Prinzipal Racking

The new Prinzipal rank I bought is a bit smaller scale (diameter) than the Diapason originally planted on my main chest.  The holes in the rack board were quite a bit too large.  Plus, the original rack board had been damaged and would have needed to be replaced any way.  Since this rack is front and center, I wanted it to look especially nice.

Using the original as a guide, I marked all the holes on a piece of new 1/2" thick poplar.  I found that Forstner drill bits made good centering guides.  If I didn't have a drill bit close enough to the original hole, I did my best to eyeball it.  I also marked the holes for the rack pins this way.

After marking the holes, I used my racking jig and a calipers to measure each pipe.  I added a little bit to each diameter because it was difficult to get the rack perfectly centered over the toe holes.  I figured it would be easier to drill big holes and then make each pipe perfectly plumb by felting the holes as needed.  I wrote the hole size needed on the blue tape on the rack board so I would be sure to drill the right size hole.  I then drilled the appropriate size holes.  As planned, many holes were too large and I wanted these pipes to be perfectly plumb (being the facade, so to speak) so I added felt as needed to make them stand perfectly upright.

Finally, I added a strip of oak trim to the front edge of the rack board to dress it up and match the finish of the console and swell box.

Prinzipal Racking Album