Over the weekend I applied a few more coats of varnish. Then it was on to installing the wheel. The wheel is a three-layered wood job. Once put in, I had to "true" it, which means making sure it is even and not lopsided. This involved strapping the axle to an electric drill, and spinning the wheel while working over it with a chisel. I think I got it relatively straight. Then I had to install the handle, which lead to a problem.
When truing the wheel, the epoxy holding one of the bushings in the tailpiece failed, pushing the bushing inside the body of the instrument. After some pondering, swearing, and a few different shots, I got it out using a drywall anchor and a big screw. I re-cemented it, and that pretty much got it in there. Installing the handle was tricky, and at one point I had to take out the wheel again. But it's in there.
This morning I put the strings on and rosined the wheel. After about 2-3 hours of fiddling, I managed to get something that kind of sounded like music! The sound, at least initially, is a little whispy. I think I'll get used to how much rosin to apply and how much cotton to use (you wrap the strings in cotton where they contact the wheel) to get it to really sing.
This was an interesting project, and I'll publish some reflections on the process, the pros and cons of the kit, and what I got out of it. But for now, here's me playing "Amazing Grace" on the thing, to the best of my ability. I mean, it was only just finished this morning!
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