Chapter 21: It Is Done!

Yes! You read that right! It is finished!

At the end of my last post all that was required to do was make 37 Tangents.

Reality has proven that to be not quite the truth, but more on that later.

The wood for Tangents was supplied as four long strips of wood, one each for the G and C Tangents and two for the A Tangents. As it turned out I would only have needed the one length for the As if I hadn't broken one and my belt-sander launched a second into the murky depths of my garage never to be seen again.

The strips were first cut down to Tangent sized blocks.
G = 6.5mm x 9mm x 45mm
C = 5.5mm x 8.5mm x 33mm
A = 4.5mm x 7mm x 21mm

Here is a picture of the stages I went through making a G Tangent.
1. The blank block cut from the strip.
2. Cut the notch out at the bottom end.
3. Carve the bottom end to start making the pivot that goes in the hole in the Key.
4. Sand and press the pivot in to shape.
5. A trip to the belt-sander rounds off the back corners and tapers the front to the String contact face.

I made this tool to help with the process. It is 2mm stainless steel with three holes drilled, one for each Tangent size. When I was getting close to getting the pivot down to the right size I forced it through the hole in the metal to compress the wood to the right size. The idea is that the wood will naturally try to return to it's original shape and get a good grip on the Key.

The next task is to 'simply' push the Tangents into holes drilled in the Keys. With the idea being that they are a tight fit it's not quite as easy as it sounds. Some force is required to do this and I found that the Keyguides were flexing under the strain at the higher A Keys, so I removed those Keys and leant on the table instead. I'm sure there is potential to break something if you don't. The Keyguides are more sturdy when you get down to the area with A, C and G Keys so it was fine to leave them in. You will see that the Tangents from the G and C Keys pass through the holes in the Keys from the rows above. I have found that some of the Tangents needed a bit of extra material removed to prevent them clashing with the other Keys. It's all a bit of trial and error as you fit and tune them. For that reason I fitted one Tangent and tuned it, and tested it before moving on to the next one. This game is further complicated for the G and C Tangents as they have a Sympathetic String running behind them so that needs to be checked for each Tangent as well to make sure it is free to move when the Tangent is at rest.

Tuning a Tangent is easy. Check the String is correctly tuned first, then try the Key that needs tuning. If the Key is flat turn the Tangent towards the Bridge, if it's sharp turn it towards the Saddle.

And this is were the initial excitement of finishing my Nyckelharpa vanished.

I found that my A Tangents were near spot on, but my Cs and Gs were not. The C Tangents were all turned near as far as they would go towards the bridge and just about in tune, but the G Tangents were similarly as far as they would go but still not in tune.

After a search of the internet, an email from Sören Åhker and a photo from Vicki Swan a solution was found.  I'm told that sometimes a modification is required on the Saddle to adjust the String free length.

Here is the original unmolested Saddle.

Just under the G and C Strings I have carved out a small hole thinning down the width of the Saddle and extending the gap between the first Tangent and the Saddle. It is a bit more trial and error, take a bit off and try it, take a bit more off and try again.

And then I stained and varnished the cuts to blend in with the rest of the Saddle.

After the modification I have now been able to get my Nyckelharpa tuned much better, but I think it still needs a little more fine tuning and a bit more bow practice to get it spot on. At least it's time to put the wood-working tools down now!

So it all started in September 2016 looking like this. It feels so long ago and was only planned to take about six or eight months, but that was more the fault of other projects than this one except for the minor disaster with the original Top. Sören Åhker's kit provided everything needed apart from a bow, glue, stain, and varnish, but you do need his book and plans to go with the kit. The only specialist tools required are the cello peg reamer used to open the tapered holes in the Neck, and the cello peg shaver I didn't buy because I found it was cheaper to buy ready made pegs than the tool to make my own. A bandsaw, scrollsaw and belt-sander have proved very handy at speeding up the process in some places, along with the Japanese razor saw. The only other tools used were regular sharp knives and chisels. This has definately not been a project for the faint-hearted, or a first time working in wood. The originally imagined cost benifits of building my own Nyckelharpa instead of buying one are not that great because of the tools I have purchased, but I have learned a lot during this project. I'm not going to be rushing out to build another one anytime soon, but I am very happy with what I have achieved.

And here it is! The finished product! Now I've just got to learn how to play it.