Peeter Talve. Harpsichords and Clavichords.

The process of making an instrument starts with selection of timbers. People often ask what kind of wood I use and is it difficult to obtain it. I use mostly hardwoods and softwoods grown here in Estonia and elsewhere in Europe. I have the most valuable relationship with a local timber yard. They supplies me with beech, pine and walnut, limewood for the cases and keyboards, also small quantities of oak, pear and cherry for wrestplanks etc. Of these, only the ebony and rosewood comes from outside of Europe.

The wood is supplied 'air-dry', which means that its moisture contents of 8 to 10%. The really vital conditioning then has to be done by me. Boards are kept at least two years in the dry atmosphere of the workshop, laid horizontally and separated by spacers. This further reduces the moisture content, and is vital for avoiding warping and movement later on when the wood is incorporated into the instrument.

Soundboard wood is a special case: that comes from trees of the species picea abies, grown in northen Sweden. I have to import it directly from specialist supplier in that country.

Woodworking machines are used for preparation of the wood. Most of the real joinery is done by hand, including dovetails at the corners of clavichords. Mouldings, which are made with specially-made planes. People are sometimes surprised that so much is done by hand: however, hand work is more flexible (e.g. through dovetails can be made to any desired size and shape) and gives a better result. Even wrestpins are made by hand from round steel stock. Tangents are cut from brass sheet of various thicknesses.

Most gluing is done using hot animal glue. The reason I prefer this to modern synthetics is just practical. Animal glue is extremely serviceable: we know for certain that the joints it makes will last for hundreds of years. On the other hand, if necessary, it is comparatively easy to dismantle them, and cleaning up unwanted traces is simple.

In smoothing the wood I try to avoid sandpaper as much as possible. With sharp tools you can usually get a finest finish.Working with a block plane and, if necessary, a cabinet scraper is used. I prefer not to stain wood: for a final coat I prefer two coats of linseed or tung oil or painted case. Soundboards get a thin coat of colorless shellac varnish in water solution which helps keep them clean.

		Main Workshop Instruments - Ruckers - Hemsch - Vater - Bentside Spinet - Clavichord Contacts
	The process of making an instrument starts with selection of timbers. People often ask what kind of wood I use and is it difficult to obtain it. I use mostly hardwoods and softwoods grown here in Estonia and elsewhere in Europe. I have the most valuable relationship with a local timber yard. They supplies me with beech, pine and walnut, limewood for the cases and keyboards, also small quantities of oak, pear and cherry for wrestplanks etc. Of these, only the ebony and rosewood comes from outside of Europe. The wood is supplied 'air-dry', which means that its moisture contents of 8 to 10%. The really vital conditioning then has to be done by me. Boards are kept at least two years in the dry atmosphere of the workshop, laid horizontally and separated by spacers. This further reduces the moisture content, and is vital for avoiding warping and movement later on when the wood is incorporated into the instrument. Soundboard wood is a special case: that comes from trees of the species picea abies, grown in northen Sweden. I have to import it directly from specialist supplier in that country. Woodworking machines are used for preparation of the wood. Most of the real joinery is done by hand, including dovetails at the corners of clavichords. Mouldings, which are made with specially-made planes. People are sometimes surprised that so much is done by hand: however, hand work is more flexible (e.g. through dovetails can be made to any desired size and shape) and gives a better result. Even wrestpins are made by hand from round steel stock. Tangents are cut from brass sheet of various thicknesses. Most gluing is done using hot animal glue. The reason I prefer this to modern synthetics is just practical. Animal glue is extremely serviceable: we know for certain that the joints it makes will last for hundreds of years. On the other hand, if necessary, it is comparatively easy to dismantle them, and cleaning up unwanted traces is simple. In smoothing the wood I try to avoid sandpaper as much as possible. With sharp tools you can usually get a finest finish.Working with a block plane and, if necessary, a cabinet scraper is used. I prefer not to stain wood: for a final coat I prefer two coats of linseed or tung oil or painted case. Soundboards get a thin coat of colorless shellac varnish in water solution which helps keep them clean.