Harpsichord Building Photo Gallery

Soli Deo gloria et sanctum nomen eius!

Belly rail and case

Upper Register Template

Harpsichord – pinning tools hand made

Upper Braces Installed

Installing case liners

Harpsichord Bottom

Pinblock and Supports

Installing Belly Stiffener

Schaffter Register Slotting Jig

Harpsichord Keyboard

Keyframe Parts

Bending the “Bentside” in the Jig

Laying out the keyboard

Completed Bentside Jig

Installing Lower Braces

Capping the teeth

Bridge marking jig

Keyframe with pins installed

Jack Cutting Jig

Key Mortise Punch undergoing test

Spraying the sharp sticks

Custom-ground Key Mortise Punch from an old cold chisel

Keyboard on frame – note ‘patch’ in front of rear oak cross-piece

Keystick Boards Glue Up

Cutting the Keyboard Apart

Key mockups

Laying out bottom and bentside on plan, testing for fit.

Keyframe after drilling

Fitting Test Key after tuning the Mortise Punch

Sharp Key Blanks

Sharp Tops being installed

Key Fitting

Harpsichord case assembly

Keyboard sharps completed, lines scored

Harpsichord Key covers cut

Planing the keys

Joining the Bentside to Bottom

Installing the pins in the keyframe

Capping the teeth

One Critical Angle

Installing the sharps

First Keys Being Fitted

Walnut Sharps with first coat of filler

Keyboard nearing completion

Keyboard and Full Size Plan

Plugging and Planing the Bottom

The Window Cover

Checking the Angle

Attaching the spine

Using a birdcage awl to mark all the locations for drilling the upper registers.

Fitting the Bentside

UBR, LBR, Nameboard

Fitting the key tails

Attaching the cheek

Gluing the tails

Another Critical Angle

Keyboard Spacing – 6.5″ @ front, 6.25″ @ rear

Transposer Installed into Keyframe A414 Position

Screwing Down Pinblock

Bass Capstans for adjusting registers left/right

Upper Register Support Block with Spacer

Music Desk Mounted on Base

Harpsichord Stand Legs in Progress

Register Window – Spine Side of case

Completed Harpsichord Stand Legs

Completed Music Desk

Register Window – from inside case

Adjusting The Upper and Lower Register Alignment with a Square

Bass End of Upper Registers showing orientation of holes

Music Desk Completed and Installed

Transposer Parts with Mouldings Installed

Transposer Mouldings “Classical”

Music Desk Base

A lot of braces

Keyboard with Arcade Installed

The harpsichord is ready to enter the next phase!

The beautiful hinges from Marc Vogel are now all finally installed.

The Keystick is finished and installed.