Harps have been around for 3,000 years or more in one form or another.
They have gained favour in various cultures, particularly Ireland where they are regarded as the national instrument.

Unlike a lot of stringed instruments, harp strings strain perpendicularly on the sound-board, giving that distinctive sound.

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Design
I have developed my harps to produce a clear, warm tone in the bass and mid-range, with bright, ringing trebles. Creating balanced volume and tone, through all octaves, is my objective. I do this by dimensioning the sound-board and body, in combination with the use of internal struts.I am always testing new ideas in pursuit of refined sound and appearance.
                         
Finishing
From now on there are two prices for the two different size harps, regardless of finish.(See price-list)

Finish #1
Veneered and Lacquered.  A thin layer of decorative wood (veneer) is glued to the neck and body. A matching piece of that wood is prepared and turned in a lathe, or, in the case of 'Celtic' harps, shaped, to make the pillars.

Veneers — The veneering process enables me to offer the decorative beauty of valuable, and increasingly rare, timbers in a frugal way. Using these timbers to make solid backs and necks for harps seems to me to be unnecessarily wasteful.

Finish #2
After sanding, the raw wood is stained to a consistent colour and is then lacquered. There is a wide range of colours, but the darker shades are more successful. This surface can then be rubbed with a finishing oil to give a satin smooth surface.

Finish #3
There are finishing-oil products available which give a durable, servicable surface to the harps, without using some of the nasties in sprayed lacquers.

Timbers
Where possible I use re-cycled timber for pillars. Mostly, however, I need to buy new timber, and always try to get plantation grown stock. I encourage my customers to choose native Australian, rather than exotic, species.

There are two exceptions. The first is Spruce for sound-boards. It is possible to use other timber for this purpose, which I have successfully done, but it is a convention I do not dispute that Spruce produces the lush, yet clear tones needed to satisfy many musicians. It is characteristic of this timber that it improves in tone quality and volume with increased playing. Other timbers do not do this. The second is pin plank, or die-board. This is extremely high quality plywood made from rock maple. There are many advantages. The first is a reduced cost of labour. I could follow the old tradition and fabricate necks with glued-together bits of wood. It certainly works, but takes longer, increases costs, and is not as strong. Another reason is hardness. The tuning, or wrest pins on my harps are tapered, and need a very hard timber to create the friction needed to hold high-tension strings in tune. Lastly, this material is stronger than the alternative. You may have noticed that pedal-harp manufacturers use it - for the same reasons, I expect.

The backs of my harp-bodies are made by laminating high-grade bending plys. I have experimented to find a combination which ia acoustically responsive and very strong. This material is all plantation-grown, and delivers a huge saving in labour and a better sound. The traditional staved-back harps are an enormous amount of extra, unnecessary work, creating more cost, with no musical advantage, in my opinion.

Some harp-backs are made with all sorts of materials - plastics, fibre-glass, aluminium etc, but have not improved the tone of the instruments. Quite the contrary. These materials create pollution in manufacture, and some are hazardous to use. None have the practicality or the other advantages of wood.

I have been involved in music, professionally, for most of my adult life - teenage rock band in the sixties; Australian folkmusic and classical guitar (including high school instrument teaching) in the seventies and eighties; music for young children (singer/song writer) from the eighties until now. I still go to Kindies and Child-Care centres to give Concerts.

This background stimulated an interest in making musical instruments. My farming childhood/adolescence gave me an adeptness for using tools and machinery. These elements, combined with increasing musical curiosity, found me cutting, glueing, sanding and polishing wood, making such things as mandolins, bouzouki, charango, rebec, vielle, lutes of all sizes and types, hurdy gurdies, baroque guitars, vihuela and, finally harps. The last came about in 1998 with the sad and un-timely death of Peter Kempster, whom I befriended in the 1980's. I helped finalise the outstanding orders after his death, but kept getting requests for more instruments. I designed my own instruments, and after making nearly 160  of these, I am still refining that design.

The latest of these instruments is of my own design (see photos). I have used all Australian woods, and the result is very pleasing, aesthetically and musically. It has a custom-made pick-up.

The next instrument I have started is a lute back made with Fiddle-back red-wood (eucalypt), with a celery-top pine sound-board.

I have made three Sinfonye in the last year (see photos) and am planning an Organistrum. The latest Sinfonye is loud and clear. The body is designed such that it will resonate better in conjunction with the sound-board.

Most of the Hurdy-Gurdies I have made are lute-back based on the Pimpard instruments. In addition I have made a 'Bosch' style and a small bodied 'Yarquain'. (see photos)