All Done!
April 15
I did my taxes last week so I'm not sweat THAT today, at least.
After setting overnight it's time to smooth the finish over the patches and try to blend it all in. I sanded it lightly with 400 and then 600 grit. Next step is to seal the stain with amber shellac... drat! There's none at the shop so it's drive in to town to get a half-pint. I put a couple of thin coats, maybe three all together, sanding lightly with 600 grit between each. After it hardened up for a few hours I rubbed it down through 400, 600, 1500 grit wet or dry paper followed by 2400, 3200, 3600 and 4200 grit sanding pads. It came out very smooth to the touch, but not shiny like the rest of the harp.
I like to spirit off after the last smoothing. I usually use methanol but didn't have any in the shop. I got a quart of vodka for Christmas from my nephew three or four years ago so I decided, rather than drive back into town, I would try that. It worked great - even better than menthanol. Thanks, Sashi.
Time to put it all back together. Now I can feel where the bolt goes in at the base of the pillar but I can't seem to figure out how to get the nut started. I had to take the base off to see what's going on. The base on this harp is mostly decorative and just bolts on. Some of my earlier harps were more complex in the base and go together like a puzzle. This design works fine, the only virtue of the old design is that it's dreadfully clever.
Here is the nut I'm looking for. This must be how I put it together in the first place.
There are a couple of hanger bolts in the top. This photo is looking in the bottom sound hole. It's too far to reach from this end and the last sound hole in the back is too small for me to get my hand into.
Here is a tricky maneuver - starting the nut on the hanger bolt in the top of the harp. The plunge grabber is handy when you don't have ultra-skinny arms or small children to do it for you.
Here are the tools every harp builder needs. The socket with an extension and sometimes a universal joint is crucial. The plunge grabber is for setting washers on the bolts and starting the nuts. This is trickier that it seems because the grabber has four prongs but the nuts have six sides.
This is the pin that got bent when the harp fell over. That must have been one helluva thump!
Here she is - all strung up and ready to go home. There were a few creaks and groans as I brought the strings to tension, but that's normal.
We'll take it to Mary tomorrow on our way to the concert in Houlton.
I did my taxes last week so I'm not sweat THAT today, at least.
After setting overnight it's time to smooth the finish over the patches and try to blend it all in. I sanded it lightly with 400 and then 600 grit. Next step is to seal the stain with amber shellac... drat! There's none at the shop so it's drive in to town to get a half-pint. I put a couple of thin coats, maybe three all together, sanding lightly with 600 grit between each. After it hardened up for a few hours I rubbed it down through 400, 600, 1500 grit wet or dry paper followed by 2400, 3200, 3600 and 4200 grit sanding pads. It came out very smooth to the touch, but not shiny like the rest of the harp.
I like to spirit off after the last smoothing. I usually use methanol but didn't have any in the shop. I got a quart of vodka for Christmas from my nephew three or four years ago so I decided, rather than drive back into town, I would try that. It worked great - even better than menthanol. Thanks, Sashi.
Time to put it all back together. Now I can feel where the bolt goes in at the base of the pillar but I can't seem to figure out how to get the nut started. I had to take the base off to see what's going on. The base on this harp is mostly decorative and just bolts on. Some of my earlier harps were more complex in the base and go together like a puzzle. This design works fine, the only virtue of the old design is that it's dreadfully clever.
Here is the nut I'm looking for. This must be how I put it together in the first place.
There are a couple of hanger bolts in the top. This photo is looking in the bottom sound hole. It's too far to reach from this end and the last sound hole in the back is too small for me to get my hand into.
Here is a tricky maneuver - starting the nut on the hanger bolt in the top of the harp. The plunge grabber is handy when you don't have ultra-skinny arms or small children to do it for you.
Here are the tools every harp builder needs. The socket with an extension and sometimes a universal joint is crucial. The plunge grabber is for setting washers on the bolts and starting the nuts. This is trickier that it seems because the grabber has four prongs but the nuts have six sides.
This is the pin that got bent when the harp fell over. That must have been one helluva thump!
Here she is - all strung up and ready to go home. There were a few creaks and groans as I brought the strings to tension, but that's normal.
We'll take it to Mary tomorrow on our way to the concert in Houlton.
posted by Fred Gosbee at
7:20 PM
1 Comments:
WOW, Fred, that is one beautiful harp! Congratulations on the great repairs. Are you still building harps? Do you have a website? I am always looking for good builders to refer my students to when they are ready to buy a harp.
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