Promised Pictures

The majority of the case joinery is done.  All that is left is marking the hitchpin rails (made from cherry wood) and then gluing them down.  The following pictures may resemble several of my dry run pictures (as you would expect), but the difference is that all of the "guts" are now glued permanently into place.  Here's the whole magilla:

This is the pesky middle belly rail that had me a bit concerned.  Further down the road, we'll see if my worries were for naught.  This picture is shot from the bass end toward the treble.

This picture shows the right cheek with its liner and the middle bellyrail, this time shot from the treble end and looking toward the bass end.  That little piece of wood to the right of the bellyrail is the back bellyrail.  If you look closely, you can see the chamfer I carved in the rear liner.

Below is a shot of the tool box.  The lid fits very snugly indeed, so I may end up sanding it a tiny bit.  For now, it is sitting off to the side.

And finally, here is a picture of a bead of glue I ran down the seam between the belly rail and the cheek - just because.  It will dry nearly invisible.

So there you have it.  Dare I think I could have the entire instrument finished by summer?

Progress!

This evening involved a lot of gluing and clamping.  The back soundboard liner and rear bellyrail were glued into place as well as the front soundboard liner (although the manual neglects to tell you to do this) and the right cheek liner.  The only glitch, which is mildly concerning at the moment, is an ill-fitting middle bellyrail.  I had to sand the rear bellyrail down a bit (where it meets the spine) to get the middle bellyrail to fit at the correct angle.  I did not want to mess with sanding an angled surface.  It is entirely possible that the balance rail shifted a 16th of an inch when we were gluing and drilling, thus throwing the fit of the middle bellyrail off just enough to not fit properly.  It is the only piece that is not yet glued into place due to the fact that everything else needs to set up and dry before I tackle that.  I am hoping that a few taps with the rubber-tipped side of my stained glass hammer will be enough to bring it into line.  If not, I dunno...  At any rate, the light at the end of the tunnel known as Building the Case is within sight.  As soon as I get the middle bellyrail in place, I'll post a picture.

My Ever-Expanding Vocabulary

The next step in my clavichord project is to glue the cheeks into place.  In reading the manual, I ran across a few words in this section that are not in this musician's everyday vocabulary.  Hemidemisemiquaver I understand; arris, not so much.  I offer definitions here in the event anyone reading might also benefit from a little enlightenment.

Dado:  a slot or trench cut into wood.

Lap joint:  This is formed when you overlap pieces of wood and fasten them together so they are flush and the surface is smooth and continuous.  This assumes, I would think, the presence of a dado matching the width of the second piece of wood.  I may be incorrect, but I'm trying to make practical sense of the new words (practical, as in, use it in a sentence).  If you google lap joint, you will see many images that I believe confirm my assumption. 

Arris:  This is an architectural term that describes the sharp edge formed by the intersection of two surfaces.  I actually have an entertainment center constructed in Arts and Crafts style.  The side panel and front panel are joined by a solid leg of oak.  The 90-degree corner of that leg forms an arris, a sharp edge, into which a chamfer is carved, much like what I carved into the rear liner a while back, albeit a bit fancier.  And wouldn't you know it?  The manual suggests a chamfer be made on the inside arris of the rack to eliminate any glue bumps so as to ensure a tight fit when everything is glued into place.  I've been pretty darn neat with my gluing, so this additional chamfer may not be necessary.  We'll see.  I'm off to glue my cheeks.  That didn't come out right, but it is what I'm about to do.

Zuckermann and the Better Business Bureau

I received an email from the Better Business Bureau updating me on my complaint against Zuckermann.  They report contacting the company on multiple occasions, but, to date still have not received a reply.  As a result, have closed my complaint as a "no response," which will be reported to the public for the next three years.  They have suggested I consider filing an online complaint with the Connecticut Attorney General's Office or with the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection. They also suggest I consider legal means.

My immediate response is to once again warn people about Zuckermann's business practices.  They cater to a niche market, so if one is inclined to build an early instrument, their designs are certainly going to need your consideration.  My only advice is to pounce on the kit as soon as it arrives and do a dry run immediately.  As soon as you know what is missing, you'll need to contact them ASAP and hound them for the missing parts.  They don't whine about little things that need to be supplied, but in my experience, they don't hurry to correct the problem.  In my case, it took them 10 months to send a small envelope of bridge pins that were not included.  If anything big is missing, be prepared for a battle.

I'll be back to the building fun in a day or two!  Stay tuned.