Clarinet Cap

[Tira]

This is a clarinet cap I finished and delivered to NYC last week. It is a brass cap that was engraved and then chromed similar to the motorcycle parts I usually do. The design was interlocking rings which had to be sized as the design moved from the bottom to the top due to the conical nature of the cap. The symbol in the center front is the musician's personal logo.

 

[BrianPowley]

Tira, Nice job and a real challenge.
Engraving on a curved surface is very hard to execute. Add to that, it is also tapered and it is also very "THIN" material. It doesn't take much to engrave all the way through and ruin it. (Been there,done that)

You managed to keep the pattern consistent with all those challenges.
Bravo!

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Beautiful job Tira.

Symetrical and interlocked designs like that are really hard to get looking right and to add to it you've done it on a very complex surface. You really nailed it.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Joe Mason]

Very nice Tira. You did good on that curved surface.

Joe

 

[Jim Sackett]

Nice job Tira

Wow that is an interesting pattern. It had to take a lot of figuring to get the circles on that taper the right size. Very nice! I've thought about trying something similar on an unfinished candy dish lid I have.

Jim Sackett

 

[Sam]

curved surfaces and thin, too...nice job Tira. I'll bet it was tough to lay out. / ~Sam

 

[Ranchman]

Very nice. Tira how did you hold it. Did you make up a fixture?

Jeff

 

[Tira]

Ranchman, Thermo-lock was my friend on this project. I stuffed the cap full of hot thermo-lock to keep it from deforming and then I made a fixture with more thermo-lock that held the outside of the cap in the vise. It worked well. The only problem I had was that it took almost an hour to dig the thermo-lock out of the inside of the cap when I was done.

Thanks Sam - I did the layout in Adobe Illustrator. The rings were a mathematical progression. It took a long time to layout especially since it was only my second project in AI. I'm much more used to Corel Draw.

 

[deedubbya]

What can I say.....it's all been said . Nice job, it can be a bit of a rick making sure the weave is right, Looks great
Congrats!

 

[Ranchman]

Tira,
I'm glad you said you used thermo lock. I have a similar thin walled project and was wondering if thermo would work. I wasn't sure if when it cooled it wouldn't shrink and pull away from the sides. Looks like digging it out will be time consuming but better than crushing or denting the sides.

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[KCSteve]

In another thread someone mentioned that you can use a light bulb to soften ThermoLoc. When I do something like this I think I'll use a lightbulb or my little heat pen to soften the surface and stick in a handle of some sort. After it cools I'll see if it'll pull out. If not I'll warm it back up (from the top) and see if I can get it to pull out. If I have to pull it out I should use a ThermoLoc handle - that's the one thing that stuff actually sticks to - everything else it just seals up against. Probably have to slide a toothpick along one side to break the vacuum.

 

[John B.]

Tira,
Great job on a tough piece to both a layout and cut.
You hit it spot on.

Best, John B.

 

[fegarex]

Tira,
I was going to reply to this earlier but things happen...
You did a GREAT job on this. I hope people understand just how difficult the design and shape is on that cap. Making the design on a flat is one thing but adding the taper to it..... WOW...
Nice.

 

[finn]

If you have problems with the Thermo Lock and diging it out of thin items .
A much better option is Cerrosafe

Here is a link to a distributor http://www.buffaloarms.com/browse.cfm/4,1143.html
or this link http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=462291

With this “Lead” you can melt it in hot water on your stove pore it into your item and it will harden then you engrave your item with out fear of “Denting” and when finished just re heat it in hot water and poor it out. Easy and you can re use it also just like the thermo lock.

tip try it on a junk item first so you can see how it works and if it will warp or streach your item in the hot water.

And you did do a nice job on the engraving !
Keep up the good work.


more instructions on how to use Cerro safe(Click me)

 

[jdumars]

Tira, stating the obvious here, but WOW! Awesome! I had a factory-engraved mouthpiece cap from the 20s a few years ago and it was not nearly as nice as yours. Great work as always!

 

[Phil Coggan]

Hi Tira,
Beautiful job, excellent! really well done.....i'm glad I did'nt have to do it!
Just a thought and please forgive me if this sounds crazy, as I know nothing about Thirmo Lock.
If you slide a roll of paper into the cap so that say a quarter of an inch of metal stays exposed, the Thermo will still stop the cap from collapsing with just enough grip on that quarter inch to hold it in, and it would be easier to remove........or are you already doing this, and should I have kept my mouth shut!

Phil

 

[Tira]

Phil, Thanks for the comments. About the thermo-lock, do you mean to pack the cap with paper up to the last 1/4 inch and then to use the thermo-lock for just the last part? That would have made it much easier to dislodge at the end. I've never done a part as thin and collapsable as the cap so I thought I would have to pack the cap full to prevent vibration and possible compression. Even with the cap full there was a lot of vibration. The brass in the cap was just under .75mm thick. Thanks for the idea - I'll have to try the next one like that!

Jdumars - Thanks! I'm sure you have seen a lot of musical instrument accessories. I've never seen a factory done cap. What was the pattern on that?

 

[Phil Coggan]

Phil, Thanks for the comments. About the thermo-lock, do you mean to pack the cap with paper up to the last 1/4 inch and then to use the thermo-lock for just the last part?

No Tira, I mean put the paper in to stop the Thirmo from sticking to the whole cap, ie. slide a thin tube of paper in around the inside except for the last 1/4 inch. The Thermo would still support the thin walls but it would'nt be stuck to them.
What I would do is shape some wood to fit snuggly inside the cap and then epoxy it in, I use a hair dryer when i'm finished to soften the epoxy.

Phil

 

[Tira]

Aaaahhhhh! Did you just hear the lightbulb go on? That's a much better idea than what I did - I'll give it a try on the next one. What type of epoxy do you use that will release with heat? Thanks for the help.

 

[Phil Coggan]

I use Araldite Rapid, I don't know if you've got it over there, I use it on trigger guards pistol caps etc.
I'ts really strong but goes soft with heat.

Phil