Hi all,
There are two sides (pun intended) to lid decoration. The top side of the lid is painted with the case color and the routed profiles on the topside battens are made gold. There’s nothing new to show here, so that will be the end of the topside lid description.
The under-side of the lid, which is the side you see when the lid is opened, is another story. Six different decorative elements will be applied to this side of the lid. First, there is a ¾” wide band of paint (case color) around the perimeter of the lid. Inside that paint band is a 3/8” wide gold band. Inside the gold band is a 1 1/16” wide paper bunting. Inside the paper bunting, the remainder of the lid is covered with lid papers. Onto these lid papers we will hand paint the Latin motto that is almost always present when lid papers are used. Finally, small decorative designs called arabesques are painted in various places around the perimeter of the lid buntings. Let’s do it!
The ¾” paint band has already been applied when we painted the lid so now we mask off for the 3/8” wide gold bands.
After the paint dries we remove the tape and the gold bands are finished.
While the lid is on the bench, this is as good a time as any to install the cups into the lid batten. When we built the lid we drilled a hole into this batten to accept the end of the lid stick. Since then, I decided to add a second hole below the first one. This will allow for two different open positions for the lid.
The next photo shows the two lids as they appear at this stage.
The next step is a bit trickier. The 1 1/16” wide paper bunting has to be glued around the perimeter of the lids inside the gold bands. This is not a problem except for the curved part of the lid. Traditionally, a straight piece of lid bunting paper is moistened just before gluing to the lid. The moisture allows us to “bend” the paper enough to follow the curve of the lid. While this method has been used for years (actually, centuries), I’m far too clutzy to do this correctly more than 50% of the time. Instead, I turn to the computer for a way that works better for me. Using PhotoShop, I take a straight piece of bunting and “curve it”. When printed, the curve is a close, but not perfect, match of the lid curve.
Before we glue these paper buntings on, there is one more detail to take care of. When you make something out of plywood, you usually have to do something to hide the edge. Well, paper has an edge too, especially the 90 lb. stock I’m using. I don’t like the way the white edge of the paper looks when the piece is glued onto the case. So, as silly as this sounds, I take a black magic marker and make the edges of each piece of lid bunting black.
Gluing the strips onto the small lid, where all the corners are square, is simple. Starting at a corner, we glue strips all around the perimeter, mitering the corners. Intermediate strips are simply butt jointed.
The curved section of the big lid is the only tricky part. Even though we’re using curved strips created in PhotoShop, the strips rarely match the curve exactly. Even the “straight” part of the curved side isn’t really straight. To adjust these strips to fit perfectly, we cut thin, V-shaped wedges out of them. The straight strips will now curve slightly, closing the wedge as they do.
The next photo shows the completed curved section of the big lid.
The rest of the buntings go on easily. Here are the finished lids.
Next, we have to fill the large spaces inside the lid buntings. In the original harpsichords, this space was filled with papers meant to imitate the wood grain of flat-sawn ash, which was a very popular wood at that time. It was used extensively for paneling, ceilings, and furniture. Here are the lid papers we will use on our harpsichord.
The papers are cut to fit and glued in place using cold liquid hide glue. This glue is terrific for this application as it remains very slippery for a couple of minutes after application, allowing us the time to slide the papers into their proper positions. Once properly positioned, the papers are rolled with a small wooden roller which assures good contact between the paper and glue. In the event of the almost inevitable Miller screw-up, a gentle soaking with a wet rag softens the glue enough to pull the paper up and start over again. Here’s the small lid with the first sheet of paper applied.
All that’s needed to complete the installation of the lid papers is careful measuring and cutting, especially on the curved section of the big lid. A certain amount of trial and error fitting results in a lot of wasted paper, but eventually all the pieces fit correctly. Here’s the finished product.
The next step is to add the Latin motto “MVSICA DONVM DEI QVOD CANTVS FLORERE FACIT” , which, loosely translated, means “Music is the gift of God which makes one flourish”. In case you’re wondering, there was no letter “U” in the Latin alphabet at that time, so the letter “V” is used instead. Before we do any painting, we apply a coat of Pecan stain followed by a coat of orange shellac to the lid papers. This gets me closer to the final color I want and seals the paper so the painted lettering won’t bleed.
The Latin text lives in my computer and is written in a font that closely resembles the original hand-printed letters. We print out each word on thin tracing paper, and place the tracings in position on the lid. This is the place to measure 12 times – trace once. The last thing we need now is for these letters to be placed crooked – there is no way to recover from this without removing the lid papers and starting over. Once correctly placed, smudge resistant carbon paper is slipped underneath the tracing and the letters are traced onto the lid.
Here’s the result of one of these tracings.
After a few hours of painting with a small artist’s brush, the lettering is finished.
The last decorative element to be added are the arabesques. Like the lettering, the designs are printed on tracing paper and transferred to the lid using carbon paper. We’ll be painting a total of nineteen arabesques on the lids. Here’s the first one.
After all of the arabesques are painted, the lid decoration is finished.
After applying a couple of coats of clear shellac to the lid papers, we re-install the lids onto the harpsichord. If the color of the lid papers is still too light, we’ll remove the lids and add another coat of orange shellac. The next photos show the finished lid.
We’re really winding down now. There are only 3 posts left in this series. In a few days we’ll post the elusive Part 25 which shows the decoration of the soundboard by Sandy. After that, we’ll show how the instrument is strung and regulated – without going into the technical details that would be of no use to anyone who is not building a harpsichord. The final post will summarize the entire construction process and show the final pix.
Till next time,
Ernie
There are two sides (pun intended) to lid decoration. The top side of the lid is painted with the case color and the routed profiles on the topside battens are made gold. There’s nothing new to show here, so that will be the end of the topside lid description.
The under-side of the lid, which is the side you see when the lid is opened, is another story. Six different decorative elements will be applied to this side of the lid. First, there is a ¾” wide band of paint (case color) around the perimeter of the lid. Inside that paint band is a 3/8” wide gold band. Inside the gold band is a 1 1/16” wide paper bunting. Inside the paper bunting, the remainder of the lid is covered with lid papers. Onto these lid papers we will hand paint the Latin motto that is almost always present when lid papers are used. Finally, small decorative designs called arabesques are painted in various places around the perimeter of the lid buntings. Let’s do it!
The ¾” paint band has already been applied when we painted the lid so now we mask off for the 3/8” wide gold bands.
After the paint dries we remove the tape and the gold bands are finished.
While the lid is on the bench, this is as good a time as any to install the cups into the lid batten. When we built the lid we drilled a hole into this batten to accept the end of the lid stick. Since then, I decided to add a second hole below the first one. This will allow for two different open positions for the lid.
The next photo shows the two lids as they appear at this stage.
The next step is a bit trickier. The 1 1/16” wide paper bunting has to be glued around the perimeter of the lids inside the gold bands. This is not a problem except for the curved part of the lid. Traditionally, a straight piece of lid bunting paper is moistened just before gluing to the lid. The moisture allows us to “bend” the paper enough to follow the curve of the lid. While this method has been used for years (actually, centuries), I’m far too clutzy to do this correctly more than 50% of the time. Instead, I turn to the computer for a way that works better for me. Using PhotoShop, I take a straight piece of bunting and “curve it”. When printed, the curve is a close, but not perfect, match of the lid curve.
Before we glue these paper buntings on, there is one more detail to take care of. When you make something out of plywood, you usually have to do something to hide the edge. Well, paper has an edge too, especially the 90 lb. stock I’m using. I don’t like the way the white edge of the paper looks when the piece is glued onto the case. So, as silly as this sounds, I take a black magic marker and make the edges of each piece of lid bunting black.
Gluing the strips onto the small lid, where all the corners are square, is simple. Starting at a corner, we glue strips all around the perimeter, mitering the corners. Intermediate strips are simply butt jointed.
The curved section of the big lid is the only tricky part. Even though we’re using curved strips created in PhotoShop, the strips rarely match the curve exactly. Even the “straight” part of the curved side isn’t really straight. To adjust these strips to fit perfectly, we cut thin, V-shaped wedges out of them. The straight strips will now curve slightly, closing the wedge as they do.
The next photo shows the completed curved section of the big lid.
The rest of the buntings go on easily. Here are the finished lids.
Next, we have to fill the large spaces inside the lid buntings. In the original harpsichords, this space was filled with papers meant to imitate the wood grain of flat-sawn ash, which was a very popular wood at that time. It was used extensively for paneling, ceilings, and furniture. Here are the lid papers we will use on our harpsichord.
The papers are cut to fit and glued in place using cold liquid hide glue. This glue is terrific for this application as it remains very slippery for a couple of minutes after application, allowing us the time to slide the papers into their proper positions. Once properly positioned, the papers are rolled with a small wooden roller which assures good contact between the paper and glue. In the event of the almost inevitable Miller screw-up, a gentle soaking with a wet rag softens the glue enough to pull the paper up and start over again. Here’s the small lid with the first sheet of paper applied.
All that’s needed to complete the installation of the lid papers is careful measuring and cutting, especially on the curved section of the big lid. A certain amount of trial and error fitting results in a lot of wasted paper, but eventually all the pieces fit correctly. Here’s the finished product.
The next step is to add the Latin motto “MVSICA DONVM DEI QVOD CANTVS FLORERE FACIT” , which, loosely translated, means “Music is the gift of God which makes one flourish”. In case you’re wondering, there was no letter “U” in the Latin alphabet at that time, so the letter “V” is used instead. Before we do any painting, we apply a coat of Pecan stain followed by a coat of orange shellac to the lid papers. This gets me closer to the final color I want and seals the paper so the painted lettering won’t bleed.
The Latin text lives in my computer and is written in a font that closely resembles the original hand-printed letters. We print out each word on thin tracing paper, and place the tracings in position on the lid. This is the place to measure 12 times – trace once. The last thing we need now is for these letters to be placed crooked – there is no way to recover from this without removing the lid papers and starting over. Once correctly placed, smudge resistant carbon paper is slipped underneath the tracing and the letters are traced onto the lid.
Here’s the result of one of these tracings.
After a few hours of painting with a small artist’s brush, the lettering is finished.
The last decorative element to be added are the arabesques. Like the lettering, the designs are printed on tracing paper and transferred to the lid using carbon paper. We’ll be painting a total of nineteen arabesques on the lids. Here’s the first one.
After all of the arabesques are painted, the lid decoration is finished.
After applying a couple of coats of clear shellac to the lid papers, we re-install the lids onto the harpsichord. If the color of the lid papers is still too light, we’ll remove the lids and add another coat of orange shellac. The next photos show the finished lid.
We’re really winding down now. There are only 3 posts left in this series. In a few days we’ll post the elusive Part 25 which shows the decoration of the soundboard by Sandy. After that, we’ll show how the instrument is strung and regulated – without going into the technical details that would be of no use to anyone who is not building a harpsichord. The final post will summarize the entire construction process and show the final pix.
Till next time,
Ernie
