With the exception of the soundboards, all Woldsong harps have a hand rubbed Danish tung oil and wax finish. There is no kind of plastic or varnish envelope. When you feel the harp, you are feeling the wood itself in a highly polished form. Though this is a far more labor intensive process, I prefer it for several reasons.

First, I can and do start the finishing of each piece of the harp as it is made, and before it is glued into place on the harp, so long as I am careful not to apply the finish to any place where there will be a glue joint. In the process, I have an opportunity to inspect the part in all kinds of natural lighting for any sorts of flaws, machine, or sanding marks. Of course, after the harp is structurally finished, it is inspected again in total, and again thoroughly waxed. Since the tung oil formula I use is specially formulated and thinned to penetrate deep into the wood, and several coats are applied, the wood, the harp has a protection equal to, if not better than the usual varnish, lacquer or polyurethane finishes with which harps are usually enveloped.

Secondly, there is a reason for using the hand rubbed finishes that is very beneficial to the harper. Over years of service, there may be occasions that the harp gets some slight bang or scratch. These are very easily repaired in your home. For instructions on how to do this, you can see my "Harp Care and Maintenance" brochure, or call me and ask. For just a few minutes work, and a day or two letting the oils dry, you will have completely repaired the flaw to such a degree that even an expert can not find it.

Lastly, and this is a personal, I much prefer the looks and feel of a hand rubbed finishes. When I touch or pick up a harp, or any piece of fine crafted wood, I like to know that what I feel is the wood itself.

As for the finish on the soundboards, this is the only process in the building of a harp that I do not do myself. The completed main body of the harp is sent out to a specialist in finishing musical instruments, especially spruce, which is hard to do because it is so porous. The finish he applies is a proprietary lacquer (nitrocellulose) specially formulated for musical instruments. This particular artist is a specialist in musical instrument finishing and does nothing else. His reputation is nationwide, and works on instruments from all over the country. Frankly, he does better work in his specialty than I could ever do, so I pay him to do it on my harps.