Hi all,
Seeing as the shortest day of the year is approaching, I thought we’d end the year with the shortest post of the Harpsichord Project (please ..... hold your applause). Eventually this pile of sticks may actually make a sound. Whenever that day comes, the player will surely appreciate a place to sit while playing. So in this post, we’ll build a harpsichord bench. Nothing earth-shattering here: four turned legs, a front rail, a back rail, two side rails, a bottom for the music storage compartment, and a seating surface. Let’s do it.
We start by face gluing some poplar stock for the legs. Four pieces of 1x4 poplar for each of the four legs.
After the glue has set we mill the leg blanks to 2 ¾" square by 16” in length. Then we make the front, back and side rails – all from 1x4 poplar milled to 2 ¾” in width. The length of each rail includes the tenons that will be cut next. Here are the legs and rails cut to their proper lengths.
Next we cut the tenons into each end of all the rails and the matching mortises in the top of each leg. Dados are cut into the inside bottoms of the rails to accept the ¼” thick music compartment bottom. Stopped dados are cut into the inside surfaces of the top (square section) of each leg for the same purpose. The bottom ( ¼” birch plywood) is cut to fit into the dados. The seating surface is ¾” MDF cut to provide a ¾” overhang on all sides. A decorative edge is routed into it. Finally, the bottom 13 ¼” of each leg is rounded on the lathe. Here are all the bench parts ready for assembly.
At this point, we completely assemble the bench (dry) to check for fit and alignment. We also bring it over to the harpsichord and sit on it to be certain that the height is suitable for playing. Keyboard players are very sensitive to the angle of their arms as they play. If the bench is too low their arms will have to angle upwards in order to play. The opposite is true if the bench is too high. Concert Grand Pianos usually come with an adjustable (in height) bench but that’s much too 21st century for a harpsichord. In this case, the height seems just about right. Here is the bench assembled dry.
Now that everything checks out we’ll spend some time at the lathe turning the rounded portion of each leg into a leg that will match (more or less) the legs on the harpsichord itself. Here’s a photo of the first turned leg.
Here is the completed bench. Hinges have been installed onto the seating surface and the rear rail in the proper position to allow for the ¾” overhang. The mortise and tenons holding the bench together have still not been glued. They will be glued after the bench has been painted. I know we all love to sand and, anticipating many coats of oil-based enamel with a good sanding between each coat, I like to mount the legs onto the lathe to make this sanding easier.
The last photo shows the bench which has now been formally introduced to its playing partner.
And that’s it for the bench as well as the year. In January, we’ll tackle the soundboard, bridges etc. Edge-gluing a 1/8” thick soundboard is always an adventure. For now, it’s time to take some time off and visit the kids and grandkids. If you don’t see Part 14 sometime in January you’ll know I’m probably snow-bound in Buffalo until April.
Again, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Till next time .....
Ernie
Part 1 - The Keyboard Part 2 -Keyboard con't. Part 3 - Keyboard con't. Part 4 - The Case (Bentside) Part 5 - Case Bottom Part 6 - Case Sides Part 7 - The Lower Braces Part 8 - Case Finished Part 9 - Building the Registers Part 10 - The Stand Part 11 - Jackrail & Moldings
Part 12 - The Music Desk Part 13 - Building the Bench
Seeing as the shortest day of the year is approaching, I thought we’d end the year with the shortest post of the Harpsichord Project (please ..... hold your applause). Eventually this pile of sticks may actually make a sound. Whenever that day comes, the player will surely appreciate a place to sit while playing. So in this post, we’ll build a harpsichord bench. Nothing earth-shattering here: four turned legs, a front rail, a back rail, two side rails, a bottom for the music storage compartment, and a seating surface. Let’s do it.
We start by face gluing some poplar stock for the legs. Four pieces of 1x4 poplar for each of the four legs.
After the glue has set we mill the leg blanks to 2 ¾" square by 16” in length. Then we make the front, back and side rails – all from 1x4 poplar milled to 2 ¾” in width. The length of each rail includes the tenons that will be cut next. Here are the legs and rails cut to their proper lengths.
Next we cut the tenons into each end of all the rails and the matching mortises in the top of each leg. Dados are cut into the inside bottoms of the rails to accept the ¼” thick music compartment bottom. Stopped dados are cut into the inside surfaces of the top (square section) of each leg for the same purpose. The bottom ( ¼” birch plywood) is cut to fit into the dados. The seating surface is ¾” MDF cut to provide a ¾” overhang on all sides. A decorative edge is routed into it. Finally, the bottom 13 ¼” of each leg is rounded on the lathe. Here are all the bench parts ready for assembly.
At this point, we completely assemble the bench (dry) to check for fit and alignment. We also bring it over to the harpsichord and sit on it to be certain that the height is suitable for playing. Keyboard players are very sensitive to the angle of their arms as they play. If the bench is too low their arms will have to angle upwards in order to play. The opposite is true if the bench is too high. Concert Grand Pianos usually come with an adjustable (in height) bench but that’s much too 21st century for a harpsichord. In this case, the height seems just about right. Here is the bench assembled dry.
Now that everything checks out we’ll spend some time at the lathe turning the rounded portion of each leg into a leg that will match (more or less) the legs on the harpsichord itself. Here’s a photo of the first turned leg.
Here is the completed bench. Hinges have been installed onto the seating surface and the rear rail in the proper position to allow for the ¾” overhang. The mortise and tenons holding the bench together have still not been glued. They will be glued after the bench has been painted. I know we all love to sand and, anticipating many coats of oil-based enamel with a good sanding between each coat, I like to mount the legs onto the lathe to make this sanding easier.
The last photo shows the bench which has now been formally introduced to its playing partner.
And that’s it for the bench as well as the year. In January, we’ll tackle the soundboard, bridges etc. Edge-gluing a 1/8” thick soundboard is always an adventure. For now, it’s time to take some time off and visit the kids and grandkids. If you don’t see Part 14 sometime in January you’ll know I’m probably snow-bound in Buffalo until April.
Again, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Till next time .....
Ernie
Part 1 - The Keyboard Part 2 -Keyboard con't. Part 3 - Keyboard con't. Part 4 - The Case (Bentside) Part 5 - Case Bottom Part 6 - Case Sides Part 7 - The Lower Braces Part 8 - Case Finished Part 9 - Building the Registers Part 10 - The Stand Part 11 - Jackrail & Moldings
Part 12 - The Music Desk Part 13 - Building the Bench
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