Chapter 12

Preparing for Assembly

     At this point, I am almost ready to assemble the soundboard and base to the soundbox, but there are a few things I want to take care of first.  The decorations on the face of the soundboard will be a lot easier to do while I can still lay it flat on the table where I do my pyrography.  The soundboard has been sanded smooth up to 180 grit, and now I can bring it into the house and start laying out the Celtic patterns I plan to burn into it.

    In an earlier chapter, I shaped the angles on the base of the harp where it will fit into the soundbox.  Now I have shaped the front of the base, and cut two holes in the base.  The large oblong hole is essentially another soundhole, but it will also make the assembly easier by providing another access into the interior of the soundbox.  I cut this hole by drilling 2 large holes with a hole saw in the drill press, and cut the sides on the jig saw.  I then put it on the router table and cut a 3/8" radius on both sides of the cutout.  I also laid out a smooth, graceful curve that extends the front of the base out beyond the bottom of the pillar.  This is to allow for the attachment of one of the feet that will be added later.  This was also trimmed on the router table to give it a smooth 3/8" radius edge. 

    Next, I cut a tenon on the base of the pillar, using the same process I used earlier on the top of the pillar.  Right now, the shoulders of this tenon are just roughed in, as are the shoulders on the top tenon.  They will be "fine tuned" for a perfect fit during final assembly.  I "dry assembled" all of the parts, and transferred the location of this tenon onto the base, and then drilled and chiseled a mortise to accept it.

    A thorough sanding of the base readies it for assembly into the bottom of the soundbox.  While I was sanding, I also sanded a smooth radius on the front edges of the soundbox sides.  This is a lot easier to do before the soundboard is in place.  In this photo, I am using my pencil to point out the edges that are now shaped smooth.  You can also see the base which is now ready to be glued in place, and the mortise and tenon  that will secure the base of the pillar.

    Now I can bring the Soundboard into the house and start the artwork on the face of it.  I have in mind Celtic knot borders in each corner, top and bottom.  I plan to lay those out, and then I'll stand back and decide if it needs an extension of this knotwork along the sides, from top to bottom..  We'll have to wait and see.

    Now that I have everything up and running again, after those "technical difficulties", I should be able to get this beauty decorated, assembled and finished in short order.  Thank you for your patience and understanding.     

Continue to Chapter 13