Hurdy Gurdy

[Rowan MacD]

    I fell in love with the sound of this instrument being played at the Nebraska Ren Faire in May.
The musician had built his own from a guitar.   
   After looking at prices I can see why!  cheapest anywhere is a version made in russia-$785
Top end is a guy in the UK-his prices start at $3700 USD for a basic student model and up to 12K for the really gorgeous instruments.  He has a 3 year waiting list.
   The sole US maker starts at 1200 (not the box model which is a little, but not much, cheaper)
There are no used ones for sale at reasonable prices and all of those are sold anyway.
   How hard are these to build from a guitar?  The single kit I saw cost over $600.

[Prof. John Bull]

There is a place in St. Cloud (MN) that makes kits for $659.  They also have finished instruments.  There is someone who plays a hurdy-gurdy at MNRF, and while I don't know for sure where he got it, it looks like the one in the photos from the place in St. Cloud:

http://www.harpkit.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=hurdkit&Category_Code=hurdy&Product_Count=1

In general, lutherie (the making of stringed instruments) requires experience and even otherwise accomplished woodworkers can expect their first few efforts to be disappointing.  I would not build one from a guitar, although I've had a few guitars over the years that would have been improved in their musical utility by even a modestly successful conversion...

[Rowan MacD]

  I have one of those guitars...won't hold tune outside of 10 minutes and has a slightly warped neck.  It has sentimental value, which is it's sole reason for taking up increasingly scarce space in the music room.
  The home made Hurdy Gurdy I heard at fair this year was not much to look at, but it did have a wonderful sound.  It was a converted guitar.
    Thanks for the link!  I might be able to barter with a woodworker to get one made. 

[Ilia the Stupefying]

Just found one on ebay with a Buy It Now price of $500...
Says it won't get in tune though.

http://cgi.ebay.com/4-string-Hurdy-Gurdy-/190457286094?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c58238dce

[BubbleWright]

There is a store on the west coast called Lark in the Wind. They must have the most complete selection of musical instruments in the Universe. They even have one which I can play with my total lack of musical ability... foghorn! Their web site lists a number of hurdy gurdies. Check out the following link:

http://larkinthemorning.com/collections/instrument-string-hurdygurdy

PS- You can even listen to sound bite samples of each instrument!

[uncletimcobleigh]

Hurdy-gurdies are pretty expensive, even in kit form. From the looks of them, they are pretty complex, which might explain the price.

If you are the handy sort, there's a site for all kinds of home-made intruments on the cheap, and there are a couple of hurdy-gurdy designs, including one made from a guitar. Look here -- http://www.dennishavlena.com/

I've never tried any of these, so I can't speak for the results. Me, I'm NOT the handy sort.