Lyre progress pics - today's workshop results

Here's last week's post and this is the results from this morning's workshop.

smoooooth and with new holes (bottom of the face of the lyre)

Probably can't see that much difference in this pic but it feels different (much smoother) and it does look different.  Today it was my turn to spend time on Zeke's lyre, as I was able to attend today's workshop.  Big file, then tiny files from Italy, then working through the different grades of sandpaper to get it all smooth.  The cedar being softer needed more tlc and a finer sandpaper.  It had some decent dents in it so with the sanding block and paper got those out.  The files got out the deeper tool marks, burns and grot from the sheoak, then down the grades of sandpaper.  I still need to fine-tidy the thorny devil cutout on the sound box but overall, going along fine.

Anyway, so did that filing/sanding and drilled the other holes for the strings to go through.  You can see them on the front face in the picture above, and this is what they pop out like down the bottom edge of the lyre.

I managed not to *ahem* stuff that up which was nice.
The brief was that so long as they come out within the routed recess, then they're all good.  We had a few issues with the jig and with timbers being different sizes (from different batches) but all in all I think turned out ok.

Next week the bridge and the bar thing (to stop the strings cutting into and splitting the cedar) and the pins up the top, for the other end of the strings.  This week though I need to get the fine sanding done (we are apparently meant to be sanding every day/night until it's ready, during the week), raise the grain and do the three coats of oil, 24hrs apart minimum.  Then it will be ready for the final bits next week.

Fingers crossed.  I started at the 'other end' of the lyre (the basic cutting and shaping part) with Brooke's lyre and her Dad finished that one mostly with me in there a little bit, I didn't get to do as much on Jake's (but did still get to do some) and with exams being finished I got to do today's and will likely do next weeks workshop for Zeke's.

I do miss the smell of the woodwork room and I love putting on the first coat of oil - the grain is really really beautiful and just drinks up the goodness of the oil right into the lyre itself.