Clavichord Day 4 - Balance Rail and Cheeks

The beginning of the day was a real chore. We had to assemble a dry run of the rest of the case, and test the highest and lowest keys on the keyboard to make sure that everything would line up ok. The idea was to find the exact location for the balance rail, which will be glued and screwed into the bottom.

The balance rail will have all the pins on which the keys balance, each one like a little see-saw.

After sanding off a bit here, and gluing a shim there, we were finally able to make a pencil marking for the balance rail and mark for the screws.



The next step was to drill through the bottom with the tapered bit.



Then, the balance rail was temporarily glued in place, so we could flip it all over and drill through the same holes into the rail. Finally, we turned it back over, re-glued, and fed in the screws through both pieces from the bottom up.



The balance rail, glued in (before cleanup).



Now that all the adjustments had been made, the cheeks went in square and easy with glue and clamps. These cheeks will create the side walls of the keywell, where the keyboard will ultimately lie.



End of Day 4--balance rail and cheeks added to our case.

Clavichord Day 3 - Soundboard Liners and Backrail

Today's job was to put in the front and rear liners (which will form part of the platform for the soundboard to rest on), and also to glue in the backrail, on which the backs of the keys will rest.

We started by trimming and then gluing the front liner in place, up against the wrestplank on the right. As always, the clamps were put to good use.


Then we did the same with the rear liner.


A quick look at the case with both liners glued in.


Before putting in the backrail, it had to be sanded to fit.


Then, just as with the liners, the backrail was clamped and glued in place along the rear of the case, but up against the hitchpin block on the left end.


As usual, Kyla cleaned up after the gluey mess.


The clavichord at the end of Day 3, liners and backrail in place!

Clavichord Day 2 - Gluing and Screwing the Bottom, and Planing

We woke up with our rim upside-down; the bottom clamped to it and keeping things square. The next step was to glue and screw the bottom by countersinking the screws through the bottom and into the case walls. Here's Kyla marking for the screw holes with the awl.

And then Kyla carefully cleaned up the glue squeeze out all the way around and inside the rim.

Next, we had to plane down the overhang of the bottom on the back of the case.

A beautifully flush case with wood confetti!

The instrument at the end of Day 2: Rim glued together and bottom attached!

Clavichord Day 1 - Wrestplank, Hitchpin Block, and Rim Assembly

Today, we began construction on the clavichord! After some sanding and the like, the first step was to put the rim together with some corner clamps and lasso ties.

Then, we made sure it was nice and square.


Next, the hitchpin block on the left and the wrestplank on the right were glued to the sides of the case with clamps to keep them in place.


Finally, the entire rim was glued together. Here's the instrument at the end of Day 1:


We also started preparations for attaching the case to the bottom, and we're having to use a lot of clamps to make sure it stays square. Hope to get to that ASAP!

Welcome to Renaissance Keyboards!

Hello, and welcome!

We are very excited to be working on our very first instrument together: the "King of Sweden" fretted clavichord by Zuckermann Harpsichords International.
http://zhi.net/instr/FC45ZHI-K.shtml
Our "kit" has arrived safely, and we will begin the construction as soon as the wood has settled in its new environment. Please visit often to keep up with our progress!