GeeksOK.com

Just wanted to share a picture on another one of the tongue drum that I built. It turned out pretty good and it sounds pretty good. I am planning on changing the tongue layout next time, whenever I have a chance to sit down and make the CNC code that is.

No Comments »

While I don’t blog near as much as I would like, I’m not just sitting around. I have been somewhat busy (obsessed) lately with instrument making, especially dulcimers. I have been doing copious amounts of research and applying it directly in the shop. My first instrument was the strum stick that I wrote about in a previous post, it incidentally is in the process of being reworked and improved. Here are a couple of pictures of my first dulcimer. Well it is really a modified Tennessee Music Box. I found a great set of plans at the Everything Dulcimer Website The sides and fret board are made of maple and the top and bottom are oak. This dulcimer has a 24 inch string length and only three strings, it is ultimately intended for a child. It can be played either on a table or on a lap. It is very heavy and durable, just what a kid will need. I did not use any screws or nails, all the joints are glued. The two tone finish was my wife’s idea and I really like the way it turned out. I have gone on to make two more like this with four strings and slightly different dimensions. I am still experimenting and building up to my masterpiece. As soon as I get the shop band saw up and running I will be build much lighter and more traditional models with bent sides. I would like to mention and give thanks to the Dulciaddict He has been kind enough to share his plans and I have seen that he is very active on different forums helping aspiring dulcimer builders.

No Comments »

Here are some pictures of some of my latest projects. I hope to have my stick dulcimer ready for the Oklahoma City Traditional Music Meeting this Saterday.

Stack of Tongue Drums for the school

Making a Cut

Computer controlling the CNC machine.

Stick dulcimer getting a polyurethane coat.

Picture of where I will glue the fret board.

No Comments »

Since we have been working on our new CNC machine we have run into a slight problem with our new Rotozip spindle system. It seems that the smallest collet that you can get for a Rotozip is 1/8th of an inch, so we have a problem. the Dremel bits we use for cutting PCB’S ( printed circuit boards ) has a shaft diameter of 3/32. We tried to adjust a Dremel collet and we tried to chuck a modified 3/32 replaceable countersink bit, both of which produced an unacceptable wobble in our bit. Wobbling is not good when you are cutting traces that are less than 3/4mm wide.

Well we searched the web and contacted the people from ProCustom Hobbies, once I told them what I was doing they were very helpful in helping me find what I needed even though they did not stock the item. They even told me where I could get it, you just don’t get that kind of service often these days. My hat is off to these gentlemen and I encourage anyone needing hobby supplies to check out their site or give them a call.

Back to the solution, there are two Dremel chucks (made by Gyros Precision Tools, Inc.) designed to chuck smaller than 1/8th of an inch. Finally something that we can use to cut tiny paths.

No Comments »

The new CNC machine has been functioning for a while and now we are really close to having all of the details completed. We have made a frame beneath the primary table of the CNC to hold two drawers on each end for controllers and storage. We have constructed one drawer and have the controllers in place, but there is some more cable management to be done there. Otherwise, we have been in the process of making the modular interface panel.

The connectors we need for the panel are the power in, power out for spindle and vacuum, main switch, three motor connectors, parallel port, six limit switch connectors, and one emergency stop connector. For now, we have chosen to not use relays as we do not have the break-out-board accommodating that, but we will sometime in the future.

For the main power in, we chose a standard male plug where an extension cord can be used with a standard female plug wired to the back of the the male plug. A surge protector is plugged into that connector. For the two power out plugs, I used standard computer power cables, by cutting the female end and wiring to the plugs followed by plugging those into the surge protector. The main switch is wired to the primary power plug.

We chose four-pin XLR connectors for the motors, which we purchased from Mouser. These connectors work great for this application, because they make good connections and are not very expensive. As you can see, we haven’t mounted connectors for the parallel, limit switches, or emergency stop. We do, however, have our emergency stop button ready…

No Comments »