An update of the "much needed" variety

So it's been a month and I've been so busy I haven't been able to update.  Basically what's happened is we've been working on Saxophones, yay!  I actually really enjoy it so far. If you check the Sax, Custom Tools, and Clarinet Pages you will find a bunch of new photos of projects.  Four weeks left of woodwinds? Where has the time gone?  I still need to put the finishing touches on Play Conditions on two clarinets and flutes, and finish my own Clarinet restoration which has turned into a very lengthy project.  Feel free to poke around all the pages, there are literally hundreds of pictures on this blog- I need to upgrade my online storage.  Besides school - the job search for May has been somewhat promising, we'll see what actually solidifies, wish me luck!

P.S. updated my bench for more work space:

Happy New Year!!

So it's now officially 2012.  I got my grades in last week, I ended up with a 3.45 for the semester, I'm pretty happy with that, going to be shooting for a 4.00 this coming semester.  Also I have a job interview this week, so I'm hoping that it goes well.  It's been a nice break and I've seen lots of friends and family, but I'm definitely ready to get back into things, I  miss school.

Winding down for 2011....

    With one day left of class, I have finished my customer project horn, and my mouthpipe turned custom build horn.  You should check out the Trumpet page, as there are so many pictures, I'm pretty sure it's going to crash the internet. 
     Reflecting back on my semester (because that's what I do) I can't believe the progress and confidence I have gained while in school.  I was a little nervous making this huge decision of switching out of Music Ed, graduating, and moving half way across the country to study band instrument repair- but it was totally worth it.  I have never had this sense of accomplishment in anything that I have ever done so far in my life.  I truly LOVE going to class every day (which is not something I could say about my undergrad.)  That being said, I value the experiences and knowledge I gained while at UMass - it's just this is a whole different ball game.  I can not thank my instructors at MSC Southeast Tech enough:  Greg, John and Lucas.  They are always pushing us as a class, individuals, and repair techs.  They are three of the most thoughtful, non-judgemental and critical instructors I have ever had - they are right up there with GNP. 
     So as my semester ends, and I fly home for three weeks, I will be starting to apply to local area repair shops, and I hope something comes up.  This place will probably be quiet, but rest-assured, come January 9th it'll be back up and running with more pictures of my happenings and progress.  Thank you to those of you who follow me, I have over 1,700 views since this blog's inception.  I hope you enjoy reading about my adventures.

the shop is a-buzz with activity...

So there is a lot of stuff going on.  I have my clarinet overhaul, my bugle overhaul, my proto-type horn project, and that's not even counting my actual stuff for school that's required!  I actually just started working on a "custom" trumpet build and hopefully soon we'll be getting our actual customer trumpets, which is what we get graded on.  Check out the trumpet page, the horn page, and the clarinet page for updates, also my most recent lathe project is the post below this one, check it out.  T-minus 15 days until the end of the semester, and I've never had so much fun at school.

euphonium/tuba valve stem lathe project

So right before turkey day break we had a lathe project to do. We were given a valve stem and had to figure out the measurements and dimensions to make an exact replica.  It was graded, and if you were wondering I did get full credit on it. :)

Updates galore!

So check out the dent work, custom tools, proto-type project, and trumpet pages for updates.  I hope you enjoy the copious amount of pictures.  That's it for now, happy reading :)

Some Pages Updated

I have updated the Horn, Trumpet and Dent Work Pages. Go ahead and check them out.  I should be getting my project Trumpet sometime this coming week, so be on the look out for updates on that.  Is it  a good feeling when I want the weekend to be over, so I can be back at school??

An over-due update

So there has been a whirl wind of activity at school.  On top of our regular school work, I have been overhauling my own personal instruments (before and after school) for a low low cost, working on my proto-type horn and this past week I was one of three students in the program to teach local high school kids, who were visiting the school for a career day, an introduction to buffing.  Not many band kids came through but I still think they enjoyed visiting the lab, they got to buff, soft solder and fix dents. 

In other news, we have been making more tools along with practicing our skills on different types of dent work.  Look for more pages with updates and pictures.

Welcome to Brass Lab!!

So I've switched sides for the remainder of the semester!!

We've started buffing, and it's getting more comfortable:

Trombone bell:

Trumpet Bell:

And we started soft soldering:

A few other things I have in the works:

-Overhauling my personal horn: Holton Merker-Matic H276

-Creating a "hybrid" instrument I've named "Mello-Horn"

Stay tuned for updates about those in a separate post.

Also:
Check out the Trumpet and Custom Tools pages for updates.

Flute-tastic!

On Friday I finished my Project Flute.  It came out pretty well - check the Flute page for the pictures.  We will be switching labs on Monday - I'm going to miss the Wood wind Lab. In other news I've been working on my own 1930's stencil Clarinet I bought a few months ago.  It's currently getting re-oiled over the weekend.  I will have pictures and updates soon about it.