Building the Sound Box

Draw it full size

Draw the kantele from above at full size on a board or heavy paper: the outline, the slanting row of pins at the wide end, the five strings fanning to the varras near the narrow end, and the soundhole. Use the computed string lengths from lesson 1, measured from each pin to the varras. Draw the side view too, 2 inches deep ¹.

The box

Van Orman’s class constructs and finishes the sound box first ²:

1. End blocks. Cut a hardwood pin block for the wide end and a ponsi block for the narrow end, each the full depth of the box.
2. Sides. Plane two sides about 3/8 inch thick and 2 inches wide. Glue them to the end blocks, following the outline; clamp and check that the box lies flat.
3. Soundhole. Cut a round hole in the top, about 1 1/2 inches across, a little toward the ponsi end of center, as on the photographed kanteles.
4. Top. Glue on the 3 mm spruce top, clamping it to the sides and blocks with cauls. King builds open-backed kanteles as well as backed ones ¹; add a thin back now if you want one.
5. Trim. Plane the edges of top and back flush with the sides.

The old instruments were hollowed from one piece, often alder, with the top let in and fastened with nails or birch-bark bands ^{3 4}; the box method gets the same shape with less wood.

Drill the pin block

Zither pins are 1 5/8 inches long and fit a 3/16-inch hole ⁵. Mark the five pin positions from the drawing on the top over the pin block, and drill straight down into the block, deep enough for the pin’s length but not through the back. A drill press, or a block drilled square as a guide, keeps the holes straight. Each pin holds by friction in the hardwood.

The ponsi and varras

The strings run from the pins to the varras, a metal bar in the wooden ponsi ⁶. On the museum kantele of 1698 the varras is iron ³. Cut a groove or drill two holes in the ponsi block to hold a 1/8-inch steel or brass rod across the strings’ path, standing a little above the top so the strings clear it. The ponsi takes the whole pull of the strings through the varras, so glue it well and keep the rod’s seat snug.

Shape the ponsi end into a curl or a rounded hook, as on traditional kanteles; it is also where the right palm rests when you play (lesson 3).

Shape and finish

Round the edges, shape the pin end, and sand everything smooth. Finish with shellac or oil, keeping the finish on the top thin so it can vibrate. Tap the pins into their holes with a mallet, leaving room under each for a few turns of wire.

Try it

Before gluing the top, tap it with a fingertip while holding it by one corner, then again after it’s glued on. Listen to how the note drops and lengthens: that’s the box beginning to work.