Bearing in mind that each tangent strikes two strings, one must devise a means by which to damp one of the strings when performing tuning tasks. While I may eventually create something a bit more permanent and sturdy down the road, for now I used corrugated cardboard. After cutting a 1/2" wide by 2" long strip, I glued a 2-inch strip of listing cloth on one end (a glue stick on the cardboard did the trick), folding it over so there was one inch on each side of the cardboard. I made two while I was at it.
Sticking a wedge between the upper sting of the pair I was tuning and the lower string of the next ascending pair allowed me to chip a single string to pitch. After trying a recorder, then a guitar, I decided that my piano would be quickest and easiest. So I moved the clavichord into my music room and carried on. It really doesn't matter where you start on the keyboard, so I elected to start with the A below middle C. I guess it was just force of habit because that middle octave is where I would set my temperament on my harpsichords.
After getting that A tuned, I then moved the wedge up and out of the way and tuned the second second string of the A pair. One must listen for beats, and when those beats disappear and the second tone sort of melts into the other string's sound, the two strings are then perfectly tuned to each other. I refer to the vibrations going "dead" at that point. I'm not sure if that's a technical or even an appropriate term, but it's how I hear it and think of it.
During this entire chipping process, I snapped one string and had to redo it. Most likely, the string had a kink in it somewhere or I had somehow crossed the string over itself on the tuning pin. Regardless, it was a quick fix, and to be honest, I'm surprised I only broke one!
So now, I'm letting the instrument settle in at rough pitch while I read up on temperament options for the final tuning.
