Clavichord Day 12 - Tortoiseshell Prep

Now we are going to get deeper into decorating the case. As mentioned before, we want the look of Tortoiseshell inlay, surrounded by gold bands. After designing on paper exactly where we want the inlay to be, the first step was measuring and drawing the correct shape in pencil on the case itself.



Then, those areas needed to be surrounded by masking tape to protect the stained wood of the case.



The design we want calls for the tortoiseshell to continue through the fallboard on the front of the case. That way, when the clavichord is closed, the tortoiseshell will look solid and uninterrupted. Here is a shot with the fallboard in place to illustrate how that will work.



We also designed a tortoiseshell pattern for the center panel of the lid, on the side facing out, and we are even going to put a small inlay in the little toolbox lid. See below.



After all that prep work, it was finally time... for more prep work. To start the faux tortoiseshell, we first had to prime all the masked areas with an Alkyd Enamel.



Here's the case with its coat of primer.


Once this dries, we will sand and get into the fun stuff!