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...