The Æolian Harp.
—How to Make It.
—This harp is of very ancient origin and it gets its name from Æolus who, in classic mythology, was the father of the winds, and very appropriately is it named, too, for it is the wind that plays it.
Make a box of ¹⁄₂ inch thick wood, 2 inches deep, 5 inches wide and 3 feet long; use clear pine, or deal will do, for the sides of it but the ends should be of beech to hold the tuning pins and the hitch pins. Cut a sound hole 3 inches in diameter near both ends of the board which is to be used for the top; then glue the box together and screw up the ends with your wood clamps to hold it together tight while it is drying.
Fig. 114. the harp of aeolus
When it is thoroughly dry, drill a dozen ¹⁄₄ inch peg holes ³⁄₄ inch deep in one end, six in a row as shown at A in [Fig. 114]. Make a dozen pegs to fit the holes and these should have wings on them as shown at [B] like violin pegs. Each peg should be about 1¹⁄₂ inches long and each one should have a ¹⁄₃₂ inch hole drilled near the top of the shank for the end of the string to pass through. The hitch pins can be brass brads driven into the other end of the box and in a line with the holes, all of which is shown at [A].
Make two bridges of hard wood ¹⁄₈ inch thick; have each one 1 inch high and 5 inches wide and with 12 notches cut in one side. Now get a dozen catgut strings of different thicknesses and put them on the sounding board; to do this twist a loop on the end of each one; thread the other end through the hole in the peg and tighten it up a little.
When you have all of the strings in place set a bridge under each end and then tune the strings in unison, but don’t stretch the strings on very tight or the wind won’t make them vibrate. This done, cut out another ¹⁄₂ inch thick pine board and glue a block ¹⁄₂ inch square and 1¹⁄₂ inches long to each corner and set it on top of the harp. The purpose of this cover is to make the wind blow with as much force as possible over the strings.