Latest Harpsichord Project

[John Thompson]

Beyond Outstanding... I absolutely love the jade color you used on the finish trimmed in gold. I'm embarrassed to post my work after seeing this piece.

[Jamie Buxton]

Ernie, I'm curious about the soundboard. On the video, it just appears. But I'm guessing there's a good amount of art there. On other instruments like guitars and violins, the soundboard is thin, and it is carefully shaped. On a soundboard as big as a harpsichord, the construction must be tricky. And I'm not sure how the soundboard would be fastened in to the case. I'm seeing big strong ribs across the bottom of the case, but they're cross-grain to the soundboard, so it doesn't seem you can firmly fasten to them.

[Ernie Miller]

Ernie, I'm curious about the soundboard. On the video, it just appears. But I'm guessing there's a good amount of art there. On other instruments like guitars and violins, the soundboard is thin, and it is carefully shaped. On a soundboard as big as a harpsichord, the construction must be tricky. And I'm not sure how the soundboard would be fastened in to the case. I'm seeing big strong ribs across the bottom of the case, but they're cross-grain to the soundboard, so it doesn't seem you can firmly fasten to them.

Jamie,

The soundboard is 1/8" thick (and is planed to even less than that in certain areas) and consists of edge-glued pieces of Sitka Spruce about 5" wide. On the underside of the soundboard there are two cut-off bars (one of which is the 4' hitchpin rail) and, in the instrument shown in the video, three ribs. They certainly aren't big and strong. The ribs are only 7/16" high and the two cut-off bars are 3/4". Soundboard liners are glued into the case around the perimeter of the instrument. The soundboard is glued onto these liners. The front of the soundboard is glued to another assembly called the Upper Belly Rail.

I don't know if this explanation is helpful. It's a little hard to explain without photos. Last year I wrote a series of articles for another forum documenting (in non-technical) terms the construction of this instrument. If you'd like a clearer answer to your question here's a link to the relevant article. I'm more than happy to answer any other questions you might have.

Ernie

[Jamie Buxton]

I looked at the link. That is a fair amount of magic.

But it sets me off with another question...

* You fasten your rails and ribs on with a modern glue. The original makers only had protein glues available. Those have a limited life, and aren't as strong as modern glues. So what did the old-timers do? Did they use mechanical fastening that you've been able to avoid? Or did they just plan on rebuilding the instrument every couple of decades?

[Bret Duffin]

Ernie,

I'm humbled. To say "It's a beautiful piece" is an understatement.

I might be able to build the carcase or the cabinet (not sure what you would call it) but I wouldn't know where to begin with the musical instrument parts.

It's talent like yours that challenges the rest of us.

Thanks, Bret

[Ernie Miller]

I looked at the link. That is a fair amount of magic.

But it sets me off with another question...

* You fasten your rails and ribs on with a modern glue. The original makers only had protein glues available. Those have a limited life, and aren't as strong as modern glues. So what did the old-timers do? Did they use mechanical fastening that you've been able to avoid? Or did they just plan on rebuilding the instrument every couple of decades?

They used hide glue which is more than strong enough and quite long lasting. I'd use it myself except that I work alone and I couldn't get the soundboard glued in in the brief amount of working time I would have with hide glue. There are many 300 - 400 year old harpsichords still intact that were put together with hide glue. In some cases, nails (trenails) were used in addition to glue just as screws are sometimes used as clamps in modern instruments.

Ernie

[Ernie Miller]

Ernie,

I'm humbled. To say "It's a beautiful piece" is an understatement.

I might be able to build the carcase or the cabinet (not sure what you would call it) but I wouldn't know where to begin with the musical instrument parts.

It's talent like yours that challenges the rest of us.

Thanks, Bret

Brett,

You've got to be kidding! I just saw your Bombay chest (sorry I missed it when you posted it). If I even dreamed of building this chest I should apologize. I guarantee you if our roles were reversed you'd be finished building the harpsichord case and I'd be scratching my head wondering how to even begin the Bombay chest.

Granted the instrument requires a certain technical knowledge, but that's not woodworking. Comparing apples to apples, the Bombay chest is much more difficult and requires far greater skills - skills I wish I had. My hat's off to you for this beautiful, elegant piece.

Ernie

[allen levine]

its a brilliant piece of work. Unique as any Ive ever seen.
I did get a chuckle when you said you retired so you can work 10 hour days in the shop. thats kinda funny.
thankyou for posting something so beautiful

[John Timberlake]

Wow! When I first read the post, I thought that was a great case for a harpsicord. Then I realized you made the works as well. Really great job. Would love to see one in person and hear it played.

[Van Huskey]

Very nice work! I am a harpsichord fan (look and listen, no play!),

[Jeremy Hansen]

What a beautiful project! What temperament do you tune with?

[Ernie Miller]

What a beautiful project! What temperament do you tune with?

Thank you, Jeremy. As for temperaments, I always tune in equal temperament. I have nothing whatsoever against any of the unequal temperaments but after spending over 40 years as a piano technician tuning equal temperament exclusively, my ears just cannot accept the sound of any unequal temperament. They all just sound 'out of tune' to my ear (I am an aural tuner). This is a shortcoming that is really too bad, but I can't do anything about it so I've learned to accept it.

Ernie

[Thomas love]

Nice work Earnie, how are you photographing this work, It looks surreal.
tom.

[Ernie Miller]

Nice work Earnie, how are you photographing this work, It looks surreal.
tom.

Thanks for the kind words. As for the pictures, I know very little about cameras. I just take a lot of shots and hope to get a few decent ones. The first four pix are untouched. The fifth pix is the same picture as #2. I removed the background and added a gradient fill using Photoshop Elements.

Ernie

[george wilson]

Magnificent instruments,Ernie!! Now that I know where you have been posting your work!

I think that anyone who builds harpsichords is a glutton for punishment(I know,personally!)