Back to the Harpsichord

Boy, it sure would be nice to finish up one project.  After the flood this spring, I haven't done much.  Now that it's winter, I can finish up some of these projects.  I spent a little time getting things together on the harpsichord this evening to see what is left to be done.  Here's what it looks like now...

Harpsichord Repair VI

I was able to get the nail holes and cracks filled and the whole harpsichord sanded last weekend.  I decided that I will paint the outside black and put a half inch gold stripe in from the edge of every flat surface.  The inside of the lid will remain red.

Here's what it looks like so far...

The final Brass String I ordered cam in the other day too.  As soon as it's all painted up, I can finish tuning.

Harpsichord Repair V

I worked on cleaning up the keyboard today.  The keys had some sort of lacquer on them.  I used paint stripper to soften it up and then scraped with a razor blade.

After cleaning all of the "white" keys, I had to figure out how to clean the black ones.  They too had some sort of coating on them.  The issue here is that they are plastic and I cannot use the paint stripper on them.  After a small test, it looks like the buffing wheel is the best thing to polish them up.

Before

After

Here is the keyboard all cleaned and polished.  I will most likely put a nice clear coat on the "white" keys before final assembly.

Before

After

A couple more Before shots.

Harpsichord Repair IV

I was able to get all of the shell on the harpsichord tonight.  I'll need to fill in the nail holes and refinish the outside.  I've found a place that has the felts I need to redo the keyboard. I'll get those parts ordered in the next few days.

Sorry the pics aren't all that great.  I'll try to get some tomorrow when the lighting is better.

Harpsichord Repair III

Starting the process of putting the harpsichord back together.  Here is the new bracket with recessed screws so that the outer shell can be put back on.

Here is the string tuning bar back in place.  All of the brass has been polished.  It's going together nicely.

Harpsichord Repair II

Okay, Back to working on the harpsichord.  I'm trying to steam the bent pieces so I can clamp them back to the place where they should be.  Necessity is the mother of invention eh?