[Shannon M]

MM,

Thanks for sharing that. Nice tensioning jig! What size core did you wind on- then same as your pin size? Did you have much issue with spring tension consistency? What drill bits did you use for the acrylic? Any issues with working the acrylic?

I must say I am quite impressed with the quality of your work. What do think was the biggest challenge with this build? And which diamanté do you prefer? Or is that like asking which is your favorite child? 8^)

Shannon

[Melodica-Me]

Thanks Shannon, the mandrel was .125 thick steel rod, the pin hole was .046875 and the wire I used was .010 stainless steel spring wire with mirror finish. no issues with consistency because I used the lathe and the winding was equally spaced and the jig kept the tension even. Working with arcylic is easy, you just need to keep the protectant cover on until the very end to avoid any scratches, also prep is very important when glueing. I did not use drill bits, I used end mills which worked great for boring holes and a carbide cove router bit for grooves. All major cutting on acrylic was done by laser. This is where design and accuracy in math is very important. If you miscalculate you can wind up with keys and pins that don’t align and possible binding can happen. Wood is much more forgiving. I was afraid I was going to ruin some of the keys during the build so I had extras made and never used them so I have spare parts. A good buffing wheel with the right polishing compound to clean up after cuts is also really important. The biggest challenge during the build is tapping deep holes with small taps in aluminum. I had to remake one of the end caps that I broke a tap while cutting some threads. I gave up trying to pull out the broken tap and just made another one. As for which Diamanté I like better, I have to say #002 is my favorite simply because I made a lot of improvements over #001 I know I will be playing it more. As mentioned on a previous post I have one (1) more Diamanté build and that will be the last one built in that style but, it will be different than the first two. No need to ask what those differences will be as the apple has not fallen from the tree and hit my head yet lol, but it will be different.
Melodica-Me

[Jim R]

Of course you’re correct, Melodica-Me, The springs made on the jig I posted are used to raise the button after it has been depressed. One end of the spring is ‘stuck’ in the wood of what I think is called the action plate, which is where all the rods that are connected to buttons are anchored. The other spring end (the end with the horseshoe bent into it) is placed under the rod, keeping the button in place.

I hope that’s clear.

[Shannon M]

MM,

Did you drill the pinhole for the wire? I have not seen a way to drill a hole so small, especially through round stock. That would certainly improve the ability to wind these springs without injury- that fine wire can slice you open before you know it!

[Melodica-Me]

Hello Shannon, yes I used an approx. 1/32 drill bit. I centered the .125 diameter rod with a concentric laser, once centered I remove the laser and replaced with the drill bit. You start very slow (no lubricant) once the drill bit sets in place start adding cutting lubricant and drill at a medium speed, plunge the bit very slow. This was done on my mini mill with Micro adjustment and was pretty easy to do. a little harder if you do not have a mill bed with an X Y adjustment but can be done. And yes wire (stainless steel) with a mirror finish and very sharp, hence the tension jig 🙂 Love my digits.
Melodica-Me

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