Harp stuff
May. 29th, 2014 20:16![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
torquillMy fingers are coated with shellac again; I'm working on the neck this time.
Also, wish me luck with my new efforts to cut the tuning pins... if this new tool doesn't reduce the deflection of the aluminum rod (read: if it doesn't make straight, consistent pins) I'll have to move on to stainless steel, which I'm told is a stone bitch to cut. Or else I'll have to go to the Burn with brass pins this year, which really don't match my harp, and take them out afterward. Fingers crossed.
Edit: The diamond-tool holder for the lathe is amazing. My dad said that people have been telling him for years that tangential cutting is the way to go, but he had balked because tools like this didn't come in carbide. Cobalt-forged will still handle most things, though, especially aluminum, and it's essentially eliminated deflection. I'm able to make four passes and get a clean taper every time, which takes it down to less than ten minutes per pin. I can live with that. A full set of 32 (29 plus 3 spares), with square-drive ends and holes, should take me about six or seven hours, which is totally reasonable.
I admit I was skeptical about this thing, but I'm feeling better about the pin set than I have since I started the harp. The bridge pins are already done (minus fine tuning their length), so once I have the tuning pins cut I'll be a big step ahead. I also feel like I could make extra sets to sell, if there's a market.
I put some shellac on the neck -- it's darker than I wanted, about the same color as the dark grain on the sides, but I suppose I can live with it. At least it matches. I think it'll still look good with black, but I'll do one more gut-check when I assemble things prior to painting the pillar and string rib.
Also, wish me luck with my new efforts to cut the tuning pins... if this new tool doesn't reduce the deflection of the aluminum rod (read: if it doesn't make straight, consistent pins) I'll have to move on to stainless steel, which I'm told is a stone bitch to cut. Or else I'll have to go to the Burn with brass pins this year, which really don't match my harp, and take them out afterward. Fingers crossed.
Edit: The diamond-tool holder for the lathe is amazing. My dad said that people have been telling him for years that tangential cutting is the way to go, but he had balked because tools like this didn't come in carbide. Cobalt-forged will still handle most things, though, especially aluminum, and it's essentially eliminated deflection. I'm able to make four passes and get a clean taper every time, which takes it down to less than ten minutes per pin. I can live with that. A full set of 32 (29 plus 3 spares), with square-drive ends and holes, should take me about six or seven hours, which is totally reasonable.
I admit I was skeptical about this thing, but I'm feeling better about the pin set than I have since I started the harp. The bridge pins are already done (minus fine tuning their length), so once I have the tuning pins cut I'll be a big step ahead. I also feel like I could make extra sets to sell, if there's a market.
I put some shellac on the neck -- it's darker than I wanted, about the same color as the dark grain on the sides, but I suppose I can live with it. At least it matches. I think it'll still look good with black, but I'll do one more gut-check when I assemble things prior to painting the pillar and string rib.
