Day 60: Uh Oh...

I've been gluing natural key top heads with abandon, never once using a straight edge to line them all up. It's been a great experience and I've really felt like I've made some serious progress on the project.

Big mistake.

Tonight, I get to see how badly they're misaligned. If they are, and I suspect they are, I will need to come up with a strategy for realigning them, if that's even possible. Hey, it's just wood, right? This is one of those times I question what the heck I'm thinking and quitting is certainly easier than fixing a stupid, stupid oversight. All I needed to do was sit down with Mr. Miller's eBook Most Excellent and review his directions before taking any action. In fact, I resolved to do this early on and have not done it once during the course of the project. In this case, hindsight ain't all it's cracked up to be.

In the meantime, I cut and shaped some quarter sawn red oak laminate that I rejected from the initial batch of cuts. I just wanted to see if I could get it cut and trimmed up to fit on the top of a sharp. As you can see, I did this, but no glue was involved and I will diligently review Mr. Miller's directions before proceeding with the real thing.

I also completed the miter box and it works great - the cuts are finer and smoother. At least I'm happy with that. One thing I would like to do is work on designing more jigs, as well as a sled for the table saw. I've mentioned the sled in a previous post. I think it's time. A sled will allow me to make the tiny cuts with a maximum of safety, which is nice.

I was considering indulging in a pleasant diversion - building a Baroque guitar during this project, but I may reconsider because I feel I need to focus on this instrument. I clearly need to be more thorough in my approach. Regardless, here's a photo of the plan for the guitar.

As you can see, it's an odd little creature. It will also be a LOT of work. The ebony/bone pattern work will take a lot of time. I was considering it a chance/reason to build the sled for cutting the minuscule laminates, but, again, I'm thinking now that my focus should be on the harpsichord. This latest screwup with the natural key heads is a biggie and I may have to start the keyboard over. Heck, it only took me six months to get this far, what's another six to nine months, right?

Until next time...