Course & Workshop

Our well-equipped School Workshops provide the perfect environment to learn and practise harp-making skills with the ideal facilities, work benches, tools, machines and equipment.

Illustration of a girl making a harp surrounded by buildings, trees, and water, with text that reads 'The Scottish School of Harp Making.'

We have set up fully-equipped workshops in the Old School to give students the ideal workspace to learn, practise and perfect harp-making skills in a comfortable & inspiring environment.

With access to modern machines & equipment, in addition to an extensive range of traditional and specialist hand tools, students learn to become versatile craftspeople with a wide range of useful skills both traditional & modern.

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Register Your Interest as a Student

To express interest and request a Full Prospectus for our Harp Making Course, please contact Mark at ‍ info@harps.scot

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Curriculum

  • Focuses on some of the 'why' before the 'how to'

    • Design Theory: The principles of good harp design & construction.

    • String Theory:  The effects of string angles, string lengths, string gauges and string tension on harp design.

    • Material Science: Understanding the ideal materials and harp timbers + seasoning, storage & shrinkage of timber.

    • Acoustics: Understanding the harp's acoustics and tone woods for harp soundboards.

    • Harp Structure: The structural principles of timber shapes, joints and laminations for strength, stability & longevity.

  • Focuses on workspace ergonomics, workbenches, working surfaces, working light, dust control & safety.

    • The Workbench: Making full use of the traditional Cabinetmaker's Bench along with its Front & End Vice and Bench Dogs

    • Working Surfaces: Using movable working tables and fixed worktops for Laying Out, Clamping & Go-Bars.

    • Dust Control: Machine & Workshop Dust Extraction and individual Router & Sander Dust Control.

    • Dehumidified Timber Store: Creating & maintaining perfectly stable dry timber.

    • Personal Safety: Using Air Fed Visors, Air Fed Masks, appropriate Gloves and Eye/Ear/Hair protection.

  • Focuses on the safe, accurate and efficient use of workshop machinery

    • Planing & Thicknessing Machines: Safe & accurate use of the surface Planer & Thicknesser.

    • Circular Saws: Accurate dimensioning of timber with appropriate blade choices and safe working with Circular Saws.

    • Bandsaws: Straight and curved profile timber & metal cutting on the Bandsaw.

    • Sanding Machines: Using Oscillating Drum Sanders, Osillating Bobbin Sanders and Disc Sanders.

    • Drilling Machines:  Using Pillar Drills for accurate hole drilling, countersinking, and tapered hole reaming.

    • Engineering Lathe: Creating precision engineered components in brass & stainless steel on the Myford Engineering Lathe

    • CNC Milling & Drilling Machine:  Creating batches of precision engineered components on the computer milling & drilling machine.

    • Polishing Machines:  De-Burring and Polishing brass, stainless steel & titanium components in Tumble Polishers & Vibratory Polishers.

  • Focuses on mastering traditional hand tools.

    • Traditional Hand Planes:  Learning and perfecting the use of Shooting Panes, Jack Planes, Block Planes and Shoulder Planes.

    • Traditional Chisels: Learning the selection and use of traditional bevel-edge chisels.

    • Cabinet Scrapers: The efficient use of traditional Cabinet Scrapers.

    • Spoke Shaves: Shaping curved surfaces and harp shoulders with traditional Spoke Shaves.

    • Knives: Using Traditional Right & Left-Hand Marking & Cutting Knives and disposable blade knives.

    • Hand Saws:  Using hand saws and Japanese Pull Saws.

    • Sharpening:  Use of Water-Cooled Grinding machines and Diamond Sharpening Stones to sharpen Plane Irons & Chisels & Knives

  • Focuses on the use of hand-held electric & cordless routers, sanders, drills and saws

    • Routers: Covering the many & varied uses of Routers; perhaps the single most versatile & important woodworking tool.

    • Orbital Sanders: Selecting the ideal Orbital Sanders and Abrasive Papers to produce the best finish. 

    • Cordless Drills: Using Cordless Drills for a great variety of tasks from marking out from templates to fitting Semitone Levers.

    • Cordless Jigsaws: Making the first cuts in large boards of timber which may be too large or heavy to lift on to a machine.

    • Cordless Circular Saw: Cutting large 8ft x 4ft sheet material, MDF & plywood.

  • Focuses on constructing, laminating, gluing & clamping

    • Clamping: Using F-Clamps, Sash-Clamps, and traditional Go-Bars to assemble & glue harp components

    • Glues & Adhesives: Understanding, choosing & mixing the ideal Glues, Adhesives and Epoxy Resins for each element of a harp 

    • Gluing Jigs & Blocks: Using Gluing Jigs, Blocks, Profile Covers and non-stick HDPE Covers.

    • Flat Laminating: Creating, gluing & clamping straight/flat laminations for harp string bars, shoulders and frames.

    • Curved Laminating: Gluing & forming curved laminations from Aircraft Birch Plywood and Decorative Veneers for the harp soundbox.

    • Vacuum Forming: Laminating & Forming curved components with Vacuum Bag Laminating.

    • Masking: Choosing the ideal Masking Tapes and techniques for masking off visable glue lines

  • Focuses on the creation & use of essential jigs, moulds & templates

    • Templates: Creating & using Clear Acrylic Profile Templates to standardise and mark out essential harp components.

    • Vacuum Templates: Creating & using Vacuum Routing Templates to produce batches of precision harp components.

    • Moulds: Creating & using Moulds to produce curved harp soundboxes and internal soundbox frameworks.

    • Jigs: Creating & using a great variety of Jigs to assist with precise assembling, gluing, routing, planing and drilling.

    • Tapered Thicknessing Blocks: Creating & using Tapered Machine Thicknessing Blocks to create tapered string bars & soundbox mouldings.

  • Focuses on precise measuring and marking out

    • Precision Rulers & Tape Rules:  Accurate measuring and laying out with rulers & tape rules.

    • Engineering Squares & Straight Edges: Checking and Laying Out with Engineering Squares and Precision Straight Edges.

    • Adjustable Bevels and Combination Squares : Marking out and creating angles with Adjustable Bevels & Combination Sets.

    • Digital Calipers:  Checking & achieving accurate dimensions with Digital Calipers.

    • Marking Gauges: Using the traditional Marking Gauge to set out thicknesses, lines & inlay lines.

    • Scribes & Punches: Marking out with Propelling Pencils, Pens, Points, Scribes, Punches and Automatic Centre Punches.

  • Focuses on the light-weight internal framework and laminated outer shell of the soundbox

    • Light-Weight Bass Blocks: Combining Balsa, Jelutong and Walnut to create light-weight bass blocks.

    • Internal Framework: Creating the internal soundbox framework, with spruce side-rails and birch ribs.

    • Piezo Wiring: Routing wiring slots into the internal soundbox framework for concealed Piezo Pickups.

    • Laminated Outer Shell: Laminating Aircraft Birch Ply and Book-Matched Walnut Veneers to create the outer shell.

    • Soundholes: Cutting Soundholes through the laminated outer shell.

    • Soundbox Mouldings: Add final mouldings after completed soundboard is fitted

    • Feet:  Make & add feet to completed soundbox along with brass harp stand fittings

  • Focuses on the most important element of the harp; the soundboard

    • Spruce Tone Wood: Sourcing & selecting Sitka Spruce Tone Wood for harp soundboards.

    • Cutting & Storing Spruce: Creating Quater-Sawn Spruce Tone Wood Boards.

    • Matching & Jointing Soundboards: Creating matching sets of tone wood pieces, and jointing to create soundboards.

    • Soundboard Tapering: Vertical tapering of the soundboard form bottom to top.

    • Hand Thicknessing: Horizontal hand thicknessing of the soundboard from centre to edge.

    • String Bars & Mouldings: Making & adding the String Bars & Screw Strips.

    • String Bushes: Making & inserting the Black String Bushes & Brass Base Wire Bushes.

    • Fitting & Gluing & Screwing: Fitting, gluing & screwing the completed soundboard into the harp soundbox.

    • Peizo Pickups: Adding Piezo Pickups to the soundbox & soundboard to create a high quality electro-acoustic harp.

  • Focuses on cutting, jointing and laminating timber harp frames 

    • Selecting Timber: Sourcing & selecting the ideal Timber for harp frames.

    • Cutting Frame Cores & Covers: Selecting, marking out & cutting the ideal timber for internal & external frame components.

    • Jointing Frame Cores: Creating the internal frame cores.

    • Frame Covers: Creating & laminating the external harp frame covers to the internal frame cores.

    • Shoulders: Laminating and adding the harp shoulder blocks.

    • Frame to Soundbox: Fitting the harp Frame to the completed harp soundbox.

    • Drilling & Reaming: Marking out, drilling & reaming holes for bridge pins and tuning pegs.

  • Focuses on the finer details of carving, inlaying & decorating harps

    • Carving Shoulders: Carving the external & internal curved shapes of the harp shoulder.

    • Inlaying: Adding decorative inlay lines using both electric routers and traditional hand tools.

    • Soundbox Inlays: Adding decorative inlay lines to the curved & veneered harp soundbox using routers and traditional hand tools.

    • Mouldings: Techniques for adding the final decorative mouldings around the harp frame and feet.

  • Focuses on the finer details of final scraping, sanding, oiling, varnishing & finishing harps

    • Cabinet Scrapers: Using the traditional cabinet scraper prior to final sanding & finishing of timber.

    • Sanding: Choosing abrasives and using orbital sanders and hand-sanding blocks to prepare timber for final varnishing & finishing.

    • Brush Varnishing: Choosing flexible soundboard varnish and ideal brushes for hand finishing of harp soundboards.

    • Oiling: Oiling techniques to enhance the colour & grain of timber prior to final spraying & finishing.

    • Masking Off: Understanding low-tack masking tapes and masking off areas before spray finishing.

    • Spray Booth & Spray Guns: Understanding & maintaining spray booths and spray guns for safe & efficient spray finishing.

    • Spray Finishing: Understanding & mastering spray finishing techniques with base coats & top coats of cellulose and other lacquers.

    • Grain Fillers: Understanding the use of grain fillers within the finishing processes.

    • De-Nibbing & Cutting Down Varnish & Lacquer: Selecting the ideal abrasives and sanding techniques for de-nibbing & cutting down coats of varnish & lacquer.

    • Final Finishing: Using fine abrasive papers and 0000 grade wire wool to achieve the final finish on a harp.

  • Focuses on the final stringing, tuning & regulating of the harp

    • String Choice: Understanding Natural Gut or Fluorocarbon or Nylon Strings and the effect of different String Gauges.

    • Harp Stringing: Knot Tying, Stringing, Setting Tapered Tuning Pegs and Tuning the harp.

    • Semitone Levers: Choosing, fitting, regulating & tuning semitone levers.

    • Serial Numbers: Adding Serial Numbers

    • Harp Stands: Fitting Harp Stands

  • Focuses on repairing and servicing older harps

    • Insurance: Assessing serious harp repairs, costing and checking on insurance status.

    • Strings: Checking harp string type and string gauge if matching strings may need replaced.

    • Re-Stringing: Undertaking a complete re-string of an older harp.

    • Semitone Levers: Checking lever types in case spares or replacements are required.

    • Finishing: Fixing Bumps. Scratches and Re-Finishing with matching varnish.

    • Servicing: Undertaking a general service of a harp with re-regulation & tuning of semitone levers.

    • Valuation: Valuing a harp for insurance, and valuing a harp for second-hand sale.

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Optional Fourth Year Activities

Optional fourth year activities will be open to all interested students who wish to specialise or develop their design & making skills in new areas.

A student may, for example, wish to work with more modern materials such as carbon fibre and titanium to create light weight harps …   or develop more decorative harps with additional inlays or hand-cut/laser-cut veneer work …   or develop more modern production methods using CNC machines … or may wish to design and develop their own models of harp ready for production.

  • Multiple unfinished wooden harps stacked on a workbench in a workshop.
  • A woodworking workbench with a partially carved large piece of wood, a hand plane, and shavings scattered on the surface in a woodworking shop.
  • Woodwork project in a workshop with tools and workbenches, featuring a large piece of carved light wood for a harp.
  • Woodworking workshop showing a partially assembled wooden harp on a workbench, with a clamp and a band saw in the background.
  • Woodworking project in progress with a carved wooden piece, a chisel, and clamps on a workbench.
  • Wooden harp piece being shaped or carved with clamps and woodworking tools on a workbench.
  • Three curved wooden harp frames clamped to a workbench in a woodworking shop.
  • Wooden harp pieces under construction in a workshop.
  • Woodworking workshop with a workbench, clamps, tools, and partially assembled tools.
  • A woodworking plane tool on a wooden workbench surrounded by wood shavings.
  • A woodworking workbench with a hand plane tool and shavings scattered around in a workshop.
  • Woodworking workspace with a curved piece of wood clamped on a worktable, dust and wood shavings on the floor.
  • A woodworking plane tool resting on a wooden workbench, with some wood shavings next to it, in a workshop setting.
  • Woodworking workshop with a structure in progress, multiple clamps holding pieces of wood, workbenches with tools.
  • A woodworking workbench surrounded by woodworking tools and shavings, in a busy workshop.
  • Woodworking workshop with a curved wooden piece, carving tools, chisels, and a square on the workbench.
  • A harp-making project in progress with a wooden piece clamped to a work surface, sawdust, and shavings on the surface.
  • Close-up of a woodworking project in progress, showcasing a curved wooden piece with detailed lines drawn on it, clamped to a workbench with red felt pads for protection.
  • A woodworking workshop with a large harp-shaped piece of wood secured with clamps on a workbench. The workshop is filled with tools, equipment and wooden furniture.

Some of our valued suppliers

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