Clavichord Day 10 - Fallboard and Nameboard

We're getting near the end of the case work. Today the job was to complete the fallboard and the nameboard. The fallboard is hinged into the cutout at the front of the case. When opened, it reveals the keywell.

The first step was to convert the hinges so that the leaves would be parallel when closed. We took care of this with a block of wood and a hard whack of the hammer.


Parallel leaves on the hinge:


Next, we had to carve recesses where the hinges would be installed, so that they would be flush with the wood rather than protruding out. After tracing the position of the hinges, we scored around with the knife.


Then we chiseled out the shape at the appropriate depth.


The case, showing the chiseled recesses for the hinges in the cutout.


Once the case had been chiseled, the process was repeated on the edge of the fallboard itself.


The chiseling finished for now, we marked for the screw holes and drilled a pilot.


The hinges were screwed in to the case and fallboard.


After testing, it took a lot of adjustment to get the fallboard to close just right. More chiseling was done, and some of the screw holes had to be filled and moved to just the right place. After a lot of fussing, the fallboard closed up just right and flush all around.


The fallboard was removed, and so were the hinges. They will be reattached when the case has been varnished.

The next step was to get the nameboard to sit into the case. Eventually this piece will stand up behind the keyboard, and will have our name and the date lettered on it. The nameboard will sit in place between the cheeks with little wood thumbnails that slip into the slots cut into the cheeks.

We began by gluing thumbnail strips into the nameboard.


The strip was then cut to size with the saw.


The thumbnail was then sanded round and thinned in order to fit into the slotted cheeks:


Once the thumbnails were sanded and adjusted, the nameboard was stitting nicely in between the cheeks. You can now see how the nameboard creates the rear wall of the keywell.
The last piece of the case is the lid, which we will get to next! 10 Days in, and it's almost time to get to work on the keyboard and the action. Stay tuned.

Clavichord Day 9 - Case Bottom Moulding

Today, the task at hand was cutting and gluing on the cherry case bottom moulding. This gives the whole case a much more finished look, hiding the connection between the cherry case walls and the spruce bottom:

First, we set up a miter box and cut a miter into one end of the long moulding which would cover the front of the instrument.

Next, the piece was put on the instrument and measured for the next cut. At the same time, we marked for nail holes which would be used later to tack the moulding to the case.

Once the miters were checked and sanded down to size, the front piece was glued on with the use of padded nails to clamp it in place.


The cardboard pads were removed, and the nails were pulled out, leaving small nail holes to be dealt with later. Next, the side pieces were measured, cut, and tested. The corners where the moulding met in front were filed and sanded as necessary until they closed up nicely. The back was also perfected before any further gluing.


The sides were now ready to be glued on, with the clamping nails.



And the back went on last.


We used a wet rag and hot iron to drive steam into each small nail hole, in order to swell them shut.

Final imperfections were sanded out, and at the end of the day the case was looking better than ever with the completed moulding along the bottom!

Clavichord Day 8 - Tuning Pin Holes and Soundboard Moulding

After a bit of a hiatus, we got back to work today.
The first thing was to drill holes through the soundboard and into the wrestplank underneath. These holes will later have the tuning pins around which the strings will be wound. The usual masking tape was used as a depth gauge, and each hole was slightly tilted toward the case side, against the eventual pull of th strings.
Here's a look at the holes all lined up and cleaned.

That done, it was time to do the thin molding that goes along the soundboard, in order to cover the nails holding it down. There were many lengths to be cut, each with a miter at the corners. The small miter box and saw came in handy.

After cutting, we decided it would add a little more visual appeal to stain the moulding in an English Chestnut color.
We glued in the stained moulding onto the soundboard last. Here's a look at the soundboard, which is just about finished now.
The molding and tuning pin holes are all done, and the only steps left on this part of the instrument are the varnishing and decorative painting. But that will come later...

Clavichord Day 7 - Soundboard Barring and Gluing, and Hitchpin Drilling

We didn't work too hard today, but some important things got done.
The first thing on the agenda was getting the ribs onto the underside of the soundboard. To do that, we had to transfer the outline of the ribs to the back side of the drawing, so that we could have a drawing of the reverse side of the soundboard. Then we pricked through the corners of each rib with the awl.


The drawing was then placed over the back of the soundboard, and we put a pencil dot through each of those awl holes. After playing 'connect the dots' with those marks, we had a perfect drawing of the rib placement on the back of the soundboard.


The ribs were solidly glued onto the template. As a final step, the two ends of each rib had to be chamfered with the knife into a scoop in order to flatten out these ends.

The completed underside of the soundboard with chamfered ribs glued in tight, and the builders' signatures fitting between.

With the soundboard complete, it was time to glue it in. Clamps held the soundboard in tight over the wrestplank on the right and belly rail on the left. The mouse hole in the belly rail came in handy for the clamping job. The other sides of the board were held tight to the liners with small nails near the edge. These will later be covered by moulding.


The final soundboard glued into the case.


Remember the hitchpin rails? See Day 5. We earlier marked the holes for them through the drawing with the awl. Well, now was time to actually drill the holes. Those in the short bass rail were drilled through the hitchpin block underneath, and the holes on the long treble rail went down into the guide rack. Tape was used on the drill bit as a depth gauge, so that we wouldn't go too far down.


All the hitchpin holes completed.


The clavichord at the end of Day 7. Soundboard installed! And those important hitchpin holes drilled.

Clavichord Day 6 - Soundboard and Bridge

The order of the day was to get as far as we could on the soundboard. This thin little piece of spruce is what vibrates the sound box. Without it, you couldn't even hear the strings vibrate. The first step was to trim it to size. We used the block plane to slice off one tiny ribbon at a time.


Then, we had to get the bridge onto the soundboard in just the right place. We placed the soundboard on the table, then placed the drawing over the soundboard. Finally, the bridge was matched up over the drawing, and temporary nails were run through the entire assembly. Thanks to those nail holes, we would later be able to put the bridge onto the soundboard again in exactly the correct spot.


While the sounboard was still under the drawing, it was convenient to mark the location of the tuning pins with the awl. Later on, the tuning pins will go here, through the soundboard and into the wrestplank underneath. This is where the strings will "start," and we will be able to tune each string from this location, using the tuning hammer.


The next endeavor was to mark the bridge for the location of each tiny bridge pin hole. Now, the soundboard was taken out, and the bridge was placed under the drawing, using those same nail holes as landmarks (a little tricky, because the bridge is 3-dimensional).


After marking each hole with the awl, it was time to drill for each pin hole with a small hobby-size drill bit.


Then, Kyla went above and beyond. Rather than have a boring looking bridge (see picture above), Kyla spent a good part of the evening carving a scroll design into the bass end of the bridge (see below).


With the bridge sanded and finished, it could now be glued to the soundboard, using clamping nails through our famous landmark nail holes.


The last step of the day was to hammer in the tiny bridge pins, one at a time.


At the end of the day the soundboard is looking good. Trimmed to size, sanded down, and a hand-carved bridge with a beautiful row of shiny gold bridge pins.

Clavichord Day 5 - Guide Rack, Belly Rail, Cheek Liner, Tool Box Back and Hitchpin Rails

Today was a long day, and the basic case construction is now complete! So, how did we get here?

First, we had to trim and adjust the guide to fit. The guide rack goes right on top of the backrail, and has slots carved into it. These will keep the keys moving up and down, but not side to side.

Here, the guide rack is clamped in place.


A look at the whole case, with the guide rack glued in on top of the back rail. Notice the vertical slots carved in.


Next, the belly rails and cheek liner were glued in. These pieces, forming an angled and multi-sided face, will eventually make the left-most ledge for the soundboard to rest on. Here's a look at the cheek liner clamped to the right cheek, with the standing belly rail (with mouse hole) already glued to the bottom.


What's a day without some glue cleanup?


A look at the right side of the case. The front, rear and cheek liners, the wrestplank, and belly rails--all making the trapezoidal ledge for the soundboard to sit on later.


Next, the small detail of the little piece of cherry glued to the balance rail and hitchpin block, forming the rear wall of the "tool box." One day, there will be the tuning hammer inside and a fancy lid on top!


The last big project was to get the hitchpin rails done (both treble and bass rails). This meant trimming to size, marking for the pin holes, and gluing them into place.
After trimming, we had to get the rails underneath the plan drawing so we could mark for each little pin hole (later to have hitch pins inside). After securing the rail under the drawing, we had to dimple the wood on each little X, using the awl to gouge through the drawing and into the rail.

Here's a look at the short bass rail after all the pin holes were marked.


Finally, gluing in the rails. First the bass rail, right on the hitchpin block.


Then the longer treble rail, perpendicular to the bass rail, and glued onto the guide rack.


At last! Here is the instrument at the end of Day 5. The major case work has been completed, and everything is fitting just right so far. Next comes the soundboard!