Project Update: Balance Rail Pin Holes and a Drill Press

After a couple of communications with Ernie Miller, author of the eBook most excellent, I've come to the conclusion I need to redrill all of the balance rail pin holes for each of the keys. This is based on comments from Mr. Miller - he stated that each key should tip freely forward on its own. Only a few of them do this. He says that in the event they don't, it probably means the balance rail pin holes are too small.

My solution is to carefully redrill all of these holes using my trusty drill press. This will ensure a perfect 90-degree angle for each cut. I'm hoping to get these done tonight, this weekend at the very latest.

Until then...

Project Update: Heat Guns and Steamboxes

I emailed Mr. Miller, author of the eBook most excellent, to inquire about how to fix the key problem. He kindly responded that, yes, I could certainly use the heat gun method to soften up the keys and bend them into the proper positions. He was, as always, very helpful.

Upon further reflection today, I think I'm going to construct a steambox that I will use to steam and clamp each key to straighten them out. I have a plan in my head that involves an old commercial coffee maker, some PVC pipe, a sawhorse-like stand, and several 2x4s. As I work on this mini-project, I'll post my progress up here.

In the end, I believe I'll be able to steam the keys into submission. If not, as Mr. Miller reiterated, I will have to restart the keyboard from scratch. If this is the case, I will simply harvest as much reusable material from the current keys and keyframe and go, as they say, back to the drawing board, only this time armed with three months of experience. Either way, it promises to be another interesting experience, indeed.

Until next time...

UPDATE (9/4/2014): I sat with the keyboard last night for a while and realized it's not the tragedy I thought. Just a few keys need some work - the rest can be balanced (a step I will detail later) so that they all line up properly. This concern is an example of my inexperience with the building process. I'm learning...

Day 37: Slotting Completed and Restoration Project Parts Acquired

Well, I completed the slotting of the guide rail ends of all of the keys. I wish I could say I was pleased with the end result. The keys appear to be a jumbled mess. Several are warped and several more are twisted - for lack of a better term. I'm going to try to repair all of them using the technique suggested by Mr. Miller in his excellent E-book - using a heat gun and some elbow grease. You can see what I mean about the keys in the photo below.

I'll get this figured out, I'm just a little down in the mouth about it at this time. Hey, the worst that can happen is that I start the keyboard over. There certainly are worse things.

On a lighter note, I acquired a car battery charger over the weekend so I can officially start the Stanley Bailey Hand Plane #5 Restoration Project. I've read a few articles on restoring these things and several suggest using electrolysis to create a chemical reaction that uses the hydrogen and oxygen contained in water molecules to knock the oxydation right off the metal. I'm willing to give it a shot, and the 20% off coupon for the charger that was already 50% off at Harbor Freight (I know, I shouldn't buy anything there. I'm safe in this case - tools are another matter entirely) didn't hurt, either.

So, next steps include fixing the keys and shocking the heck out of the hand plane parts.

Until then...

Day 36: Still More Slotting and a Restoration Project

I continue to make progress slotting the guide rail ends of the keys. It gets easier (i.e., less terrifying) with each pass. Progress is slow at this time because I want to make sure this step is executed with utmost care. When you think about it, the keys are really the primary player interface - they had better be just right or else!

One thing I've noticed is that some of the keys are bent downward or twisted a bit, and some of them just don't fit as perfectly as I would like. One thing every woodworker must contend with is wood movement. In this case, it's quite the pain, though I did expect it. I will need to work with a heat gun to soften the keys and bend them once I get all of the slotting completed. More on this later.

On a side note, a few weeks ago, I posted a photo of a Stanley Bailey #5 hand plane I picked up at an antique shop in Astoria, Oregon. It was missing three crucial parts - the blade, chip breaker, and cap. Well, I ordered them for a total of $15 from a dude on eBay and they just arrived this last week. This, combined with the original $15 I paid for the base and a little elbow grease will yield a nice tool once I get it restored. I'm going to break this out as a side project of its own, yet still report on it here. You can see its current state in the photo below.

The patent date on this little beauty is 1910. It should clean up nicely - I can't wait to get to it.

Until then...

Day 35: More Slotting

Well, my Australian dude on Facebook responded and suggested that I simply steam the key ends over a pot of boiling water and use a little pressure to pinch the slotted ends together if I have made them too wide. Another easy approach to a gut-wrenching perceived problem - he's the one who suggested I use a stop on the band saw deck to prevent me from cutting too far into the key bodies (photo below).

This required me to use one of the previously slotted keys to set the stop. Whenever he makes suggestions like this, it leaves me wondering about myself. Perhaps I make things too difficult at times (my wife would wisely refuse to answer this question)?

Before slotting each key with the band saw, I draw two guide lines and carefully cut inside each as in the photo below.

This requires me to file less than a millimeter at a time to ensure I don't make the slots too wide. You can see the file I'm using in the photo above - it's between the pencil and key; it's one of the many I purchased from the high school friend I mentioned in a previous post.

As you can see in the photo below, the keyboard is coming along.

Once I've completed the slotting of the keys, I will notch the ends of each so they are easier to slide back in should I need to take them out for maintenance at a future date - more on this later.

Until then...

Project Update: Not So Bad After All

I had to take some time off of the project while traveling out of town over most of the last week and weekend. Upon returning yesterday, I fiddled around with the loose key in question and decided that, well, it's just not that loose. The guy who I questioned on Facebook about it never responded, so I'm going to charge ahead with the determination to be more careful when filing the slots. The one thing I've learned about woodworking over the past few years is there is nothing that can't be fixed. Fortunately, in this case no fix is necessary.

Over the next few days I'll be completing the slotting and filing of the guide rail ends of all of the keys. This should take me the better part of the week because, like smoking delicious meat on my beloved Old Ironsides II smoker, I'm going to take it low and slow. I've never heard of a woodworking situation in which care and caution resulted in disaster, so onward!

Until next time...

Day 34: Slotting the Guide Rail Ends

I began the process of slotting the guide rails ends of the keys last night. It is, in a word, terrifying. The process is to draw two lines on each side of the original hole I drilled to place the guide rail pins when the keyboard was still a solid piece of wood. Then, I use the band saw to cut a slot using the lines as guides.

The cut results in a slot that is too tight for the pin. This means I must sand down the slot using a wee, little file. It's totally, completely nerve-wracking. In fact, I think I overdid one so that it's a little looser than I wanted it to be. Ignoring this soul-crushing event, I charged ahead and ended up with five of the 21 completed. The photo below illustrates Key #1 after notching and sanding.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do about the one that's a little loose. As you may or may not know, I also maintain a Facebook page about this project. A Facebook user who, I believe, lives in Australia gives me wonderful suggestions from time-to-time. For instance, after seeing the first photo above, he suggested I clamp a stop behind the blade so that my notches are consistent and I do not saw into the main body of the key. This is an outstanding suggestion because it's really quite difficult to see the blade's progress as I cut.

I tell you about him because I intend to ask him what to do about the loose notch. Perhaps it's not as loose as I think it is, yet it gives me significant pause for reflection. This is one of those tasks where screwing it up results in a bad, bad situation. I hope I do not have a one of those on my hands now. More to come on this after I ask him about it.

Until then...