The Stand

Just a quick post to show the clavichord atop the stand.  Ain't it purdy???

The next steps will lead to completion of the case as well as putting my artistic talents to work in creating some art work to identify me as the builder.  I'm looking forward to that!

Stand Assembly

Ah, yes.  The stand for which I fought long and hard.  It was a piece of cake to assemble! The legs, front and back aprons, and side aprons are held together with glue and mortise and tenon joinery.  After sanding the legs and apron with a fine sanding sponge, I did a quick dry run, then applied glue into the mortises (slots carved into the legs and apron) and inserted the loose tenons (little blocks of grooved wood).  When the legs and aprons are all joined up tight, those little tenons don't show.  Not being a woodworker, I'm totally unfamiliar with all these terms and methods of joinery, so I found it all very fascinating and rather gratifying to end up with a neatly finished stand where the wood pieces that contribute to its solidity are completely hidden. Very cool.  Although the manual didn't mention it, I pulled out the clamping blocks and rope that I used to make the case rim. This sucked all the pieces together very nicely.  Here is a picture of the stand with clamping blocks and rope in "dead bug" position while the glue dries.

I ran out of the Titebond glue halfway through, so I pulled out Aleene's original (and trusty) Tacky Glue which I have found to be one of the best glues on the market.  Why I ran out of the Titebond is a bit of a mystery because I had glue to spare when I built my harpsichords.  Although this bottle is much smaller than that supplied with my harpsichord kits, I am theorizing that the winter atmosphere here in Nebraska is so dry, I used more glue because it was setting up so fast!  Quite different from July in Chicago. Nevertheless, I am forging ahead with Aleene's.  I am incredibly happy that Zuckermann came through and finally sent me a complete stand after four years of patient effort.  Thank you, Steve. I am not mad at you anymore!

The Stand Arrived

Just a quick update here.  It only took four years, umpteen emails to Zuckermann, one anonymous phone call to see if their email was working, and about four months of effort from the Better Business Bureau, but I finally received a complete clavichord stand.  I did an immediate dry run to see if everything was there (oh please, dear Lord, let it all be there because I can't take much more of this), and I am happy to report that I finally have everything I need to construct a very expensive clavichord stand.  I am a happy camper.