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.