This instrument entered my workshop for the third time!  I first encountered it many years ago and made some repairs in the owner’s home.  Later, they were moving and asked me to take it on consignment.  I made some more improvements and it sold, but noted to myself that someday it deserved more.  Well, it came back after many happy years with that buyer, so it was time to improve it more before sending it on to the next buyer.

This design had some major issues. For one, each pair strings for a single pitch/note looped around the hitchpin instead of having two separate hitchpins.  In the bass, the hitchpin rail was thin and of a weak material that had begun to fail, so the hitchpins would lean forward and the strings slide off. I mapped the string routing carefully (very critical for clavichords) and changed the single hitchpin set up for the first octave to double hitchpins.  The case was also cupping significantly, an inherent problem with the case design and construction.  I added a custom iron T-bar under the bottom board, painted to match the wood of the bottom board. While it added significant weight, the instrument should stay usable well into the future.

Stephen Birkett made twined strings for the bass notes for this instrument as well, again a MASSIVE improvement for the bass note tone and volume. The new owner is very happy with it!