Clavichord Day 17 - Gold Leaf

This was an exciting day, since we got to finish up on the decoration of the instrument!

First, a couple of coats of shellac were put onto the tortoiseshell to seal it in and give it a shine.


Then, at long last, the tape was removed! Here is the lid and toolbox cover, with the pattern all completed.


Of course, that is not the final product. We want these panels of tortoiseshell to be framed by bands of gold leaf. We decided on bands 1/8" wide, but we wanted to test a small area to see how that would look. First, we masked at that width.


Then, to prime the raw wood, we used a red sealant made by Rolco. The added bonus we found from this product is that it develops a tacky feel after a few minutes. So, rather than seal the wood and then apply a glue sizing later, we did it all in one step.


Painting on the sealer/sizing:


Once the sealer was tacky, on came the gold metal leaf.



A look at the test piece, perfect!


The rest of the case, lid, fallboard, and toolbox were also leafed.


And FINALLY, we have finished the decorating! Before and after:




Before we are technically done with the case, a few finishing touches remain (plus the oiling and waxing), but the hard part is done!

Clavichord Day 16 - Faux Tortoiseshell (continued)

All the work for today was about softening the look of the tortoiseshell to a nice subtle finish. The first step was sanding.




To show it more clearly, here it is before sanding:


And after sanding:


Then, a very thin coat of yellow ocher was put over the whole thing:


And after the ocher layer, came another of burnt sienna for a reddish glaze. The point of both these layers was again to create a warm and rich translucency and to soften the harshness of the pattern. Here is the final product:




Tomorrow, the shellac finish will go on, and maybe even the gold leaf bands to surround the tortoiseshell. Then (at last) the tape should come off, and we will be able to see what we've done!

Clavichord Day 15 - Faux Tortoiseshell

Today, we got to the meat of the faux tortoiseshell design. The plan was to build up a series of glossy warm layers of paint to simulate the look of the real thing. For each layer, we use an acrylic gloss medium and soft body acrylic paints.



The first layer was a yellow ocher, which we laid on very thinly in short diagonal strokes, to give it some texture and depth.


When that dried, we put on a layer of thicker and darker spots (burnt umber color), keeping in a diagonal pattern.



Keep in mind all these steps were performed on all necessary parts (lid, toolbox cover, fallboard, case).



After burn umber, we added raw umber spots, which are more of a cool gray. As these melted in, overlapping previous layers here and there, we could begin to see the effect come alive.



Finally, after raw umber, we added accents of black.



At this point, things still look very crude, but by the end of the next day it should get a lot more subtle and beautiful. We'll see!

Clavichord Day 14 - More Tortoiseshell Prep

Today, we continued prep for the tortoiseshell design we've planned. Having applied a second coat of primer (this time using a roller rather than a brush!), the first chore was sanding the primer smooth.



That done, it was time for the yellow undercoat. The idea is to build up the paint in transparent layers to create the look of real tortoiseshell. Yellow, being the lightest and brightest color we will use, goes on first and underneath all the darker and richer layers.

We started with the lid:


The fallboard and even the tiny toolbox lid got covered.


Then, it was on to the case.



Since this all needs to dry before we can continue (once again), it is worth pointing out one step I forgot to photograph from a couple of days ago. The lid, when opened, will lean back at an angle, but it will not fall all the way back. This is because a string will connect from the instrument itself to the lid. The string will tie to two screw eyes -- one in the lid, and one in the hitchpin block. Look closely below, and you can find the holes I drilled.


If all goes well, tomorrow we should be able to get to the heart of the tortoiseshell.

Clavichord Day 11 - We're Back! Lid Work & Stain

After a long hiatus, we're back in action!

On our way to finishing the case work, the first small step was to plane down the toolbox lid until it fit nicely in place.



That being done, the last major part of the case to be done was the lid. The job was to get the hinges on the lid and case, so that the lid opens and closes freely with an equal overhang on all sides. The first step was measuring for the exact location of the hinges, and marking the screw holes.


Then, the pilot holes were drilled.


The hinge, perfectly in place.


With the lid in place on the instrument (and floating just a bit above the case, so that later the hinges won't scratch the top of the spine) the holes were marked on the case itself.


A look at the case from behind, with the lid screwed on!



Now, it is time to decorate the case. This will be a long and rewarding project. The look we are going for is a rich red stain on the case, with faux inlays of tortoiseshell surrounded by bands of gold leaf.

First things first. A wood conditioner was applied to all the pieces requiring staining.



Then, the stain itself was applied.



A look at the various pieces of the instrument after 2 coats of stain:
That's all for Day 11. It's fun to be back!

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.