Hi guys well here's a rather unusual project. nothing new there with me. this is something I'm going to be working on through christmas and new year. The theremin is an instrument designed in the late 1920's by a chap called Leon theremin. it is a radio based synthesizer relying on the electro magnetic pulses of the body to play the two antennai as the hands control pitch and volume. Components needed for this job are listed below: Moog etherwave circuit board, antennai and components, 1 of 12 inch by 6 ft spruce, pine or suitable wood and 1 of 18 inch by 6 ft both of which at least 3/4 inch thick.(read cutting list in next section) finnishing nails, blocks (1/2 inch x 1/2 inch x 3 inch) a good load of those made of wooden squared dowel. 4 of 2 ft x 2.5 inch squared matching timber. if pine or spruce etc. either would suit. 4 small rubber feet. 2 of 12 inch x 1 inch x 3 inch 2 of 18 inch x 1 inch x 3 inch 4 of 3 inch x 1 inch x 3 inch blocks angled both sides at 45 degree. 1 sheet of partical board 1/8 inch thick or more depending on choice spanned size of 18 inch x 24 inch main board cuttings this is i n reference to the two boards needed for the carcas of the instrument. 2 of 12 inch x 24 inch boards, 1 of 12 inch x 18 inch board (underside of box, 1 of 18 inch x 4 inch (top panel board) 1 x 18 inch by8 inch front straight panel 1 x 18 inch by 19 inch at first (angle board for front.) the back is made of partical board and needs to be accessible so will be held in by small screws. tools needed for this job will be a decent quality saw (table or circular with a reliable blade) talking tape measure or an assistant, belt sander, finishing sander with 8 grades of sand paper 40 grit to 400 grit. a pilot drill, bag of small screws 3/4 inch or inch long recommended. countersink, cordless drill or power screw driver., router or precission miller for routing the vent on the partical board and routing the seems for the board to fit.) 16 mm drill bit (spade is fine for this) and a suitable finish. in my case I am ebonising it to give that sexy piano black look. now we get to work on this. first thing is to deal with the main boards for cutting. the worst are the side panels as there's some calculative measuring to be done and marking. from the list I stated 2 of 12 inch by 24 inch boards. with these cut square then go to one side of the board along the 24 inch line and mark 8 inches from the bottom. and along the top, come from the back and measure in 4 inches and lark those points. now with a rule or straight edge either mark with a pen or scribe or knife. as long as both boards match up perfectly then you can lay the first board on top of the other and feed the material into the saw to remove the timber. the rest is fairly simple. though here's a trick I came across in the initial design process. the measurements I've given are general and will need slight lessening as the point or edges will need trimming, moulding or routing for dove or quartering don't be concerned as to the front angled board's two ends to meet the front lower board and top board. . I usually cheat and set my table saw to do an angle cut at 15 degree on the top board and 45 degree on the top and bottom sides of the front angled board (the controller board). in saying this the top board must have the cut as internal and not external so that the cut is not seen.. it is a simple thing of creating a series of blocks for the internal structures. make at least 20 just in case. 1/2 inch squared dowel for this. and make them between 2 inch and 3 inch length. these are for holding the internal sides together without showing the screws or anything like that. the surfaces need to be well set. the base: take the 4 beams ( 2 x 12 inch x 3 inch x 1 inch and 18 inch x 3 inch x 1 inch and take the edges to 45 degree at both ends for all parts. for this the finishing nails are needed. so this is now the frame. now take your 4 3 inch by 3 inch by 1 inch blocks and take the edges off to 45 degree. this is the stability. the legs now need a bit of attention for stability. bearing in mind this unit is not going to be as heavy as the original unit from the early 30s it won't need as much weight. set each leg up on your workbench and have the tops facing you. and mark 1 inch from edge and measure and mark 3 inches down.. rotate the leg 90 degrees and then do the same. with either a bandsaw, jig saw or careful work with a table saw, take the 2 areas marked up so all you have is a 1 and a half inch squared block in the corner to take the weight. repeat this with all 4 legs. do remember that you set each leg so that you have the blocks front left and right and back left and right. therefore the working position differs. now when these legs are cut, place the legs into the corners of the frame and screw them in. this is now the footing and legs complete. build the unit with all the timbers cut and using the blocks as internal fittings. leaving the back open as there is a last piece of the project to do. with the back exposed, with a router use a small square guiding bit and set it to 1/4 inch depth, use a guide rail with this machine as the cutting may be a bit difficult. if you feel you can't tackle that then its ok. just secure the back particle board on. this is the case built. you will now need to place in a small shelf in the theremin case at least 4 inches from the top by 5 inches width. this shelf is for the circuit board. which of course will need a degree of technical knowhow to solder the kit. now you get the electronics kit from moog music inc. they supply their standard instrument, the kit for enthusiasts or techies or weird people like me lol. with the shelf set in and secured with two blocks. please repeat the process of either nailing or screwing in the blocks to the boards internally and on this shelf secure it so it doesnt move and cause damage. please be aware that you will need access to the top of the theremin case so don't screw in the top. this is the top board which will need to be accessed so screw and countersink from the top. on the right hand side of the unit you will need to drill a 16 mm hole for the antenna block to lock in. do this about 3 inches from the top going down and about 4 inches from the back. left hand side requires two holes of the same diameter. the antenna is bent round to form the circuit. so use the ends for a reasonable position for drilling to allign the blocks and antenna. when these are installedm you can solder in the blocks for the antennai to the board with the supplied core wire. . the front angled board which is the controller surface will need a panel cutting out of it. so take measurement of the plate housing the dials. and make sure you have some clearance and cable length for this. bring the controller inline with where you want to cut. then clear it safely away to use either a router or jigsaw being careful not to swerve or bugger it up.. sand the edges and then bring in the bracket with the controllers. screw it in or use some kind of high strength bonding adhesive. this is done. with the back particle board, go to the center of the board and . from there use the centre to cut vertical lines. 7 in fact going down illustrating a circular effect for ventilation. so left and right sides are small getting bigger then to the central line. at the bottom either centre or right or left, use the router to cut a small channel out so a cable can exit.. now that the theremin is installed, power it up as soon as all the connections are soldered and tested. see with a pair of headphones or something if the instrument works. preferabley a guitar amp or something powered like a hifi. make sure the volume is down and slowly raise it. if this works great, close it up and away you go. a nice 19 40's theremin. oops I buggered up. I forgot to mention that before installing the theremin and constructing. please sand down all boards to a fine finish even after cutting edges to specified degrees. as this will be critical for finishing. and saves the damage. now you can finish the wood with piano black wax, clear bees wax, pine oil or something nice and sweet. then polish it well. there you go. I will be french polishing this new unit to piano black. if not then wallnut. enjoy yours with a laugh lew
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