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!