Hi all. I'm designing an instrument modeled after a clavichord or early square piano. I'm currently trying to decide on the spacing between tuning pins and am wondering if any of you could provide some insight on minimum / ideal spacing. That is, I don't want to place pins too close to each other so that the strength of the wood is compromised, but I want to keep the distance as small as possible because this dimension directly correlates with the overall width of the instrument.
I plan on using modern zither pins which require 3/16" holes, and the spacing I'm considering is 1/2" from center-to-center of adjacent holes. Should this suffice to not compromise the wood? Can I go smaller, maybe 7/16"? There is about 23 lbs of tension on each string.
Thanks!
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