Pete at Feather Dulcimer

I take it you don't see the need for them being removable and I can see your point. It does make me wonder if the customer ever took them off. I figure that having them plug in shouldn't be a problem since, you can always just leave them in and pretend they are not removable, so my inclination is still to not glue them in/on. I'd just as soon not have them there when final sanding, finishing, and even if the instrument ever comes back for refinishing having them come out seems like a plus. I have not done so, but I could also imagine the sockets as a really clean way to attach a possum board.

I have had a few customers in the past request removable feet for playing their instruments on a table. I have done this a few times by reinforcing the sockets on the tail end with a little backer piece for each foot inside the instrument and using some 1/4" dowel to plug in the wooden foot to a hole in the back. When I have done this I have used three feet one near the head end of the instrument and two closer to the tail end. It has been a while so my memory is fuzzy, but I probably plugged the one on the head end into the end block rather than use a backer piece. My instruments are mostly travel sized, some as small as 12" VSL, but the majority in the 15-19" VSL range targeted at fitting in a carry on airline bag in many cases. That said I think the ones I have done that had feet so far were larger (24" VSL maybe). The latest request for feet is for a 19" VSL instrument. I'd post some pictures of how I did the feet, but I don't seem to have any handy. I have some orders coming in from folks that are interested in feet and would be interested in what others have been doing in that regard if they have put feet on their dulcimers.