Townsend Man Uncovers Natural, Hidden Melody In Pieces of Old Wood

Monday March 01, 2004

TOWNSEND, Tenn. -- To most folks, the stacks of wood lining the back of Mike Clemmer’s Townsend, Tennessee shop are far from unique. Yet, within each piece of old lumber is a hidden melody, just waiting to be revealed by Clemmer’s masterful hand. For years, Clemmer, a musician and woodsmith, has spent most of his free time handcrafting dulcimers. In the beginning, he learned the craft to make extra money. Soon, his passion for music and love of the craft convinced him to leave his full-time suit and tie world to take on dulcimer-making as a career and open his own store, Wood-N-Strings. Clemmer prides himself in the workmanship that he goes into each instrument. Clemmer’s dulcimers are made of native wood, handselected, constructed and customized to match the needs and wants of his individual customers -- a group that spans across the continent from North to South America and includes young boys and girls, to grandmas and grandpas. "My customers are all different and so are my dulcimers. Each piece of wood I work with has its own song," Clemmer said as he slid a violin bow along the edge of a piece of chestnut wood he had salvaged from an nearby barn. "My job is to capture the song by tuning the wood." Clemmer knows the tone of the instrument before it’s even constructed. "Seventy five percent of my time is spent working with the wood before it’s put together," Clemmer said. "A single dulcimer can take two to three weeks to make. Sometimes I’m working on 10 at one time. The most important thing to me is that they’re all made right and that the person I’m making it for, gets the most enjoyment out of it." If you’re interested in getting one of Clemmer’s one-of-a-kind instruments, you may have to wait in line. The artist usually has a backlog of orders for the instruments that he sells at a starting price of $375. "A lot of people build a bunch of dulcimers and hang them on the wall to sell. That’s fine, but I like to work with my customers to give them an instrument they truly want, one that is evidence of their personality," Clemmer said. The first step in this process is selecting the wood. Customers can choose from a variety of East Tennessee grains, including walnut, cherry, butternut, sassafras and wormy chestnut. After Clemmer opens up a log, he prepares it, mills it down and then tones it. Customers also select the final design of their instrument, from the shape of the dulcimer’s neck to the artwork and holes carved in the dulcimer body. "I’ve done a little bit of everything: elk designs, bear heads, paws, crosses, trout, deer, teddy bears, steam locomotives, hummingbirds. I’m even done a UK (University of Kentucky) Wild Cat and a Florida State Seminole, but you know what -- I haven’t done a UT (University of Tennessee) one yet," he said. Another unique quality of Clemmer’s dulcimers are the strings. The East Tennessee craftsman makes them with five strings instead of the traditional four. "The sounds just better. It’s fuller, richer," Clemmer said of the quality of his instruments. Wood-N-Strings is open year-round and is located in the heart of the mountain community in the Nawger Nob Craft Settlement on U.S. Hwy. 321. For more information on Clemmer’s dulcimers or to place an order, please call 865-448-6647. Townsend is located at the gateway of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. For more information on the Townsend area, please call the Smoky Mountain Visitors Center at 1-800-525-6834 or (865) 448-6134, or visit the center online at http://chamber.blount.tn.us/smokymvb.

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