Trimming the Length of the Arcade Blank
Take your arcade strip and place it roughly in position on the front edge of the keyboard blank. Line up the line above the
1st arcade (which you just extended onto the top of the arcade strip) with the center line of the 1st key on the keyboard blank. Tape the strip temporarily
in that position and check the alignment of the highest key (D). It’s center should line up perfectly with the line above the last
arcade. Adjust as necessary. When you’re satisfied that the strip is in its best possible position, mark the excess on each end
of the arcade blank and cut them off.
Please Note: Measure twice, cut once is a terrific idea. The finished length of the arcade strip must be exactly the same as the width of the keyboard
(not counting the waste ends of the keyboard which will be removed later). This keyboard width should be 27 55/64" [707.63mm] If your measurement is
slightly off, make note of the actual measurement as we will need the true width when making the key frame in the next chapter.
Trimming for Thickness
We started with a ½” [12.7mm] thick arcade blank which now must be planed down to ¼” [6.3mm]. Set the planer or drum sander for a very
light cut (1/64” [.39mm]) and run the arcade strip through with the arcade side up. This will remove your pencil marks and clean up
the face of the strip. Then, take off wood from the rear surface of the arcade strip until it measures ¼” [6.3mm] thick.
Once again, a drum sander is the safer alternative.
This is the time where you find out if your holes were drilled too deep. If you drilled each hole 1/16” [1.5mm] deeper than the
previous one you should have 1/16” [1.5mm] of an inch to play with. If you cut your holes deeper than this, you run the risk of
cutting through the arcade when you approach ¼” [6.3mm] in thickness. If this happens, go have a nice lunch and get ready to begin
the entire process again. Better to be careful!