The parts of your instrument are delivered cut to the dimensions, including the required angles, and ready to be assembled. Some pieces require slight adjustment before gluing.

The soundboard, lid, and bottom panels are a little oversize to allow you to fit them perfectly to the dimensions of your case. The keyboards are alredy covered and cut apart, but you must glue on the sharps, attach the felts and do the final smoothing, and balancing key by key.

French single harpsichord,
Version 1

Ruckers single harpsichord,
Version 2

In this Version the case arrives already assembled with its wrestplank, liners, and bracing in place.

Your work starts with gluing the bridges and ribs to the soundboard after fitting it to the case and thinning it. Then you must glue the soundboard and hitchpin rails into the case. When you haved glued on the wrestplank veneer and the nuts, you can mark out and drill the holes for all the pins using the full-size drawing supplied as a template. If you wish to decorate the soundboard, you do it now before the stringing. The keyboards, which require the same work as in stage 1, can be done at any time in your construction prior to the voicing and regulating stage.

The remaining woodwork consists of gluing on the bottom, fitting the lid and assembling the music desk and the stand. After the decoration of the case exterior, your instrument is complete.

Compared to Version 2, the soundboard and hitchpin rails, as well as the wrestplank veneer and nuts, are already installed. The bottom is glued in place as well. All the drilling is already done except for the nuts, which for accuracy you mark with a jig and drill after you install the strings.

The remaining woodwork consists of fitting the lid, assembling the stand, music desk, and keyboards. As with Version 2, you do the stringing, voicing, regulation, and decoration.

Ruckers single harpsichord,
Version 3

Ruckers single harpsichord,
Version 4

With this Version there is no woodwork left to be done with the exception of the keyboards, which are delivered as described for Stage 1. The bottom is already glued and trimmed, and the lid and flap are fitted and hinged in place. The music desk and stand are assembled. All the drilling has been done except for the nuts, as with the Version 3.

Your work commences directly with the painting or natural wood finish. Still to be done is the stringing, the pinning of the nuts, and the mechanical parts—the keyboards, voicing, regulation, and decoration.