Day 167: Bridge Update

After reviewing the bends in the bridges via Facebook photo, Owen Daly declared them inadequate. Dammit. Now, you know that I always take Owen's comments seriously - all of them. So, this time, I compared the bridges to the plan and, while Owen is right - the lower end of the 8' needs a little more roundness - I believe I can achieve that with a little extra bending to bring it into shape. The 4' will work just fine.

And I still get to cut them on the band saw with its table tilted at 30 degrees. The fun just never stops.

On a tangentially related note, neither travel to the Oregon Coast nor food poisoning will stop the acquisitions at Tortuga Early Instruments. I mentioned the new CNC machine in a previous post and, well, here it is assembled and ready to go:

Cool Craigslist Guy sold it to me as an XL (19" x 33" cutting area), so I expanded it to XXL with an extension kit from the manufacturer, Carbide3D. This required basically gutting the thing and reinstalling the y-axis rails, as well as all of the wiring. Fortunately, everything was clearly marked and their online installation instructions are top-notch. I was able to test their Hello World design with a felt pen taped to the router and it worked just great.

I then realized I needed a dedicated computer of some kind to run the machine. The technical requirements to run Carbide Motion are not too bad, so I settled on an Insignia tablet I found on eBay for $200. Right before clicking the Commit to Buy button, I decided to give Craigslist a shot and, wouldn't you know it, another Cool Craigslist Guy was offering an 11" Windows 10 tablet with a keyboard, an extra 128gb SD card, and a Swiss Army case for $40. So, there you go.

The thing is tiny, but looks much bigger in the photo. Regardless, it runs the software just fine. What will I do with the CNC contraption? Well, I've already been approached by an experienced harpsichord builder to explore cutting intrument registers (jack guides) on the thing. The tolerances at which the machine cuts are just right for this sort of operation and I may or may not have other mini-projects in mind, as well. I'll keep you posted as this new tool continues to transform the way I cut wood.

Until next time...

Day 166: Recutting and Rebending the Bridges

As you know from a previous post, I decided to recut and rebend the bridges. The first attempt resulted in bridges that were less than cosmetically beautiful because I used non-stainless nails to hold them in place for the bend and they stained the wood. And, well, nail holes. So, after talking things over with both Ernie Miller and Owen Daly, I decided to create bridges using both of their methods. As in making two new sets of bridges. Then, I came to my senses and developed a hybrid approach.

I picked up some double-sided carpet tape at our local blue box store and grabbed the form I had used for the initial bending episode. I started with the 8' bridge assuming it would be easier to work with than the 4'. For once, I was right. I taped it to the plywood on a taper running from 3/4" to 1/2" and ran it through the table saw.

As you can see in the top photo, the beech board had plastic wrap around it. This was due to the fact that my friend, John Finn, donated the wood to the cause and it was raining buckets the day I picked the piece up at his house. He was kind enough to wrap it and there you go.

The tape held like, as Owen would say, grim death and I was able to cut the width and height to the dimensions I described above for both the 8' and 4', resulting in a couple of blanks that are just a fraction rich so I'll have a little room when it comes time to trim them down with the spokeshave.

The previous bending session went well by simply soaking the bridges in a water trough I made from some 4" PVC pipe capped with Talenti gelato lids and Gorilla Glue. I've been given the recommendation to also use a steamer, but I found all they really need is to soak overnight. They are super-thin pieces of wood and this is what Mr. Miller recommends in his eBook Most Excellent.

Yeah, that's a rock from the front yard and yeah, I cleaned it in this kitchen sink first with soap and water. When I checked the bridges the following morning, I noticed that the 4' had jumped ahead and started bending itself without me. I was not alarmed because it almost perfectly followed the angle I would be putting upon it with the form.

This may become problematic if it decides to twist, but I've been keeping my eye on it as it stands in the form and it looks pretty good.

Speaking of forms, rather than mess around with a custom jig, I went ahead and used the bentside form as Owen suggested in another one of our conversations that ended up with me saying, "I don't know." The question: "Why don't you just use your bentside form to bend the bridges?"

So, now they stand in the shop drying for a week.

And I remind you that this is a hybrid approach based upon suggestions from Ernie and Owen. I'll be cutting the bevels into the bridges on the band saw as soon as they're dry, which will get a blog post all its own.

Until next time...

Day 165: Beveling and Some New Gadgets

As you may or may not know, I've recently been sick yet again. Not only did I pick up "stacked infections" - sinus and urinary tract - I got food poisoning from eating oysters at the Oregon Coast. If misery loves company, I'm overwhelmed with the turnout. Now, having whined about that, I can say with 100% confidence that all illnesses have left the building - and my body. I'm good to go, so here we go.

After conferring with both Ernie Miller and Owen Daly about completely different ways to approach cutting and bending the 8' and 4' bridges, I've decided to pursue both methods and then compare and contrast the differences between the two. In the end, I really just want to get them done - as soon as I can figure out how to cut a 30-degree bevel on the table saw.

I'm mostly kidding. A good buddy, John Finn, is visiting later today to chew the fat over the best way to accomplish the bevel. Honestly, I believe it involves tilting the the saw blade at the complementary angle to 30 degrees (that's right - 60 degrees) and ripping the beech board with the fence set very close to the blade. More on this later.

Over the last few weeks, I've engaged in my regular Tortuga Early Instruments Worldwide Headquarters Winter Cleanup, including selling the Laguna 14" SUV resaw band saw and dumping that money into a nice, little CNC machine - the Shapeoko 3 XL. I purchased it from Cool Craigslist Guy in Waldport, Oregon (hence the bad seafood story) and saved a cool $1000 off the regular price from Carbide3D.

I've since ordered the XL--> XXL upgrade kit to double the y-axis depth of the machine. Will I be using it for harpsichord work? Probably not, but it definitely changes the character of some of the other (ahem...guitar) work I do.

Along with this, I finally broke down and replaed the $7 spokeshave with this:

The Veritas Flat Spokeshave, O1. As I've said in the past, the poverty mentality that accompanies being the Cheapest Guy Alive no longer applies to the shop. From now on, it's heirloom quality tools for me. Another example of this sort of mentality is the former CNC machine that took up space for over two years under the assembly table:

Heirloom. Quality. Tools. Moving. Forward.

Speaking of heirloom quality tools, I also brought a Grizzly air filter into the shop. It's not really heirloom quality, but it does filter dust at the 5 and 1 micron levels. I'm really, really, really hoping this, combined with greater attention to dust collection at tool origins, will help me cut down on the bronchial/sinus infections I've been enduring the last couple of years. Maybe it will, maybe it won't, but I'll take that bet.

The little unit offers three speeds with three timer levels: 1, 2 and 4 hours, so I never have to remember to shut it off. I did the "flame test" by holding a lighter in various areas around the shop and I must say I'm impressed with its coverage. Grizzly claims it will recycle the entire shop air seven times per hour and I'm inclined to believe them.

Now, back to cutting that bevel.

Until next time...