Chiff and Fipple Forums

Thinning the heard and letting go a few Bodhrans! This one is a 15 inch, fully tunable drum. I made this drum, and machined all the hardware myself. The tuning ring is solid brass, the skin bearing edge precisely machined on a milling machine. The integral tuning lugs do not require a key. All solde...

PJ, I have used Online metals in the past http://www.onlinemetals.com/ , great service, but shipping and handling can be spendy depending on what you are ordering. otherwise, let me know if you are still looking for a small quantity, I might have something for you that will work if you are willing t...

Lorenzo, Yes, I made this gouge, as I could not find anything available commercially to do the job. Just to be clear, this is a flat blade gouge, not an in-cannel type, intended for the method that Benedict Koehler uses. I am willing to make them for anyone who is interested, price dependent upon la...

Mick, You might want to take a look at these scrapers from Lee Valley Tools - http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=67392&cat=1,310,41069 - I ordered a set, but have not had a chance to try them out. They are way harder steel than a washer, so you can get a very fine cutting edge that wil...

In case anyone else is going to Burning Man this year, the Dusty Swan is having a session again this year! Yours truly will be there, pipes in tow!

Where: Dusty Swan, 4:20 & Consumer, Black Rock City, NV
When: Thursday, August 29th noon-3 pm

~John

A picture is worth a thousand words! Thanks for the link to the great sound clip, it was great having you and Louisa visit and hearing you perform - it was an awesome show!

John

Daveboling - awesome boat! Pipe making, rock climbing, back country skiing and snowboarding, mtn biking, cooking, gardening, kinetic sculpture, art cars, and.....building large-scale burnable art for Burning Man! The Utah CORE project for 2012 - The Secret of the Bees! It was a lot of work, but we p...

Loïc Blejean showed us a really effective system when he was here around Christmas time. He added an extra hole next to the air intake hole and made a threaded cap from some plumbing parts. He can attach the damp-it humidifier to the cap and insert it into the bellows really quickly and easily. Duri...

Uillmann, Benedict's method has been working for me, but it was pretty challenging to get to the point where it was as successful as the ole sanding cylinder method! There is not just the challenge of making the gouge and scraper, but using them without ruining the cane slip, that was the biggest ch...

Uillmann, pre-hardened 4142 is only 27-32 Rockwell C hardness which is way too soft. Need higher carbon steel to get to 55-60 RC. Not sure if fully hard (and properly annealed) tool steel is available for this application, but the good news is that learning to harden and temper tool steel is much ea...

Brazenkane is correct, I have made a few of the Koehler-esque gouges, thanks for the plug Padraig! I had the opportunity a while back to compare gouges and talk to Benedict a couple years back at the SoCal Tionel. I think mine are pretty close to Benedict's by direct comparison, and they work! Bill'...

Davey, next tour you can book a show in Salt Lake and save us the drive, you can always crash in the VW Bus again LOL! Can't wait to see ya Davey, and the show! Wish we had more time there!

Yay! Congrats Joe! Good luck on fatherhood, it's a long strange trip!

BTW, thanks for sending the cane so soon, will come in handy this weekend.

Rory: If the head stock spindle bore is big enough. My Logan metal lathe has a 1 5/8" spindle bore and #4 Morse taper which is pretty standard on this size machine designed to use 5C collets directly mounted to the spindle with a quick release closer. I can feed stock through the head stock abo...

Another useful aspect of collet chucks is that there are no projecting bits that can catch your knuckles or clothing like a three or four jaw chuck. This is nice when turning small pieces by hand and working close to the chuck. I made a 5C collet chuck for my wood lathe for just this reason (I alrea...