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 these keyboards cannot be produced in a factory. Here we go!
The first step is to address the head to tail joint. Strange as it sounds, we’re not going to try to hide this joint. Instead we’re going to exaggerate it by deepening the joint with an X-Acto knife. The reason will become obvious very soon.
After this is done to each natural key, we’ll sand the ebony using 60 grit paper glued to a flat block of MDF. While the heads and tails are made out of the same material, from the same batch of stock, there is often a slight ridge at the head to tail joint. This is very annoying to the player so we’ll sand each key until the heads and tails are perfectly flush with each other.
Next we’ll sand the ebony through the grits stopping at 320. (not shown for obvious reasons) Here’s the result of the X-Acto work and sanding.
Now the decorating can begin. First we need to cut 3 horizontal lines, 1/8” apart, onto the top surface of each head. The first of these lines has already been cut. It is the joint line between the heads and tails that we just deepened. To cut the second line, we clamp a straightedge across the keyboard 1/8” below the head/tail joint. Then using an X-Acto knife we follow the straightedge and score each key very lightly and carefully. Then we do it again – four more times, to make sure the score line is deep enough. As the score line deepens we can apply more pressure on the knife but always being careful not to slip. There is no good way to recover from an error here so did I say “cut carefully”?
The next photo shows this 2nd cut line.
Now we’ll clamp the straightedge 1/8” below the line we just cut and cut the 3rd line.
Here’s the keyboard with all the lines cut.
Now we will begin shaping the heads. The first step is to cut two small notches on the head starting about 1/8” from the bottom score line and ending at that line. This is done with a sharp X-Acto knife.
We put masking tape on the sides and front of the key to protect it from the dreaded ebony dust. We also tape off the top of the key from the 3rd score line back. This is to protect those lines from the sandpaper that we’ll use to round the key head. You can see the two notches we cut at the top of the head. The notches actually become the top of the rounded part of the key head. They eliminate the need to use the shoe-shining technique close to the score lines – we want to keep them crisp.
Next we round the ebony using a thin strip of 120 grit sandpaper in a shoe-shine fashion.
When the shape is correct, we sand again with 220 and 320 grit paper and ease the front edge and corners to eliminate sharpness.
The next photo shows the shape of the head after sanding.
A few hours have past and we’re about 2/3 of the way done with the shaping. Here’s a comparison photo of shaped vs. unshaped head. The two heads on the left have been shaped – the two on the right haven’t.
A couple of hours later – the shaping is finished.
A couple of things left to do. The jacks will ultimately sit on the far ends of each key. A piece of cloth must be glued to each key end to cushion and silence the sound of the jack falling back onto the key end after playing. No big deal except that the cloth strips must be cut to fit. I use a jig that I bought from Micro-Mark. It works quite well for cutting cloth although that was not its intended purpose. Here’s the jig.
And here’s the key end cloths glued into place on the ends of 2 keys.
And here’s the completed keyboard.
Well, not quite complete. The keys don’t seem to be quite as level as we would want them to be. We’ve added a lot of weight to the front of the keys with all that ebony and bone. We have to balance the keyboard by adding small lead weights to the rear of each key. To do this, we place a weight (or sometimes more than one) on the top of the key and move it backwards until the rear of the key drops down lightly and rests on the backrail cloth. Then we mark the position of the lead(s) on the side of the key. Here’s a picture of key #1 with two leads on it.
Then we’re off to the drill press. We’ll drill two holes in the side of the key slightly larger than the diameter of the lead which is ¼”. We place the two pieces of lead into the holes and tap them two or three times with a hammer and screwdriver blade. This expands the soft lead and wedges it into the hole.
Now that the keyboard is balanced, all that remains is to put some protective finish on the ebony. Over the years I’ve tried just about every finish known to man. Shellac, polyurethane, wipe-on poly etc. For me, the best one for this application is low gloss Tung Oil. It gives me the nice soft even sheen I’m looking for, while letting the ebony look like wood instead of plastic. Here’s the procedure I used on this keyboard.
1.Sand keys with 400 grit wet/dry paper (dry).
2.Wipe on a coat of Tung oil.
3.Let dry for 12 hours
4.Rub the finish with 4/0 steel wool followed by a tack cloth.
5.Wipe on another coat of Tung Oil.
6.Let dry for 12 hours
7.Rub finish with 4/0 steel wool
8.Rub finish with a soft dry cloth
Then I brush on 3 coats of satin water-based Polycrylic on the arcades, sanding lightly between coats with 320 paper. This protects the arcades without changing the natural color of the maple.
And that’s it! I may put another coat of tung oil on the ebony before the instrument leaves the shop if I decide the ebony needs a little more shine. Three coats is my limit – any more and the ebony loses its natural look and starts to look like a plastic party spoon.
Here’s the completed keyboard with 2 coats of tung oil.
And here’s a closer shot.
Still closer.....
And that’s a wrap. It’s taken 5 Parts of this series and 86 photos to describe the keyboard making process. I hope I’ve given you a feel for how it’s done (at least the way I do it).
Next time, we’ll return to the soundboard – locate the bridges, mark the bridges, and glue them to the soundboard. Space permitting, we’ll cut the rose hole, make the rose, make the cut-off bars and ribs and install them. We’re getting close.
Till next time,
Ernie
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 these keyboards cannot be produced in a factory. Here we go!
The first step is to address the head to tail joint. Strange as it sounds, we’re not going to try to hide this joint. Instead we’re going to exaggerate it by deepening the joint with an X-Acto knife. The reason will become obvious very soon.
After this is done to each natural key, we’ll sand the ebony using 60 grit paper glued to a flat block of MDF. While the heads and tails are made out of the same material, from the same batch of stock, there is often a slight ridge at the head to tail joint. This is very annoying to the player so we’ll sand each key until the heads and tails are perfectly flush with each other.
Next we’ll sand the ebony through the grits stopping at 320. (not shown for obvious reasons) Here’s the result of the X-Acto work and sanding.
Now the decorating can begin. First we need to cut 3 horizontal lines, 1/8” apart, onto the top surface of each head. The first of these lines has already been cut. It is the joint line between the heads and tails that we just deepened. To cut the second line, we clamp a straightedge across the keyboard 1/8” below the head/tail joint. Then using an X-Acto knife we follow the straightedge and score each key very lightly and carefully. Then we do it again – four more times, to make sure the score line is deep enough. As the score line deepens we can apply more pressure on the knife but always being careful not to slip. There is no good way to recover from an error here so did I say “cut carefully”?
The next photo shows this 2nd cut line.
Now we’ll clamp the straightedge 1/8” below the line we just cut and cut the 3rd line.
Here’s the keyboard with all the lines cut.
Now we will begin shaping the heads. The first step is to cut two small notches on the head starting about 1/8” from the bottom score line and ending at that line. This is done with a sharp X-Acto knife.
We put masking tape on the sides and front of the key to protect it from the dreaded ebony dust. We also tape off the top of the key from the 3rd score line back. This is to protect those lines from the sandpaper that we’ll use to round the key head. You can see the two notches we cut at the top of the head. The notches actually become the top of the rounded part of the key head. They eliminate the need to use the shoe-shining technique close to the score lines – we want to keep them crisp.
Next we round the ebony using a thin strip of 120 grit sandpaper in a shoe-shine fashion.
When the shape is correct, we sand again with 220 and 320 grit paper and ease the front edge and corners to eliminate sharpness.
The next photo shows the shape of the head after sanding.
A few hours have past and we’re about 2/3 of the way done with the shaping. Here’s a comparison photo of shaped vs. unshaped head. The two heads on the left have been shaped – the two on the right haven’t.
A couple of hours later – the shaping is finished.
A couple of things left to do. The jacks will ultimately sit on the far ends of each key. A piece of cloth must be glued to each key end to cushion and silence the sound of the jack falling back onto the key end after playing. No big deal except that the cloth strips must be cut to fit. I use a jig that I bought from Micro-Mark. It works quite well for cutting cloth although that was not its intended purpose. Here’s the jig.
And here’s the key end cloths glued into place on the ends of 2 keys.
And here’s the completed keyboard.
Well, not quite complete. The keys don’t seem to be quite as level as we would want them to be. We’ve added a lot of weight to the front of the keys with all that ebony and bone. We have to balance the keyboard by adding small lead weights to the rear of each key. To do this, we place a weight (or sometimes more than one) on the top of the key and move it backwards until the rear of the key drops down lightly and rests on the backrail cloth. Then we mark the position of the lead(s) on the side of the key. Here’s a picture of key #1 with two leads on it.
Then we’re off to the drill press. We’ll drill two holes in the side of the key slightly larger than the diameter of the lead which is ¼”. We place the two pieces of lead into the holes and tap them two or three times with a hammer and screwdriver blade. This expands the soft lead and wedges it into the hole.
Now that the keyboard is balanced, all that remains is to put some protective finish on the ebony. Over the years I’ve tried just about every finish known to man. Shellac, polyurethane, wipe-on poly etc. For me, the best one for this application is low gloss Tung Oil. It gives me the nice soft even sheen I’m looking for, while letting the ebony look like wood instead of plastic. Here’s the procedure I used on this keyboard.
1.Sand keys with 400 grit wet/dry paper (dry).
2.Wipe on a coat of Tung oil.
3.Let dry for 12 hours
4.Rub the finish with 4/0 steel wool followed by a tack cloth.
5.Wipe on another coat of Tung Oil.
6.Let dry for 12 hours
7.Rub finish with 4/0 steel wool
8.Rub finish with a soft dry cloth
Then I brush on 3 coats of satin water-based Polycrylic on the arcades, sanding lightly between coats with 320 paper. This protects the arcades without changing the natural color of the maple.
And that’s it! I may put another coat of tung oil on the ebony before the instrument leaves the shop if I decide the ebony needs a little more shine. Three coats is my limit – any more and the ebony loses its natural look and starts to look like a plastic party spoon.
Here’s the completed keyboard with 2 coats of tung oil.
And here’s a closer shot.
Still closer.....
And that’s a wrap. It’s taken 5 Parts of this series and 86 photos to describe the keyboard making process. I hope I’ve given you a feel for how it’s done (at least the way I do it).
Next time, we’ll return to the soundboard – locate the bridges, mark the bridges, and glue them to the soundboard. Space permitting, we’ll cut the rose hole, make the rose, make the cut-off bars and ribs and install them. We’re getting close.
Till next time,
Ernie
