The Band Tech Chronicles

 To learn this skill the class was given each 3 different keys, the G#/C# key, the register key, and the low F#/C# key. Our task was to remove any old cork, and glue and trim new cork to replace it.  I forgot to take pictures along the way so this is all I have but I was very happy with how they came out. 

 Another project I got to do was make some custom pad slicks out of old razor blades. My professor had some templates that we traced onto the blades and cut out using a grinding wheel. The first thing we had to do was pry off the aluminum protective cover on the back of the razor blade.  Then I traced the design on the razor blade and cut it out using my grinding wheel making sure to get rid of any sharp edges. In order of pictures they are called The Egg, The Bird, and the last one I call The Funky L.  For this project we were done there but I decided to go a few steps further to make them look nice.  Since I had extra time I decided to put a mirror finish on the pad slicks with some hand sanding and the buffing wheels. I had a ton of fun with these, and they turned out pretty cool!

 When pliers come from the manufacturer, they are not perfectly smooth and they have ridges that could possibly damage any part that they touch. To fix this lots of sanding and buffing is required.  As you can see, they come with lots of ridges. These are my double ended pad slick, round nose pliers, small duckbill pliers, and large duckbill pliers. Note how you can not see a reflection in the duck bill pliers.  This is after a few minutes of sanding with 400 grit sandpaper on my flat surface.  This is done with 400 grit sandpaper. I was able to get most of the surface completely flat. It took forever to get all of the scratches out! This is after 600 grit. Ready for the buffing machine.  After the buffing machine I was able to get a mirror finish on most of my tools.  I was super happy with how they turned out!

 The next project I got to do was the small poker.  This was the same design as the large poker but just on a smaller scale and with wood instead of plastic. I got both ends flattened and chamfered, then I started on the taper.  After doing the first poker, this one was a lot easier to file.  Once that looked good I drilled the hole in the center and got to work on the needle spring. I got the flat end sharpened until it was a danger to my fingers.  I pushed the sping into the wood handle and I had a second finished Poker!

Today we started our first project, a tool called a Poker.  These are all the tools needed to make it.  Step one is to perfectly flatten both ends of the plastic rod using a file and bench motor.  This portion took me a few minutes to get the hang of. Thankfully my previous woodworking skills helped me figure it out quickly.  Next I had to flat taper one side a half inch from the end to 1/4 in on the very end of the plastic. With that step done I now had to drill a hole in the center of the plastic rod but I forgot to take a picture of it. I assume you all can imagine what it would look like.  For the sharp part of the poker I used a saxophone spring.  On the flat end of the spring I used a grinding wheel to make a sharp point. This end will go into the plastic rod.  With that done I shoved the needle into the plastic rod, now the handle, and the project was complete. It was a good project to start with, not hard but a good way to get moving in the sho...