[CAUT] harpsichord question

[Fred Sturm]

On 7/25/06 6:00 PM, "rwest1 at unl.edu" <rwest1 at unl.edu> wrote:

> I have a harpsichord with wooden jacks and a missing tongue bristle/
> spring.   The spring consists of a short piece of wire that comes up
> from the body of the jack and rests in a groove of the tongue.  I've
> made this repair before, but it was a long time ago and I don't have
> a harpsichord manual to give me direction.  How is the wire inserted
> in the hole(s) so that it will lock into place?  I know there's a
> trick to bending the wire and inserting it, but I can't for the life
> of me figure it out.  Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.
> 
> Richard West
> 
Hi Richard,
    It's actually wire rather than boar bristle? I'll give you a description
of how to replace a boar bristle spring, and maybe it will work. There are
two holes drilled in the jack body, at different angles intersecting. One
hole goes from under the tongue to "out the back" of the jack. The other
goes from that "out the back" exit hole, angled down into the jack body. So
you insert the bristle into the hole under the tongue, and then push the end
into the second hole as it starts to emerge. If this doesn't make enough
sense, let me know and I'll try to give more detail.
Fred