Saxophones Pork Tales: Saxophone Repair DIY Adventures.

Life around the barn.

Tales from a pig that likes to stick his nose into everything.

Paint that S. How difficult could it be ?

1) Search the net.
2) Find the color.
3) Order color.
4) Study task on University of YouTube, aka; For destruction by DYI presented by pro tech.

Do the cleaning & prep.

Paint and cleanup / detail the edges with hard cotton swabs. Sounds easy……

Yeah tha guy Matt makes it look easy.
Anyone remember your first experience cooking bacon crispy while still in the frying pan !

 

[Stephen Howard]

Nothing much happened today. Picked up another 24 feet of hinge rod I needed.


I did actually make a few new hinge rods. The new poor man’s collet is working nicely. Runout is a little disappointing @ .001. Still I’m able to turn 3mm/.118 to .103/2.6mm accurately. Being able to work a spare over a foot long is nice too. Someday I’ll buy a tail stock die holder. But for now i can machine the end. Move the carriage left. Then I have clearance room for die handle.

Do yourself a favour and buy a decent collet holder. It makes such a difference in terms of accuracy, safety and speed. You don't need to go the whole hog and get a spindle chuck - a good quality morse taper chuck will be more than up to the task. But...make sure you get one that will take a drawbar (you'll have to make it)...and that has a hollow shank.
I use an ER 16 holder with a mini nut for all my rod work. Taiwanese, I think. Set me back £100 - and worth every single penny.
And don't skimp on the collets. You won't need that many - if you're going from 1 to 4mm in half mm steps that's just seven collets.

 

[mark_addy]

I also find ER-series collets handy (I splashed out on a set of ER25 a long time back to use in my Franken-miller, and later bought an MT3 chuck to use on the lathe for them - but never have yet. Yes @Stephen Howard , I really ought to make a hollow draw bar! I even bought one on a 25mm plain shank with the idea to make a toolpost grinder, which I haven't got around to yet either.

It's a shame you're not in the UK @PigSquealer - I got given a pile of half-finished college exercises, which mostly comprised small machine vices and tailstock die holders. I finished one for my mini-lathe (MT0!) - it's kind of OK, sorry for the shocking photo - I could have sent you one to play with.

 

[PigSquealer]

Do yourself a favour and buy a decent collet holder. It makes such a difference in terms of accuracy, safety and speed. You don't need to go the whole hog and get a spindle chuck - a good quality morse taper chuck will be more than up to the task. But...make sure you get one that will take a drawbar (you'll have to make it)...and that has a hollow shank.
I use an ER 16 holder with a mini nut for all my rod work. Taiwanese, I think. Set me back £100 - and worth every single penny.
And don't skimp on the collets. You won't need that many - if you're going from 1 to 4mm in half mm steps that's just seven collets.

I’ve actually been slowly filling a coffee tin for a new 10” x 30” lathe & tooling. The collet set complete with 12 collets is around $350-$400.
Current lathe was built in 1948 it’s 78 years old. -/+ .002 is OE spec. Still has some good life left in it, but I’m tired of fighting it.

 

[PigSquealer]

Anyone see the problem here ?

How about now ?

Maybe this time you’ll notice ?

Here’s a better view.

When the high F# was removed the stack was shortened. The pillar needs to be shimmed underneath to equal the height.

 

[Stephen Howard]

When the high F# was removed the stack was shortened. The pillar needs to be shimmed underneath to equal the height.

Alternatively, why not 'do a Yamaha'* and simply fit a bare barrel between the original location of the upper pillar and the body octave key?
It's a lot less work.

* On the YAS-21 there was a spacer barrel between the A and the G#.

 

[skeller047]

Current lathe was built in 1948 it’s 78 years old. -/+ .002 is OE spec. Still has some good life left in it, but I’m tired of fighting it.

I too was built in 1948 and am 78 years old. I am afraid I am much more out-of-spec than your lathe….

Do you follow Adam Booth on YouTube? (ABOM79) He has a very large Monarch lathe that I think you would enjoy seeing work. I t’s a rattly old beast (though less than 78), but he regularly gets 0.001” precision on it. (He also has a new Precision Mathews lathe he uses for the more delicate things.)

 

[PigSquealer]

Alternatively, why not 'do a Yamaha'* and simply fit a bare barrel between the original location of the upper pillar and the body octave key?
It's a lot less work.

Thanks for the suggestion.
I just made the new barrel rod and noticed the issue. Yeah, i would have done that…..the gurrr of sorting previously work not done well. At least I now have the answer as to why the rod was .108 and not the needed .118 I just made.
The pillar was soldered flush. To overcome a massive bind a
way undersized rod used.

At this point I’m favoring a distance shim under the pillar. Largely from four years in past experience with servicing the owners horns. He’s knocked the pillar silly being on the receiver a few times on other horns. In consideration this needs to be durable week in, week out at live gigs.

* On the YAS-21 there was a spacer barrel between the A and the G#.

Never noticed that before ! Thanks ! Yeah, it’s all small stuff 🤪. Minor details…..🙄

 

[PigSquealer]

I too was built in 1948 and am 78 years old. I am afraid I am much more out-of-spec than your lathe….

Well your ability to compensate +/- 5¢ is undetectable compared with +/- .005 on an old lathe. Honestly I wouldn’t trade you in on a new unit 😊. Wishing you a ton (100 years) of happiness and life.

Do you follow Adam Booth on YouTube? (ABOM79) He has a very large Monarch lathe that I think you would enjoy seeing work. I t’s a rattly old beast (though less than 78), but he regularly gets 0.001” precision on it. (He also has a new Precision Mathews lathe he uses for the more delicate things.)

Will look up Adam Booth. Thanks !
I do follow and learn from many other machinists. Old school to modern high tech. Watch repair to locomotive and industrial needs / repair.

To everyone,
I invest no less than 3 hours a week in learning metal crafts / machining. YouTube U, machining methods, metal fabrication, non related to brass / saxophone repair.
Online trade forums. Metals, Tool use, and sources.
Food for thought.