A thing-a-ma-bob

[ckr]

First time I did this I told myself "check it more often idiot." Well, some idiots just don't learn
and after forty some stems it happened again. Not a bad average but I wondered why
man only has two hands.


So I came up with this. Oak, next to rubber it is man's best friend.


Seems plausible enough. Of course the dorked up stem needs to be offset
drilled but this should still be of assistance when shaping a centered airway.

Hard lessons, but it makes the hobby interesting.

[Ryan]

If I could make a sudgestion. Drill from the button end of the stem about 1 " deep with a 1/16" bit, then from the other end drill using your taper bit until they meet. Then use a modified hack saw blade to cut your "V". Doing this will allow you to get a thinner stem.

Just an idea.

Ryan

[RadDavis]

If I could make a sudgestion. Drill from the button end of the stem about 1 " deep with a 1/16" bit, then from the other end drill using your taper bit until they meet. Then use a modified hack saw blade to cut your "V". Doing this will allow you to get a thinner stem.

Just an idea.

Ryan

It's a bit easier if you drill from the tenon end with a tapered bit to within 3/8-3/4 inch of the button end. Then just switch to the 1/16 bit and continue on untill you've drilled through it.

I've found that when turning the rod around things never match up exactly and leave a little lip where the holes meet. Just something else you don't need to worry about, if you drill continuously from one end.

Rad

[Ryan]

Since I started turning the rough off my rod stock I haven't missed a drill. I would prefer to do it in one pass. Plus I cant find a 6" 1/16" bit anywhere.

Ryan

[RadDavis]

Since I started turning the rough off my rod stock I haven't missed a drill. I would prefer to do it in one pass. Plus I cant find a 6" 1/16" bit anywhere.

Ryan

I get mine at Ace hardware.

Rad

[Frank]

Since I started turning the rough off my rod stock I haven't missed a drill. I would prefer to do it in one pass. Plus I cant find a 6" 1/16" bit anywhere.

Ryan

This is the less expensive import. They have better quality USA made too: Aircraft Drill

I lost the skinny little bugger before I even used it once.

[Ryan]

Thx Rad, I've got an Ace right around the corner I'll check if they have a few.

Either way CKR, IMO you want to drill the first 3/4"-1" of the stem with 1/16.

Ryan

[ToddJohnson]

Guys,

Having tried all these methods, I've found this to be the most consistent and efficient way to drill the draft hole through the stem. All the standard rhetorical disclaimers--YMMV, IMHO, etc--apply:

1. Grind a taper on the last 1/4" of an 1/8" drill bit so that it comes to a sharp point. The bit should be approximately 6" long to accommodate longer stems.

2. Use this 1/8" drill bit to drill a pilot (from the tenon side) to within 3/4"-1" of the end of the stem.

3. Buy a piece of piano thread/wire roughly 3/64" in diameter and about 6" long. (You'll have to get it from a piano tuner or piano gallery. They'll likely just give it to you.) To test its relative diameter, it should have some room to move around in a 1/16" hole. Grind the end of the piano wire so that it is smooth and round. Then, using a grinding wheel, belt sander, or sanding disk (approximately 80 grit), bisect the piano wire so that it simulates a very small spoon bit. Insert the butt-end of the piano wire into some sort of a handle--bamboo, hardwood, whatever.

4. After drilling the 1/8" pilot in the stem, use the piano thread to plunge through the last 1' of the stem. You'll have to clear the hole once or twice during the drilling. It will self track and exit at the center of the material each time.

5. Finally, finish off the drilling with a 5/32" tapered bit to within 1/2" of the button-end of the stem.

6. Cut and shape your slot however you normally would.

Todd

[ckr]

Thanks for the tips but I probably wasn't too clear.

I use wire gauge drills for the bit end. A #55 is about 3/64 or less and the taper bit ends a hair over a half inch from the bit end. It's not a thinness problem. The problem was the stem was on a triangular shank and the airway should have been higher in the triangle to have the bottom shaped right. I got too aggressive taking off the meat and screwed up the stem and came then up with this idea.

Frequently when sanding the real meat off the rod with a belt sander I stop and hold the drill outside where the airway is to gauge how much is left that I will have to hand sand/file. This thing-a-ma-bob just allows the tenon of the stem and drill bit to be inserted into the holes of the oak block. The drill is centered and positioned over the end of the tapered drilling and held there while sanding. Now I don't have to stop sanding to double check where it is at. Not earth shaking by any means, but it does save me time and make my life easier. So I just thought I would pass it along in case someone else thought it would be useful.

It doesn't fix that fact that I needed to use bigger rod or drill the airway offset and raise it higher in the stem. Nope, poor judgment in that department was the real dork up.

Frank, thanks for the link. I see #55, #56 in the 6 inch length. I don't think I have a problem matching but it sure seems simpler to not have to turn the material.

[sethile]

CKR, that's an interesting jig, and I got it the first time, but.....

Guys, ..... 3. Buy a piece of piano thread/wire roughly 3/64" in diameter and about 6" long. (You'll have to get it from a piano tuner or piano gallery. They'll likely just give it to you.)

Now I know why Pohlmann wanted piano "thread". It took a while to figure out what he wanted was piano wire. Then I thought he wanted to take out a windshield, make a cheese slicer, or murder someone (I know I've had requests for the first two, and only suspected the third, and they didn't get any . But then Brad said 6" lengths, and I thought what in the World for?

Thanks Todd, I will certainly give this technique a try!

For the record it's called piano wire, or music wire, and it comes in wire sizes. When you talk to your local piano folks they will want wire sizes. The closest to 3/64" (0.046875) would be wire size #21, which is .047". #20 1/2 is .046". A half wire size change is one thousandth of an inch as follows:

#19 = .043
#19-1/2 = .044
#20 = .045
#20-1/2 = .046
#21 = .047
#21-1/2 = .048

A local source would be easier, but I might be talked out of some if it proves difficult to obtain locally. Pianos are my day job

[ToddJohnson]

CKR, that's an interesting jig, and I got it the first time, but.....

Guys, ..... 3. Buy a piece of piano thread/wire roughly 3/64" in diameter and about 6" long. (You'll have to get it from a piano tuner or piano gallery. They'll likely just give it to you.)

Now I know why Pohlmann wanted piano "thread". It took a while to figure out what he wanted was piano wire. Then I thought he wanted to take out a windshield, make a cheese slicer, or murder someone (I know I've had requests for the first two, and only suspected the third, and they didn't get any . But then Brad said 6" lengths, and I thought what in the World for?

Thanks Todd, I will certainly give this technique a try!

For the record it's called piano wire, or music wire, and it comes in wire sizes. When you talk to your local piano folks they will want wire sizes. The closest to 3/64" (0.046875) would be wire size #21, which is .047". #20 1/2 is .046". A half wire size change is one thousandth of an inch as follows:

#19 = .043
#19-1/2 = .044
#20 = .045
#20-1/2 = .046
#21 = .047
#21-1/2 = .048

A local source would be easier, but I might be talked out of some if it proves difficult to obtain locally. Pianos are my day job

Scott,

I had forgotten that you are a professional musician. Pretty cool what happens when you have a critical mass.

Now on the "wire" versus "thread" question, I will relate a story to you. When I was taught this method in Denmark, everybody was using tools that are 60 years old. Tom (Eltang) told me this was piano wire and gave me a metric measurement.

When I returned to Birmingham I went to the Steinway gallery just a couple blocks from my shop. After asking the attractive well dressed young woman at the front if I might be able to buy a bit of piano wire, she looked a bit confused and disappeared into the back. After a couple of minutes a man who resembled Quasimoto blundered out with a wild look in his eye and the largest chaw of tobacco I've ever seen in any one man's cheek, and said "You lookin' for pyana thread, son?" "Yes, sir" I replied, thinking to myself that this fellow may have been around long enough to have tuned pianos for Chopin and Mozart.

After some brief attempts at an explanation, I could tell he was just getting more confused and frustrated. The feeling was mutual, and when I was nearly ready to give up he said "Just c'mon back hya, son, and you show me what kinda pyana thread you's lookin' for. Here's all da pyana thread we got." In a small back room there were literally thousands of rolls of this so called "pyana thread" on spools. I took a pair of dykes out of my back pocket and clipped 10" sections off of about three rolls. That was probably 9 years ago and I've been using the same piece all that time.

Now mind you, I'm not suggesting Quasimoto was correct in referring to it as piano "thread," but he was my only point of contact with pianos until I got married and one ended up in my living room. Anyway, Birmingham--especially all the little outlying town--is in the deep south. People in Nashville think they live in the "deep south," but they don't. And for this fellow, it's likely that anyone with more than seven teeth would have been considered "city folk." Having lived both abroad, and in the Northeast, I've come to realize that we southerners have a number of peculiar little turns of phrase that don't quite translate elsewhere. I'm sure Rad pushes a "buggy" instead of a shopping cart, has his "dinner" at noontime, and has to watch out for "tow-motors" at Home Depot. So, Rad, if you're listening, you might want to ask for "pyana thread." Everyone else should take Scott's advice and request piano wire.

I haven't thought about that old fellow in ages.

Todd

[Timberwolf]

Todd,

Any chance of getting a picture of your piano wire thingamabob?

Trying to visualize it, but perhaps I'm up too early and the coffee hasn't cleared the cobwebs yet

[sethile]

I had forgotten that you are a professional musician.....

Actually, I'm a piano technician (piano tuning, rebuilding, etc...). I do play double bass for money, but that's more a matter of owning one, transportation for it, and the seemingly amazing ability of showing up on time and sober (showing up sober, mind you, not staying that way), and not getting the client's daughter pregnant. So, I suppose that makes me a professional musician too, but in this case it's my edumicated Quasimoto skills that gives me the cred with this piano thread business

... When I returned to Birmingham.....

Great story, Todd! I've worked with several of these guys!