strip inside a pan, and then transfer it to a
smaller pan when the tension starts to lessen.

 Cut a slanted edge to one side, wrap it around the wheel, and draw where to cut on the other side.

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 Apply wood glue to the wheel, and wrap the strip around the wheel. Firmly pull it tight with cable ties.

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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 The best way to make sure that the wheel is straight on the shaft is to use a slow drying glue, and align the
wheel inside the hurdy Gurdy. Spin the shaft a few times, and correct the alignment. Then allow the glue to
dry.

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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Assemble the wheel
The wheel slides into the slot on top, and you screw the shaft into the wheel. In the end, the shaft needs to slide
into the front bearing.

 You may need to tweak the locations of the nuts on the shaft a bit, to get the shaft properly aligned and
straight.
 The wheel should rotate freely, without touching the sides. A slight wobble (up to 1 mm) is acceptable (and
can’t be completely avoided with printed and laser cut parts). Most important is that the wheel is nicely
round, so that it touches the strings constantly when you turn it.

 If the shaft is not perfectly straight you may need to ‘true’ the wheel after you assemble it. Rotate it by hand
and apply a scraping iron or horizontal chisel, until it is perfectly round. Afterwards, finish with fine sanding
paper. The smoother, the better.

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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Mount the strap pins

File the bridge pieces

It’s recommended to file a bit of a V shape in the bridge pieces, so that each string touches the bridge just at the
end. This ensures that the two strings of different thickness have the same effective scale length.

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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Mount the strings

From top to bottom:

 bourdon low G (cello C)
 bourdon high C (cello G)
 chantarelle high G (viola A)
 chantarelle low G (viola G)
 trumpet G
 trumpet C

Use these notches at the edge of the sound board:

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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The drones can be muted by lifting them from the wheel at the bridge:

Both drones in playing position both drones muted

Alternative drone bridge:

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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The inner trumpet is lifted from the sound board with an edge support. You want to glue this in place.

The trumpet strings can be muted at the front:

Upper trumpet in playing position both trumpets muted

Note:
 You may need to notch the mute a bit at the red circle, to make the string retain well.
 Even though the force of the strings on the wheel is adjustable, it’s still possible that due to part tolerances
or assembly inaccuracies you are outside the adjustment range (too much force, or too little).
o If the force is too little, you can sand down the bridge pieces, or deepen the recess with a file.
o If the force is too much, you can raise up the bridge pieces a bit, by adding a few strips of paper
under the bridge pieces.

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You need to tie a short string from the machine head at the rear, to the string. With this knob you can adjust the
trumpet effect:

You may need to tweak the location of the string a bit, to get a good buzzing effect.

Other factors that affect the buzzing are:

 Force of the trumpet string on the wheel
 Amount of rosin on the wheel
 Amount of cotton on the string
 The direction in which the tensioning string pulls the string sideways

And according to some people:

 The direction of the wind
 The color of your eyes
 The position or Ursula Major in the night sky
 Yesterday’s BitCoin exchange rate
 … etc… you get the point 

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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Tuning

From top to bottom:

 bourdon low G (cello C)
 bourdon high C (cello G)
 chantarelle high G (viola A)
 chantarelle low G (viola G)
 trumpet G
 trumpet C

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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Mutes
The drones can be muted by lifting them from the wheel at the bridge:

Both drones in playing position both drones muted

The trumpet strings can be muted at the front:

Upper trumpet in playing position both trumpets muted

Applying rosin and adjusting string force

You need to apply rosin to the wheel to get the necessary friction with the strings. Next you want to add some
cotton around the strings to mellow down the tone. You’ll find many tutorials on how to do this online.
Personally I use solid rosin, and cotton out of tampons (which has nice long fibers).

Adjusting a Hurdy Gurdy (any Hurdy Gurdy) and applying the right amount of cotton and rosin is an art and a
science in itself. The best players in the world have perfected this art along with their playing technique. You
never meet a Hurdy Gurdy player without a considerable set of tools, and believe it or not: it’s normal to see a
Hurdy Gurdy player pull out a file and adapt his instrument between songs.

What you can do with solid rosin: hold the block against the wheel, while you rotate it. Keep doing this until
there is a fair amount on the wheel. This will be too much to actually play with, so you need step 2: take a plain

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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cloth and firmly push it against the wheel while you rotate. Let the friction heat up the surface of the wheel. This
will melt the rosin, and disperse it evenly over your wheel, while the cloth takes up the excess rosin.

Now you can already play and start adjusting the force of the strings on the wheel. The cotton will just serve to
make the sound more round. Playing a bit without cotton will help coat some rosin on the strings, to make them
hold the cotton.

You need to adjust the strings so that they are just touching the wheel. Too much force will give a scratchy
sound. Play around with the force to get a feel of things.

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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Final notes
I’ve designed this instrument with the purpose of making a Hurdy Gurdy with an acceptable sound, for a very
good price. I hope that it enables people to start playing the instrument who would not have had the means
otherwise, or are hesitant to invest thousands of dollars straight away.

The design is unconventional: it was designed from scratch with the above purpose in mind. Therefore the
construction method is in many ways different from traditional instruments. It does however sound pretty good,
and it is very playable. And because of the material and the method of construction, it is very stable

New players will still need to learn how to properly apply rosin to the wheel, and cotton to the strings. But there
are many tutorials online, if you don’t have experienced players who can teach you.

Enschede, October 2018

PS. This manual and the Nerdy Gurdy itself are an ongoing project. Please let me know how they can be further
improved.

Nerdy Gurdy assembly instructions CC BY-NC 3.0 Jaap Brand, 2019-04-28

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