Howdy fans! Both of you. It’s been a couple of weeks since that initial burst of activity and during that time I have applied the shellac finish. First by slathering on several coats, then after levelling with steel wool and a wee scraper I started the polishing. First pic is from after wooling (nice wurd).
Halfway through the polishing process it starts to look quite good. I used walnut oil as the lubricant for the muneca, the theory being that it dries together with the shellac. Can’t prove it but it feels good.
I dillute the shellac more for the later coats, getting a better shine as I get closer to the last buffing.
Satisfied with the gloss I started preparing the pegs by refining the taper with my peg shaver / shaper. Super expensive piece of kit but a joy to use...
... on straight grained pegs. One in ten just gets stuck and sort of disintegrates after a couple of turns. Good thing my supplier botched my order and took in 40 sets instead of 40 pegs, and begged me to buy them all at a hefty discount, so I have some to spare.
My wee reamer is a bit mutilated because reasons, but it’s light enough work not to demand a full length T-handle.
I trim the pegs to the same height with my... peg height jig. The [late addition of a] piece of leather saves my thumb.
The sawn off pegs gets another shave, this time in a dirt cheap crap sharpener.
I just chamfer the edge in the sharpener, then I use a file to round the ends over.
I drill string holes and countersink them with a tiny round wotsit, die grinder? Burr?
I was so pleased with the pegs I started stringing up before I remembered the nut, so with one string hanging from the bridge I quickly made a bone nut. In the pic you see the half pencil that, in theory, gives you the depth of the nut slots.
And ta-daa, here it is. Strung up with the new brand of strings that I got. It turned out great, more symmetrical than other piccolos I’ve made and it sounds lovely. And one size louder of cöurse, so it equals a soprano from any other builder*. Only blemish is a mark in the waist from bending, but only Lemmy can make something perfect innit.
*Please don’t tell any other builder I said that.
