Me and my big mouth...
I told you 'd be back after the weekend! I just didn't say what weekend. Haven't been sitting on my hands though. The control horns prove to be a little harder to make than I anticipated.
The first one I made looked rather good if I may say so myself.
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The problem is, I have to make 8 of them, and it would be nice if they all looked the same. The rounded top was especially the problem. I made some more by hand, but they didn't come within a mile of the first one.
Then I had a brilliant idea. I made a punch out of a piece of copper rod. The shape was spot on and I clamped it into a hand drill vice. I then stamped about three dozen of them (just to be sure) out of 0.5 mm brass sheet.
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In the process I murdered my cutting mat, photographic background and the kitchen table. The wife wasn't too pleased.....
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So I ended up with a container full of brass flees, because that's what they are once you handle them. If you try to pick one up with a pair of tweezers, it's gone. I mean really gone. Forever.
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The very first control horn I made had a little strip on it, that slid into the brass tube, that I then squeezed and flattened in my vice. That worked very well. Only, when I made the punch, I forgot to include this little strip
No problem, I thought, I'll just solder it on afterward. It didn't work. The "flees" were too thin to begin with and when I tried to double them by soldering two of them together it looked like crap.
So, back to the drawing board. I have a little Proxxon milling cross table that I may put to some good use.
I hope to show some more progress after the weekend.