harpsichord

  1. ErnieM

    Harpsichord Project Part 24 - The Case is Finished

    Hi all, In Part 23 we finished the bench and marbled the side panels. Now we’ll protect the marbling with some poly, paper the rest of the case, and call this part of the project finished. First, the stand is finished with almond paint, gold bands, and papers. The paper strips were...
    • ErnieM
    • Thread
    • case finished harpsichord part project
    • Replies: 18
    • Forum: "How To" Forum
  2. ErnieM

    Harpsichord Project Part 23 - Marbling

    Hi all, Marbling, or to be more precise – faux marbling, involves the use of paint to simulate the look of marble. Many, if not the majority, of Flemish harpsichords had marbled panels on their cheek, bentside, and tail. For the most part, this marbling was quite crude and did not attempt...
  3. ErnieM

    Harpsichord Project Part 22 - Bench Re-visited

    Hi all, I’m in the middle of marbling the case but it will be a while before it’s finished. In the meantime, I thought I would take care of a few details on the bench that we built in Part 13. Here’s what it looked like at the end of construction. After the decision was made...
    • ErnieM
    • Thread
    • bench harpsichord part project revisited
    • Replies: 16
    • Forum: "How To" Forum
  4. ErnieM

    Harpsichord Project Part 21 - PAINT (ugh!)

    Hi all, In the early days, I loved shiny harpsichords. While these instruments did eventually sell, it took a while for me to realize that they didn’t really look like harpsichords. Now, after looking at hundreds of instruments, I have a better idea, and appreciation, for how they should...
  5. ErnieM

    Harpsichord Project Part 20B - Installing the Soundboard

    Hi all, As is the case with most woodworking projects, preparation for gluing takes longer than the gluing itself. This is certainly the case with a soundboard. Before any glue can be used, a couple of things need to get done. The first of these is the installation of what I call the crown...
    • ErnieM
    • Thread
    • 20b harpsichord installing part project soundboard
    • Replies: 10
    • Forum: "How To" Forum
  6. ErnieM

    Harpsichord Project Part 20A - Installing the Soundboard

    Hi all, There is a point when a bunch of glued together pieces of wood becomes a musical instrument. For me, that point is the day the soundboard is glued into the case. Everything that will effect the tone of the instrument will have already been done. In this post, we’ll make the ribs...
    • ErnieM
    • Thread
    • 20a harpsichord installing part project soundboard
    • Replies: 5
    • Forum: "How To" Forum
  7. ErnieM

    Harpsichord Project Part 19 - Soundboard con't.

    Hi all, Nothing that we do will have a greater effect on the tone of the harpsichord than what we do to the soundboard. In this part, we’ll make a rose, cut a hole for it in the soundboard, locate the bridges on the soundboard and mark the 8’ bridge for bridge pins, and make the 4’ hitchpin...
    • ErnieM
    • Thread
    • cont harpsichord part project soundboard
    • Replies: 17
    • Forum: "How To" Forum
  8. ErnieM

    Harpsichord Project Part 18 - Finishing the Keyboard

    Hi all, Very little on a Flemish or French harpsichord is undecorated – this includes the keytops. Last time, we installed the heads, tails, and bone sharp caps. In this Part we’ll shape and decorate the heads. This work requires a tremendous amount of hand work and is the main reason...
    • ErnieM
    • Thread
    • finishing harpsichord keyboard part project
    • Replies: 18
    • Forum: "How To" Forum
  9. ErnieM

    Harpsichord Project Part 17 - Capping the Teeth

    Hi all, It’s time to get back to the keyboard which is fine with me because keyboard making is one of my favorite tasks in harpsichord building. In this Part of the series we’ll mask out the sharp keys and paint them. Then we’ll cut the ebony into the proper shapes and glue them down onto...
    • ErnieM
    • Thread
    • capping harpsichord part project teeth
    • Replies: 16
    • Forum: "How To" Forum
  10. ErnieM

    Harpsichord Project Part 16 - The Transposer

    Hi all, While the bridges are drying out from their soaking I thought I’d take advantage of the time to take care of a few bits and pieces that need to be done. The first of these tasks involve making the instrument transposable. Ernie, what does that mean? Ok, I’ll tell you. As...
  11. ErnieM

    Harpsichord Project Part 15B - Pinblock & "Nuts" con't.

    Hi all, This post is the continuation of Part 15A. The next step is critically important to the proper functioning of the instrument. We must accurately mark the positions of the two nuts on the pinblock as well as the position of the 102 tuning pin holes. To do this, we cut out the pinblock...
    • ErnieM
    • Thread
    • 15b cont harpsichord nuts part pinblock project
    • Replies: 15
    • Forum: "How To" Forum
  12. ErnieM

    Harpsichord Project Part 15A - Pinblock & "Nuts"

    Hi all and Happy New Year, All of the major assemblies (except for the lid) have now been built. Now we have to return to many of these assemblies to make them functional. We’ll start with the pinblock which is the 1 ½” thick plank of red oak that the tuning pins will be embedded into. We...
    • ErnieM
    • Thread
    • 15a harpsichord nuts part pinblock project
    • Replies: 7
    • Forum: "How To" Forum
  13. ErnieM

    Harpsichord Project Part 14 - Building the Soundboard

    Hi all, Due to some nasty weather in Syracuse and Buffalo, our trip to the north country has been postponed for a couple of days. Not being one to waste any time, I decided to get started on the soundboard. The soundboard will be made of quarter-sawn Sitka Spruce and will be 1/8” thick (or...
    • ErnieM
    • Thread
    • building harpsichord part project soundboard
    • Replies: 5
    • Forum: "How To" Forum
  14. ErnieM

    Harpsichord Project Part 12 - The Music Desk

    Hi all, Still waiting for the Sitka Spruce delivery. Nice thing about harpsichord building – there’s so many different things to do that you never really get hung up waiting for materials. You just work on something else while you wait. Still, I’m getting anxious to build that soundboard...
  15. ErnieM

    Harpsichord Project Part 11 - The Jackrail & Moldings

    Hi all, With one exception, the parts we will be adding today are decorative. The moldings are ¼” thick and have a profile routed onto their faces. The exception is the jackrail. This is a strip of wood about ¾” thick with a wide dado cut into its bottom surface. This strip (jackrail) hangs...
    • ErnieM
    • Thread
    • harpsichord jackrail moldings part project
    • Replies: 9
    • Forum: "How To" Forum
  16. ErnieM

    Harpsichord Project Part 10 - The Stand

    Hi all, It’s time to build the harpsichord’s stand so I can get it off my assembly table. Since this is a rather small instrument, we’ll build a simple, 4 leg trestle stand for it. This type of stand can be taken apart quite easily and increases the portability of the instrument. Since...
  17. ErnieM

    Harpsichord Project Part 9 - Building the Registers

    Hi all, What's a register? Take a look at this photo. The player presses down on the front end of the key (not shown). The rear end of the key rises. Sitting on the rear end of the key is the jack which, of course, also rises. It’s path is guided by the lower and upper registers...
    • ErnieM
    • Thread
    • building harpsichord part project registers
    • Replies: 17
    • Forum: "How To" Forum
  18. ErnieM

    Harpsichord Project Part 8 - The Case is Finished at Last

    Hi all, In Part 7 we installed the Belly Rails, Lower Braces, and some case moldings and runners. Now we will install the Upper Braces, pinblock support bracket, and construct and temporarily install the pinblock. This will conclude the construction of the case. Let’s get started...
    • ErnieM
    • Thread
    • case finished harpsichord part project
    • Replies: 11
    • Forum: "How To" Forum
  19. ErnieM

    Harpsichord Project Part 7 - The Lower Braces

    Hi all, In this Part we will add interior braces that will stiffen the case and make it strong enough to withstand the tension of the 102 strings that we will soon install. We’ll be adding two sets of interior braces – the upper braces and the lower braces. In addition we’ll add a front case...
  20. ErnieM

    Harpsichord Project Part 6 - Case Sides

    Hi all, It’s been 10 days since we started the Harpsichord Project (it seems longer than that to me and probably to you too). I’m trying to keep my posts current with the work so that my mind is still able to remember what I do well enough to attempt to describe it (no guarantees here, for...

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