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Hurdy-Gurdy
Ugears the Hurdy-Gurdy model plays dancing melodies, from folk to modern, being the bridge between the medieval times and the present day.
Ships from US Warehouse
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292
Parts
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14+
Age
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Medium
Level
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Mechanical
Model
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Not Applicable
Drive type
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15.8 x 8.7 x 6.5 in
Dimensions
Hurdy-Gurdy
Inspired by the craftsmanship of Celtic and Scandinavian medieval artisans, reimagined through intelligent 21st-century engineering, Ugears is proud to introduce the Hurdy-Gurdy—the world's first (as far as we know!) mechanical self-assembly model that is also a fully functional musical instrument. The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound through a hand-turned wheel rubbing against the strings, similar to how a violin bow works. Its origins trace back to 15th-century medieval Europe, where it evolved from the organistrum (a portable organ). Over time, the instrument gained popularity among traveling musicians in England, later becoming a symbol of nobility in the 17th and 18th centuries, often featuring intricate carvings and decorative inlays.
The Ugears Hurdy-Gurdy has two strings: melody string – plays the tune when pressing the keys; bourdon (drone) string – produces a constant, sustained sound, adding depth to the melody. The six keys correspond to six notes, and a seventh note can be played by fully releasing the keys. The bourdon string can be tuned in unison with the melody string or adjusted to play an interval (fourth, fifth, or octave). To play, simply crank the handle with one hand to produce the drone sound, while the other hand presses the wooden keys to change the pitch of the melody string.
Hurdy-Gurdy features:
- Fully functional musical instrument
- Two strings: melody and bourdon
- Six keys with rubber bands and small cranks
- Adjustable string height for fine-tuning the sound
- Authentic medieval-inspired design
- Includes: body, front and back decks, gears, crank, wheel, neck, tuning pegs, and more
DIY wooden musical instrument features:
- Includes sheet music (tablatures)
- Pre-laser-cut wooden parts
- Assembles without glue or tools
- Step-by-step instructions in 11 languages
- Free spare parts upon request

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Warning! Small parts.
- 5 stars: 28 (88%)
- 4 stars: 4 (13%)
- 3 stars: 0 (0%)
- 2 stars: 0 (0%)
- 1 star: 0 (0%)
I like it!
It's a very enjoyable complex puzzle and they give good directions suggestions and tools. The wood cuts are very precise.
Ich kann diese sprache nicht lesen
This sounds surprisingly good. I bought the Wood Trick hurdy gurdy and it sounds like scratching a chalkboard. This obviously isn't a professional instrument, but it sounds way better and is fun to play
Gave this to my spousal unit as a gift----he is a retired piano rebuilder, so he enjoyed the abundance if tiny parts. When he finished building, he played a recognizable chorus on the Hurdy Gurdy. Many hours of enjoyment for a minimal sum! Good product and service----can't ask for more.
This was a birthday gift for my musically- and building- inclined 35 year old son. His wife said they had fun putting it together (so much that she immediately ordered something for herself), and the end result played just as it should.
The model is really awesome looking, especially when painted. I have a blast with assembling it.
The 4 stars are for the sound of it. I find the video tutorial about tuning lacking - how to apply rosin? How much should I sand the wheel? What to do if the wheel does not rotate properly (in an axis) even though the pieces were tightly fit together (I fought with that wobble for 2hours and couldn’t fix it). What to do if the strings do not touch the wheel for the whole 360° which can be tested only after assembling it whole? Why my bouxyz string is not sounding properly? Etc etc. I was fighting with all of that for 3h and got one string working, barely
I have just finished my Hurdy-Gurdy and I’m so excited to try to play some tunes now! I received this as a birthday present, I’d seen some of your products online and wanted one. When I was asked if I wanted something that would just sit there to look at, or something that “did something”, of course I wanted a moving model! I had not seen the Hurdy-Gurdy for sale, so I was very excited when I opened my gift.
I thought that it would be hard to follow the directions, as it is almost all in pictures, but the pictures are VERY well done! And I appreciated very much that there are several extra parts included. I did run out of wax, but I was probably just trying to make sure that parts would move as smoothly as possible. I found some beeswax to finish.
It took me much longer than the 5 hour estimate, but I went slowly on purpose, because it was so much fun, and I am very meticulous.
Thanks for such great fun!
Have really enjoyed putting this together and hope that you included a lot of extra pieces that I didn't use or could find directions for use in the instruction manual. Please advise.
Thanks for your reply.
Best regards. Luis Gonzalez
The hurdy-gurdy was a gift from Santa Claus and I really enjoyed the assembly and the magnificent final result. A great product. A technical question: how can I remove the head / keyboard for maintenance, for example to change the elastic of the keys? Thanks in advance. Luis
This is a gift to me. I was astonished by how amazing it is - the design, the idea, the look, etc. I enjoy a lot when building up this instrument. Hope more people can see you.
I have just finished the hurdy gurdy, it has been a joy to make, and looks wonderful, the quality is exellent and it works great, i did the goble model first to get used to things, that worked out great too, just make sure you wax things good and make sure the parts move when you do them, i ordered another model from a different company but the quality was no where near as good as ugears, and i just found out if you need spare parts you get them totally free including postage which is fantastic on ugears side, i am now on to the vtrain advanced and so far enjoying it
I had never heard of a Hurdy-Gurdy nor UGears when I received this kit as a gift. I was instantly hooked.
The attention to detail is incredible. Not only is the finished piece functional, but there are many parts that exist for the sole purpose of making the Hurdy-Gurdy an exquisite piece of art. The finished piece is absolutely beautiful.
I really appreciate that UGears provided tablatures to help tinkerers like myself learn how to play the model instrument. The tablature is just one example of how UGears goes above and beyond in this kit. I really get the feeling that UGears is not just interested in making a functional instrument, but rather, also making something that looks like it belongs in a museum.
Easy 5 stars.
I had a great time putting the hurdy gurdy together. The hammer provided broke halfway through, and I ran out of wax around then, too.
As for the playing of it, I am impressed with the tone quality, especially after "cottoning" the strings. Would not have expected it to sound as good as it does. Unfortunately the top two notes in particular are WAY out of tune. In watching the videos of the tunes on this website I noticed those to notes are rarely if ever used. I'm hoping I can do some tweaking to improve the pitches.
Overall, a great product as long as you don't expect to make great music with it. Fun and interesting to build, beautiful to look at, and fun to 'fiddle' around with.
Highly enjoyed assembling this kit. Thoroughly enjoy playing the beautiful little thing. I am genuinely considering buying a second one. Absolutely worth it.
Received as a gift, spent 4.5 hours assembling, (some of that listening to professional hurdy-gurdyists on youtube to set the mood.)
The model is Decently difficult, with a variety of internal complexities and vibrant details that grab the attention during construction and afterwards.
(I won't lie, I keep looking over at this thing, all the little embellishments make me smile.)
The gear movement is incredibly smooth for wood once you've sanded and added wax where needed. (thought for sure that was going to run out, but there's still just a teeeeeny bit left.)
For what it is, the sound quality is not bad.
Yes, it's a lil squeaky, but careful tuning and rosining bring out a surprisingly pleasant, listenable quality.
Final score? 6 stars, because I found this thoroughly enjoyable. although the rating only allows me to put 5.
Spent 3 exiting evenings to assemble the hurdy gurdy.
Very precise parts and excellent manual.
Everthing included you need to makr the little instrument playable.
Had a question at the end of the prohect: Very friendly and professional service.
Friend of mine plays a "big" hurdy. Is TOTALLY fascinated also how nice it plays.
Tons of nice little details making this kit to a true juwel in your collection.
Absolut recommendation and a must have for musicians and wood puzzle fans.
Alex
Enjoyed putting together my Hurdy-Gurdy, it took me longer than some of the other reviewers but this was my first experience with something like this. I obviously need to sand my wheel better as the string broke during tuning the second day. What is the weight of the fishing line?
I did assembly in one go and interrupted only for taking a meal... so I excited I was to see my ''lira'' playing. And it does, and very nicely!
Fantastic model. Not only was it great to assemble, but it looks great on display. Wonderful!
It really was pleasure to assemble. I took my time and completed it in three sittings. I tuned it a P4th (A 415 - 440) lower than the suggested "D," which; I think, gives it a richer timbre. If you can, please tell me the strength or weight of the "fishing-line" provided so that I have some on hand, should a string break. Thank You, Bob Ghiorzi (Ceriana, Italy)
Amazing kit. I took a long time over the construction, and decided to paint it as I went long too, so in the end it took about 20 hours (yeah) over two days. Luckily I used quick drying acrylic paints, otherwise I'd still be doing it at Easter. The whole kit is a masterpiece of design. It goes together almost like Lego. Just shows the power of smart design and precision laser cutting. I've wanted a hurdy gurdy for years, and £70 is better than £3k. Having said that I think I feel a slippery slope under my feet.
My son and I had a great time putting this together today. I rate it 4 stars. but given what is, I don't know realistically how it could be improved. A wider range of notes would be nice; better sound quality would be nice, but it's a laser-cut fit-together plywood relatively expensive kit! It's for fun, not to play serious renaissance music on. And it is definitely fun. Like any hurdy-gurdy, it does an excellent job of annoying adults and terrorizing small children.
Awesome model! I built this in one go, even though I am 13. It is detailed, intricate, and sounds great. I broke a few of the pieces accidentally, but it still works completely fine! Again, a great model!
WOW! I put this together in one go ... one several-hour go. I was enjoying it so much I never really found a good place to stop, and really did not want to. As said by others it is easy but in a challenging way.
The model could be done by a teenaged individual, with some supervision and IF they have patience. The parts fit together very tightly, they must for both sound quality (no rattling and vibration) and to be entirely glue-free, and if forced due to lack of patience can break.
The experience of putting it together is wonderful. I am in my 50s and love doing models of all kinds, watching this come together in my hands was pleasing, fascinating, fun, and educational. I was mesmerized by the working of the planetary gear assembly at the heart and could not believe something made from wood ran so smoothly. This set the tone (and expectations) for the fit of the rest of the parts, and I was NEVER disappointed! I will be doing more of the models from UGEARS in the future.
Not bad, though a knot from step 6 on a page 40 is hard to understand, and there is a symbol on a page 41 which is not explained in the beginning. Would love to see the instruction improved.
Easy build in a challenging way. Not many places where if you go wrong on something doesnt fit right its not a rite off. looks stunning on the shelf.
Bellissimo oggetto da costruire e soprattutto da esporre
Bellissimo o ggetto da costruire e da esporre