Zuckermann shipped the harpsichord kit yesterday and it is now on its way from Stonington, CT to Santa Cruz, CA.
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It is scheduled to arrive next week and, apparently, is making good progress - according to the tracking information it arrived in Chicago a few hours ago and is now "En route to SACRAMENTO, CA" ...
Friday, July 30, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Jack Trays
While I am waiting for the harpsichord kit to arrive I have time to complete a few small projects, the first of which is to build a set of jack trays.
I already own a French Double harpsichord - also built from a Zuckermann kit (but not by me)
and even if I wasn't about to build another harpsichord I would still need a set of jack trays since I am going to have to remove all of the jacks from that instrument sometime in the not too distant future in order to make some minor adjustments to the keyboards. I am also pretty sure that I will have all of the jacks in and out of the new harpsichord several times before I am even remotely happy with it and having a set of jack trays to keep everything organized will make life a lot easier.
Building the jack trays also gives me a chance to practice my very rudimentary woodworking skills on something really simple.
Each tray can hold a complete set of jacks ...
... or one cat ...
I already own a French Double harpsichord - also built from a Zuckermann kit (but not by me)
and even if I wasn't about to build another harpsichord I would still need a set of jack trays since I am going to have to remove all of the jacks from that instrument sometime in the not too distant future in order to make some minor adjustments to the keyboards. I am also pretty sure that I will have all of the jacks in and out of the new harpsichord several times before I am even remotely happy with it and having a set of jack trays to keep everything organized will make life a lot easier.Building the jack trays also gives me a chance to practice my very rudimentary woodworking skills on something really simple.
Each tray can hold a complete set of jacks ...
... or one cat ...
Monday, July 26, 2010
To begin at the beginning ...
... well, actually, just a little bit before the beginning ...
I am about to embark on building a harpsichord from a Zuckermann kit and, although it will be another week or two before it arrives, preparations are already underway.
The first task was to clear some space in the garage and set up a work bench. I already had a fairly solid bench, but it was only 6' x 2' and I wanted something that would be big enough to support the entire instrument so I made a new 7' x 3' top for it out of 3/4" plywood and some 2x3 studs.
The new top fits very neatly on top of the existing bench with the studs on the underside holding it in place. I had intended to use a couple of lag screws at each end to secure it but the fit is so good that doesn't seem to be necessary.
Unfortunately I may not be able to do as much work in the garage as I had initially hoped. Harpsichords are particularly sensitive to variations in humidity which cause the wood to expand and contract and you really want things to be as stable as possible during construction and, especially when fitting the soundboard. The relative humidity inside the house over the last 6 months or so has been almost entirely in the range 40% to 50% which is very reasonable for a harpsichord - the garage however can range from 35% to 60% relative humidity in under 24 hours and that is going to be a problem. Most of the variation appears to be attributable to the fairly wide temperature swings that we have seen in the last few days - ranging from 60F to 82F - things might be a little better in a few months.
I am about to embark on building a harpsichord from a Zuckermann kit and, although it will be another week or two before it arrives, preparations are already underway.
The first task was to clear some space in the garage and set up a work bench. I already had a fairly solid bench, but it was only 6' x 2' and I wanted something that would be big enough to support the entire instrument so I made a new 7' x 3' top for it out of 3/4" plywood and some 2x3 studs.
The new top fits very neatly on top of the existing bench with the studs on the underside holding it in place. I had intended to use a couple of lag screws at each end to secure it but the fit is so good that doesn't seem to be necessary.
Unfortunately I may not be able to do as much work in the garage as I had initially hoped. Harpsichords are particularly sensitive to variations in humidity which cause the wood to expand and contract and you really want things to be as stable as possible during construction and, especially when fitting the soundboard. The relative humidity inside the house over the last 6 months or so has been almost entirely in the range 40% to 50% which is very reasonable for a harpsichord - the garage however can range from 35% to 60% relative humidity in under 24 hours and that is going to be a problem. Most of the variation appears to be attributable to the fairly wide temperature swings that we have seen in the last few days - ranging from 60F to 82F - things might be a little better in a few months.
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