News from Ireland
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I recently took part in an international competition for Irish music, and was lucky enough to get second place. I’ve always loved playing traditional Irish music on my instrument, so very pleased to get some recognition.
http://www.newhamrecorder.co.uk/news/upton-park-melodica-man-takes-silver-in-folk-festival-1-5168740
Very Cool, Daren! Which instrument(s) did you use? After all, it is the instrument that makes all the difference…;^P
Shannon
I used my ‘Black Beauty” 🙂
Its a modified P37D, with an ebony case and keys. It has a moisture release like the old Hohner Pro36. And original P37 reeds. I put a new set in just before the final competition,to make sure everything was running smoothly. So, its like a really posh P37…
Daren, the look is awesome, How do you like the ebony material you used, Ebony is super dense wood which I really like. can you post a few close ups. Did you do any finish on the ebony or did you just leave it natural.
Melodica-me
I really like working with ebony, its like dark chocolate. The timber I used has brown streaks in it, so it wasn’t expensive – most people are after the rarer jet black stuff. I actually prefer the look of this, and its still pretty dark and dense.
I left the keys rough, just partially sanded, as I like the look of saw marks. There’s no finish on them. I finished the case with a small amount of ultra matt lacquer that was meant to be completely clear, but it left a slightly blueish tinge. Its sort of worn off now, after a lot of pub sessions.
I like the distressed look a lot, and yes I don’t think it should have a fine finish. I did not do a lacquer finish on the ebony keys, I simply sanded them to 400 grit and used black shoe polish. I was reading an article on piano restoration and they discussed the use of shoe polish to keep the luster of the ebony without it looking like a high gloss modern plastic finish. When you get a chance can you shoot me an email, want to know if you still have some of the sets of reeds you were thinking of selling at one time. Are you working on any other Melodica projects 🙂 chugging away here on the current project,just wish I had more time available 🙁
Melodica-MeI don’t have any for sale any more – I’ve only got a few left now. I use them to try out various things. I’d recommend ordering a few sets from Harmonikas. Expensive, but it means you’ll have them handy for when you need them, over the next few years(/decades!) or so.
I haven’t been to the workshop in quite a while. What’s your new project?!
I’m embarrassed-just took a quick look and thought it was a Superforce. I should have known better! Did you make the keys from scratch, or overlay the P37 keys? Any photos of the process? I really like the look.
Regards,
Shannon
I glued some 3mm wood on top – quite a simple process:
For the black keys, I sanded the tops down on a mini disc sander, to provide a flat surface to glue onto:
I made the case from 4mm timber, designing it on the computer first, to get the angles right. When the sections were cut to size, I taped it together while gluing. First taping the panels in place:
Then completely covering the panels in tape to stop any glue coming out when held in shape:
After applying glue and adding the end panels, I taped the whole thing into shape, and clamped it to dry:
Very nicely done, Daren. Thanks for sharing the process. You make it look easy, although I know from experience that getting the angles can be a little tough. I like the idea of using the computer for that. Did your Byrnes saw have any problems with cutting the ebony? Which blade did you find worked best?
Regards,
Shannon
Daren, your glue up process is very clean work, I noticed you used white glue instead of brown glue or a resorcinol type glue for any water contamination. Looks like its held up pretty darn good. Did you get the a larger bed with your Byrnes saw (can’t tell by the picture) Byrnes Disc Sander is very accurate as well.
Melodica-MeShannon, do you have a Burns saw?
It had no problem cutting the ebony – I used the saw they recommend for doing angle cuts, the 4inch Thurston 100T-.04 kerf slitting blade. Though it was very fiddly trying to tilt the ’tilting table’ to a specific angle every time. I used a little digital angle gauge to get the right angle. But once you’ve found it, the tilting table keeps sinking, so you need to wedge something underneath it.
Also, with small pieces of wood, your fingers are very close to the blade indeed, and you need to keep pushing it against the fence. So not something I want to be doing all the time. Thats the limitation of having a fixed blade, you gain stability/accuracy and loose function.
Still its better than the Proxon (Micromark in the US) alternative, which had a tilting blade, but was completely inaccurate. I sent that back…
MM, I did go for the larger Table saw, and glad I did. Its a great saw, so accurate with the micrometer. If only it had a tilting blade. 🙂
No, I don’t have one, but am considering getting one. Your insights about the tilting table are very helpful. I have grown rather fond of my fingers, and would like to keep them around. Would definitely prefer either a tilting blade or a table that tilted down-either one would be far safer. But I sure like the rest of the design.
Shannon
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