Attaching the Balance Rail

Back to our regularly scheduled program...

Today I was able to snag a few minutes to attach the balance rail. When I did the last dry run, I drew a pencil line on the inside of the case bottom along both sides of the balance rail to mark its permanent home. The rail was a hair short - too slight to need a shim - so I inserted some shiny cardstock I had handy. After removing all the pieces from the dry run, I marked five screw holes (being careful to avoid any balance pin holes) and drilled through the bottom of the case to accommodate the 1-1/4" screws provided. I used the countersink on the bottom exterior of the case so the screws would go in flush. I squeezed three dots of glue on the bottom of the balance rail, set it in place inside the lines, added my little cardboard shim, and allowed the glue to set for 30 minutes. At that point, I took a smaller drill bit and drilled up through the previously-drilled holes and into the rail. The trick here is to keep the drill bit perpendicular so that when you screw the rail down, it doesn't shift off position because your pilot holes are off. I did my best. I knocked the rail off the case, scraped off the glue, and then reapplied a layer of glue to the bottom of the rail and the two ends that would attach to the hitchpin rail and wrestplank, set the rail in, and drove the screws home. It's drying as I type.

As If I Don't Have Enough to Do

Since I'm baking a lot of cookies for the holidays, I decided to start a cookie recipe blog at http://www.yummycookierecipes.blogspot.com/ and share the results of my baking adventures - good, bad, and otherwise. Many (but not all) of the recipes are from my grandmother's collection. She gathered recipes from friends, her sisters, and The Chicago Tribune. Since she died in 1972, many of the recipes I'll be sharing may qualify as "vintage." Give it a look now and again if you like cookie recipes. I promise to post more about my progress on the clavichord construction soon.

Why am I not surprised?

Just a quick update on my little battle with Zuckermann. I opened a case with the Better Business Bureau on Nov. 24, 2010. After review, they assigned a case number and sent a copy of the complaint to Zuckermann with a request for a response by Dec. 9. On Monday, Dec. 13, the BBB contacted me and asked if I had heard from Zuckermann since they have heard nothing from them. Of course, the silence has been deafening. Lends credence to my complaint. A reminder of the dispute has been sent by the BBB.

It is a pity that a company which caters to a niche market has so little regard for its customers. I guess this third instrument kit will be my last one because I can't afford to be "taken" like this again.

But do stay tuned (sic) for updates on my progress with the building of the clavichord. While I can't recommend the company, I can still enjoy the journey with the instrument.

Moving right along...

Located in Roca, Nebraska (which is more of a broad geographic area rather than a town), along Highway 77 between Beatrice, Nebraska, and Lincoln, Nebraska, is Hinrich's Fine Woods. http://hinrichsfinewoods.com/ They specialize in custom cabinetry, recreation of missing parts, and antique furniture restoration. They have been accredited by the Better Business Bureau and have a rating of A+. I stopped in with the clavichord's rack, and the gentleman in charge quickly and easily zipped off 1/16". The cost was $5.00. I spoke with him about my stand dilemma, and he seemed quite interested in helping me recreate the missing pieces. As long as he has a picture to go by, he should be able to come up with replacement parts.

And on the subject of the BBB, the branch that handles businesses in Stonington, Connecticut, received my official complaint today. Unlike Hinrichs in Roca, Nebraska, Zuckermann is not accredited by the BBB. The site states, "BBB has requested basic information from this company but has not received a response." Ha. Get in line. Zuckermann has had 10 business days to respond to my last email, and once again, they have failed to do so.

Stayed tuned...

Dry Run

Today was filled with stained glass work in preparation for an upcoming show, so I could only spare a little time for the clavichord. However, I still made good progress. I needed to set everything in place as it will eventually be so I could check the keyboard clearance. After sanding the front liner, everything fit into place very nicely. I put a balance pin in the bass and treble ends of the balance rail and placed the lowest and highest keys from the keyboard onto those pins.

I inserted a folded piece of thin cardboard into both the kerfs in the tails of the keys and their corresponding kerfs in the rack.

There is supposed to be a 1/16" space between the key tail and the rack. As you might be able to see in the pictures, I don't have that much clearance, so the rack needs to be planed or sanded down. And not by me, I suspect. I'm no good with a plane, and I lack the type of sanding equipment needed to do this correctly. Being new in town, I don't have local friends to call upon, so I will most likely seek out a local professional woodworker. Since the gap is virtually nonexistent, I suppose all I have to do is tell him (or, less likely, her) I want 1/16" taken off - and not a hair more. I'll let you know how that goes, but there's no telling how long this will take. Stay tuned...

Chamfers and Kerfs and Other Weird Words

Last evening, I spread glue on the back, bottom, and wide end of the backrail. In my picture, you might be able to see how the wide end is to the left, and how the backrail tapers on the right side.

I love clamps. Actually, I love a tight instrument, so I use a lot of clamps to make sure everything is as snug as a bug in a rug. I swear I took a picture of the clamps on the backrail, but for some reason, it isn't in the camera, so you'll just have to take my word for it. I used four clamps - two to hold the backrail to the spine and two to hold it tight to the bottom of the instrument. After the glue dried, and I removed the clamps, I did a quick dry run, just to make sure parts hadn't magically disappeared.

Since Zuckermann has accused me of throwing away large pieces of finely finished and rather expensive walnut designed for a stand (the entire apron, actually), I thought I'd check my sanity and make sure more parts hadn't disappeared into the ether. As you can see, the guts of the clavichord are still in my possession, just as they were when I first opened the box upon delivery. The parts that were missing when I opened the box are still missing. Nice try, Zuckermann! Perhaps the ghost of the King of Sweden sneaked in when I wasn't looking and took them. See earlier posts for additional rants on that subject. And be sure to tune in for future rants because I blessed the company with one more email last night in an attempt to get them to make good on my purchase. They made a veiled promise of resolution when they asked me to "be patient." That was three years ago. I've been plenty patient. But, I digress...

In this picture of my second (and partial) dry run, you can better see that the treble hitchpin rail is placed atop the backrail. The kerfs, which in everyday common language are also called notches or slits, cut in the wood are facing outward rather than upward, which is logical since they will be used in tandem with the kerfs in the back end of the keys to line up the keyboard properly.

I also checked the treble hitchpin rail against the blueprint, and the piece matches up nicely, although a hair too long, so it was treated to a little sanding on the bass end. To the right and along the back of the instrument is the little rear belly rail which sits at a right angle to the treble hitchpin rail. Then, to the right of that is the rear liner which, as you can see in the first dry run photo, is a tad bit too long, so today I sanded it as well. In the picture above, it fits nicely along the spine. On the left front of the rear liner, I cut a chamfer. For the uninitiated (such as myself), a chamfer is a flat surface that you create when you cut off the edge of a block of wood. In other words, a bevel edge. Thank you, Merriam-Webster. The manual suggested I use a knife or a chisel. I once had an ex-husband who cut off a chunk of his index finger with an exacto knife while trying to replace a bathroom window, so I didn't care to risk that particular sharp object. And I prefer to use chisels on chunkier pieces of wood, simply because I don't use chisels with any frequency and therefore lack the control or skill I think I should possess. The rear liner is only 1/2" thick and doesn't need anything huge to create that bevel, so I pulled out my favorite tool - my handy dandy Dremel. In mere minutes, a nice little sanding barrel of an attachment safely created my chamfer, the purpose of which is to allow a little more vibrating area in the treble end of the soundboard. The manual said the chamfer didn't have to be fancy, which I took to mean pretty, but mine is. It won't ever show, but I'll secretly know it's nice.

The next step will be to do another full dry run much like the first, only this time with the addition of balance pins, a couple of keys, and a few other parts to make sure everything is lining up properly and the keys are going to fit. I'll be sure to report my findings.

Slowly Progressing

With the holiday season heating up, I've been busy building stained glass stock for my upcoming shows. The clavichord has been on a back burner for a while. However, I devoted some time this evening to a little instrument building.

What you are looking at here is a nicely planed and sanded bottom where it joins the spine. I'm not an expert with the tool, and I had to have my husband hold on to the case while I worked, but I got the job done. I then went over it with sandpaper to get a perfect finish on the back. I'm happy with it. Hopefully, I'll be able to work on it some more in the near future. Keep checking back for updates.

Back at it again

After taking a short break due to a minor snafu with my Black and Decker cordless drill, I'm back to work. I didn't get as much accomplished as I had hoped, but I did get the ball rolling again. Having previously clamped the bottom to the case rim and marked the places to drill for the bottom screws, I managed this evening to drill all the screw holes in the bottom. I then unclamped the bottom to backdrill the holes.

The manual does not specifically state what size drill bit to use for the backdrilling, but with a little Yankee ingenuity, I decided on an 11/64" bit. Perfect! When I removed the bottom, I happily discovered that my placement of the bottom and insistence on using a little muscle (yes, my husband thinks I'm being a royal pain when I insist on having it my way) to square the case rim resulted in all the pilot holes in the rim being perfectly centered. What more could I ask for? Damn, I'm good.

One picture is worth a thousand words

If memory serves, when I built my two harpsichords, the first thing I built was called the "horse." It was the business end of the instrument just above where the keyboard sat. Its centerpiece was the oak wrestplank (also sometimes referred to as the pinblock), which was the heaviest piece of wood in the entire harpsichord. Of course, the instrument was strung north/south, so it made sense that it would be up front. It was into that very solid piece of wood that I drilled holes for the tuning pins. With the clavichord, the rim of the instrument (its framework, so to speak) comes first with the small, lightweight (by comparison) wrestplank and hitchpin block being inserted on the sides for an east/west stringing. When the rim is done, it comes time to attach the bottom of the instrument.

On my old harpsichord, the bottom was an unattractive piece of plywood. On the fretted clavichord, it is a lovely piece of wood that is constructed, it would appear, from long pieces of spruce or fir, 13/16" x 3/4", that are glued together in a northwest by southeast pattern. It is the heaviest piece of wood in the clavichord simply by virtue of its size and thickness.

Again, the instructions are a bit confusing: set it up, flip it over, it should go in this direction, etc. All right..... Is that direction before or after you flip it? Not too clear, but fortunately, the writer explains that the "slanted" construction follows the direction the strings will take in order to counteract their pull. Consulting the photos included with the manual was helpful, although I did need to look closely because the various "strips" of wood do not vary in color nearly as much as mine below does.

The picture says it all.

Once I had this clear in my mind, I flipped the rim and bottom over and marked the spots where I will drill for the screws.

And then America's Got Talent came on, and it was time to stop. So I did.

Fretted Clavichord Construction for Dummies

Moving to a new town coupled with a sudden influx of stained glass wedding invitation orders temporarily sidelined clavichord construction for a while, but today, Labor Day 2010, I ran out of excuses.

This project is from a Zuckermann King of Sweden kit. My plan is to document the progress as well as the problems I encounter. Should any fellow builders happen to find this blog, I hope you'll share any insights or comments.

Let me begin by saying that I really miss David J. Way, or D. Jacque Way as he later came to call himself. He was the designer of the two Flemish instruments I built and the person who purchased Zuckermann Harpsichords from Wolfgang Joachim Zuckermann in 1969. David was a real character and a pottie-mouth who didn't care who was within earshot, but all in all, he was a decent enough guy with a passion for the instruments. He also knew how to write a great instruction manual. He was also pretty fair-minded, and if something was wrong as a result of the company's failure, he made it right. The current owners charged me full price for a clavichord stand, but only sent half of it. They have refused to make good on it, so this will definitely be the last kit I ever buy from them.

Although I have built two Flemish harpsichords, I am a rank amateur when it comes to clavichords; hence the title of this post. My husband is helping out with this kit, so I want to take a moment to publicly thank him for putting up with me. Mainly he's a sounding board because glue is involved with this very expensive kit, and I need him to keep me thinking clearly.

The first thing we did was sand the case front cutouts.

A tack cloth was really handy at this stage. We sanded the insides of the case parts and laid the bottom of the case on the table, assembled the four sides and placed the four included clamping blocks at each of the corners.

We added the rope to the corners as directed, checking frequently for square.

You'll notice in the above pix that there is a piece of wood inside the case rim. How did I know to add that? Well, it certainly wasn't because the manual told me to do it! It came about as the result of a lot of head-scratching. The manual says, "Spread glue on the sides only of the blocks..." Well, that's dumb because the only blocks mentioned so far are the corner clamping blocks, and they are not a part of the kit; they're just tools to help the case stay together during this early stage of construction. After some time, I went back to the beginning of the section which is entitled, Building the Case. The subtitle reads, The case rim, the wrestplank, the hitchpin block, and the bottom. Hmmm.... What the writer neglected to mention is that one must take the wrestplank and the hitchpin block and place them inside the rim. In fact, those parts aren't mentioned at all until several paragraphs later following the instruction to remove the "clamping blocks." (Well, if you've just glued them to the rim, how are you going to do that? Don't worry. I knew something was missing in the instructions and I didn't even unwrap the bottle of glue until I had it figured out.) It is well past this part of the construction that the writer begins to actually refer to the wrestplank and the hitchpin block. Ah. Light bulb moment. Suddenly, "the blocks" now refers to the hitchpin block and the wrestplank, not the clamping blocks. Normally, I'd just chalk it up to inexperience, but the writer goes to great lengths at the beginning to tell the reader that he has written the manual at a level intended for the "handy but inexperienced woodworker." Hah. Apparently, he's never met the likes of me, the person for whom the whole series of Dummies books was written.

I think that part of the manual could use a revision because I really hate it when terms for various parts are used interchangeably, but I digress...

We applied the glue to the ends of "the blocks," which in reality are the sides of the wrestplank and hitchpin block that attach to the sides of the rim. We then clamped them to their respective sides.

After they had set up sufficiently, we disassembled, cleaned up the squeezed out glue and added glue on the corners of the entire rim. We reassembled, added the clamping blocks, ran the rope around the entire rim and tightened it up using barnwood scraps at the corners and screwdrivers to twist the rope tighter.

With that, we called it a day. It was only mildly stressful for a brief time.

I keep reminding myself that this day's task was huge for a couple of reasons. First, this is the framework for the rest of the instrument; it's important to get it right. Second, it's been a while, and I've got to get my mind wrapped around the whole process again.

I'm optimistic.

Americans for Prosperity? NOT!!!!

Omaha, NE - The "Huckabee" rally in Omaha on Sunday was really a "Huckleberry Rally." It was organized and paid for by out of state money from tobacco and big oil. Nebraskans were duped. Just follow the money.

Who is "Americans for Prosperity?" "Americans for Prosperity" is a Washington based lobbying organization with NO ties to Nebraska. It paid for the TV ads and it organized the rally.

"Americans for Prosperity" is best known for the pro tobacco industry lobbying effort which has fought clean air acts and cigarette tax increases since 2004. It is a tool for money from big oil, retailers, the tobacco industry, and developers who want to cripple government for their own excessive profits.

"Americans for Prosperity" is controlled by Art Pope. Art Pope is the North Carolina businessman who runs Variety Wholesalers, Inc. in the Southeast United States, competing with the likes of Wal-Mart and Dollar Stores. Variety Wholesalers just had a product recall for putting lead painted toy trucks on its shelves just in time for Christmas. That is the kind of company Art runs.

Art is credited with the systematic elimination of moderate Republicans from the North Carolina House of Representatives. He is one man with a twisted mind and a lot of money. He does not represent Nebraska and he does not agree with our honest hardworking values. And he is playing Nebraska Republicans like a fiddle.

Get it straight: "Americans for Prosperity" does not care about health care. "Americans for Prosperity" does not really care about abortion. They are the problem, not the solution. How can they support tobacco and claim to be "pro-life" in any real sense of the word?

By being on the stage Sunday, Lee Terry and Jeff Fortenberry revealed that they are either dupes or they have sold out to the tobacco industry and big oil.

Vic Covalt - State Chair
Nebraska Democratic Party

King of Sweden Double-fretted Clavichord

After a 30-year hiatus, I'm diving into instrument construction once again. The last two instruments back in the day were Flemish harpsichords. They are now in the hands of other owners. My newest venture is a King of Sweden double-fretted clavichord. Due to its compact size and the ease of moving it around, I'll be keeping this instrument for my own personal enjoyment. I wish I could recommend the company which manufactures this kit, but I'm afraid that since the departure of David J. Way (who later called himself D. Jacques Way), the Zuckerman Harpsichord Company has gone downhill in the area of customer service and satisfaction. With this clavichord, I also ordered a stand but only received part of it. I didn't do the parts inventory within their time frame (you know, folks, sometimes life intervenes) and came to learn that half the stand was missing. They refused to make good on it, so I will be paying a custom woodworker to construct the balance of the stand for me using what wood Zuckerman generously gave me for the big wad of cash I laid on them. The kit was also missing the bridge pins, and it took two e-mails and a little arguing to get them to send me some. So if you're interested in buying an early instrument kit, I suggest you try Hubbard Harpsichords. While I have no personal experience with Hubbard, they can't be any worse than Zuckerman. Yes, I'm being a little whiney, but at the price I paid for this kit and that stand, I think I'm more than entitled. If you do decide to try Zuckerman, inspect the kit immediately. Print out the parts list and go through everything to make sure it's all there. At least Zuckerman won't be able to pull the old "it's too late" routine on you. My plan is to give you a blow-by-blow description of the building process. Stay tuned.

Fahrvergnuegen!

The official color is charcoal blue pearlescent. It's a 2004 diesel Golf, and I plan to run it on fast food restaurant oil. So eat them French fries and help the effort!

I purchased the car from a dealer in Gainesville, Florida, so to pick it up, a road trip was in order. Any excuse to thaw out, right? We picked up the car and drove along the southern coast, then spent a day in "Nawlins," eating etouffee, touring the French Quarter, and walking the river walk. Later we pigged out on beignets at Cafe du Monde (but of course). Then it was on to Ft. Worth to visit family.

When we got within 4 hours of home, the weather turned sour, and Old Man Winter reminded us he wasn't through with us yet. We've been freezing ever since.

Anyone out there from Tallahassee? I love that town and may need to retire there, although I've heard the heat and humidity are awful. I'll have to return during the summer months to see how well I like it then. As for March, it was perfect!

The deed is done!

The auction is over, and the Audi is soon to have a new home in Ohio. The winning bidder has 15 other diesel vehicles in his possession, so Old Blue is going to a good owner, I believe.

Now that I've sold three of our four existing vehicles out from under us and the remaining car is 300 miles away from us in our son's possession, I guess we better start looking for a couple cars.

My son wants a Rabbit. I could go for that, but a Jetta wagon would also work. Manual transmission is a must. Diesel is not a requirement, but it would be nice. If you have one for sale, drop me an email!

Farewell to an Era

I am not a car person. At least I didn't think I was until now.

For a variety of reasons, we have decided to clear the decks and sell our three oldest vehicles. As I write this, the heart-breaking realization has come to me that the oldest of the three - my beloved 1982 Audi 4000 diesel - has been with me half my life! But more on it a little later.

The first to go is a 1987 Dodge Ram Van. This was given to us by my mother-in-law. I've never cared for it because it's a behemoth. It has a high profile, and I've always been a nervous wreck when driving it. So when it got a bid at eBay Motors, I cheered.

The next car we listed was my husband's 1987 Volkswagen Fox wagon. When we married, my husband became a co-owner of a house I already owned, so the car became our first major purchase together. Our son, who is now a university sophomore, became the car's primary driver/owner about three years ago, but it has a fussy 4th gear, so we listed it on eBay Motors as well. Warts and all, it got a bid almost immediately. While my husband and son really enjoy the car, they realize it is time for it to go to someone who can tinker endlessly with it as it ages further.

The third and final car we listed is my Audi.

This is a gem of a car which I bought new back in early 1982. That makes it 27 years old. That car has been with me for half my life, and I still love it. Sure, the driver's seat needs to be restuffed. But the upholstery is still in great condition.

The odometer doesn't advance with consistency. It tends to lock up in warmer weather. It advances more readily in cold temperatures, which makes it a remarkable car. Imagine! A diesel that likes cold weather!

I have had the left front fender totally replaced to arrest some rust.

The car has been in three fender benders - one of which totaled the little Ford that hit me. The offending driver was an insurance salesman, so everything was fixed by his company to my satisfaction. He hit the right front fender, closest to where my infant son was asleep in his car seat. But my little baby didn't even wake up from the impact. Old Blue (and the car seat and seat belts) got between us and the other car and protected us.

The 1982 Audi 4000 diesel was, and still is, a solid car. My husband affectionately refers to it at times as The Tank. It currently has seven bids with a few days to go, and I'm using the remaining time to come to peace about the sale. I'll probably replace it with something lame while I patiently wait for Audi's release of their 2010 clean diesel vehicle.

Fond memories of this car. I do love it.

Another organ excursion

This morning, I was off to Episcopal Church of Our Savior, again in North Platte, Nebraska, to play a cute little German Baroque Snyder-Neuman of 9 ranks. It is serviced by Darrow Pipe Organ of Onawa, Iowa. The church's organist is Naomi Getty.

Here's the stop list:

Pedal:
Sub Bass 16'
Flute 8'
Brustwerk to Pedal 8'
Brustwerk to Pedal 4'
Hauptwerk to Pedal 8'

Brustwerk:
Koppelfloete 8'
Salicional 8'
Prestant 4'
Hohlfloete 4'
Nazard 2-2/3'
Siffloete 2'
Haubois 8'
Tremelo

Hauptwerk:
Prinzipal 8'
Rohrfloete 8'
Halb Principal 4'
Grave Mixture II
Hauptwerk to Hauptwerk 4'
Brustwerk to Hauptwerk 8'

The organ has 6 generals, chimes, and a delightful 11-bell Cymbelstern. The pipes were made in Holland.

This church burned in the late 1950's or early 1960's and was rebuilt and ready before the pipes for the new organ were completed. Installation was in 1964-1965.


The tower bells are named after the evangelists:
The largest is St. Mark (D). It is the big one because "Mark was the first evangelist." Next is St. Matthew (F), St. Luke (G), and St. John (A). The bells ring at 8:30 a.m., 12 noon, and 5:00 p.m. daily.

Eine kleine Orgelmusik

Today, I visited Our Redeemer Lutheran Church here in North Platte, Nebraska, and played their marvelous Bedient tracker organ. This bright little instrument is Opus 6 and was their first tracker. Built in 1973-74, it was recently rebuilt/refurbished in 2006.


Here is the stop list:

Great, 56 notes
Principal 8
Rohrflote 8
Praestant 4
Octave 2
Sesquialtera II
Mixture III-V
Trompet 8


Pedal, 30 notes
Subbass 16
Octave 8
Octave 4
Nachthorn 2
Fagott 16
Trompet 8

Swell, 56 notes
Gedeckt 8
Spitzflote 4
Principal 2
Quinte 1 1/3
Cymbal III
Regal 8

Couplers
Great/Pedal
Swell/Pedal
Swell/Great
Tremulant

This organ cost $24,000 when it was installed in 1974. I hate to think what it would cost today.

I decided to play a little Buxtehude, Ach Herr, mich armen Suender (always good to focus on how sinful you are when you are in a Missouri Synod Lutheran church) and his Passacaglia, which I just love to play! I also played a couple selections from Frescobaldi's Fiori Musicali, namely Per la Messa <> (Cum Jubilo), Toccata avanti la Messa della Madonna, a kyrie or two, and , Toccata per l'Elevatione.


Rumor has it the organists at this church are not paid. My guess is the organists pay the church for the privilege of playing this delightful instrument.

Flowers Ancient and Modern

These Gerbera daisies bloomed all summer long in my garden and continue to bloom through the autumn.

Daisies are the friendliest flower, or so says Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail.

They're also an ancient flower, judging from the fact that Chaucer wrote of them back in the 14th century:


Of all the floures in the mede,
Than love I most these floures white and rede,
Soch that men callen daisies in our toun.

Here's a gorgeous yellow Gerbera, equally prolific this past summer:

An American Hutong

This little lovely was found in my alley, poking out from the logs along my neighbor's fence. Reminded me of Tennyson. (Fear not; I did not pluck it.)


Flower in the crannied wall,
I pluck you out of the crannies,
I hold you here, root and all, in my hand,
Little flower -but if I could understand
What you are, root and all, and all in all,
I should know what God and man is.

Mums Galore!

Thought it was time to share pictures of some of my garden's flowers. I use a Kodak EasyShare CX7430. I'm not a photographer and I don't need or want a fancy camera. The Kodak suits me just fine. I will try to add more pictures in the coming days.