The project has hinges
Jun. 13th, 2014 09:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
catsittingstillI have successfully installed the hinges for the instrument case. This is not a permanent installation as I'm planning to epoxy the wood shims into place to provide a strong attachment point for the hinges. But I have the hinges all shaped, and the holes for the hardware drilled and the hinges bolted on and the bolts cut to the proper length. I still need to enlarge the notches in the case body that allow enough space for the lid hardware to move freely--I have notches; they're just not *quite* wide enough. But at that point I had been working for eight hours today and I decided to wait until tomorrow.
Grinding out the proper curve in each shim to accommodate the curve of the side of the case, or the side of the lid was... challenging. Getting all four shims (lid and body pieces for each of two hinges) properly lined up was more difficult. (They have to be in the same plane, or one hinge will try to swing the lid to the right and the other hinge will try to swing the lid to the left and they'll bind and opening won't happen. Essentially the hinge pins have to be segments of a single straight line.) Let's just say I'm so glad I bought a four foot ruler; I have been using it for days.
But the instrument case opens and closes on its hinges so I'm calling it a win. I win!
The latches will be a breeze by comparison (I think) because I just have to get the lid and body shim for each aligned--and one can even go on a flat spot--hurray! There are three of them, but I think the easier fitting will mean I get them done quicker.
I went and got all the nuts and bolts several days go. Since I didn't take the shims into account, I got all the wrong length. I took the hinge hardware back (complicated because the holes in the top and the bottom of the hinge are different diameters--if I knew who designed that, I'd have a quick word) yesterday. I won't be able to take the latch hardware back until Monday, I think. But I love my local hardware store because they are patient with me when I buy the wrong hardware and let me return it. Which is great because it cost me 16$.
I have decided to fit and install the hinges and latches, and then epoxy them all in one go when they're ready. For now nuts and bolts are good enough to hold them on. The plan is that the bolts will align them and hold them to the case when it comes time to epoxy. I thought it over quite a bit and decided it would be easier to fix a wrongly drilled bolt hole than to grind off a wrongly epoxied shim. (And I did in fact drill a bolt hole or two that had to be enlarged. I think the epoxy/ dookie schmutz will weld shim and hardware and all into one solid piece--my main concern is not gluing the hinge open or shut. (For those who don't remember my adventures in boat building, dookie schmutz is epoxy thickened with sawdust to the consistency of peanut butter. It is great for gluing when there may be awkward gaps between the pieces--as when you tried to match an outer and inner curve by eye and grinder.)
Then it will be time to make the inside box that braces the neck, and the two cradles for the neck. And pad out the inside, and then I can put the instrument in it, find the center of mass of the whole thing, and figure out where the handle will go and make the shim for it.
Oh, and I need little feet for the bottom that will double as snap attachment points for backpack straps (but still be something that won't wreck the floor--still working out how that will go) and little feet for the hinge side so it can be set on its hinge side without leaning over.
Oh, and probably fill the weave of the fiberglass, at least on the outside, with epoxy, and also varnish the outside.
This will not be done in time for Contata. But OVFF is a real possibility.
Grinding out the proper curve in each shim to accommodate the curve of the side of the case, or the side of the lid was... challenging. Getting all four shims (lid and body pieces for each of two hinges) properly lined up was more difficult. (They have to be in the same plane, or one hinge will try to swing the lid to the right and the other hinge will try to swing the lid to the left and they'll bind and opening won't happen. Essentially the hinge pins have to be segments of a single straight line.) Let's just say I'm so glad I bought a four foot ruler; I have been using it for days.
But the instrument case opens and closes on its hinges so I'm calling it a win. I win!
The latches will be a breeze by comparison (I think) because I just have to get the lid and body shim for each aligned--and one can even go on a flat spot--hurray! There are three of them, but I think the easier fitting will mean I get them done quicker.
I went and got all the nuts and bolts several days go. Since I didn't take the shims into account, I got all the wrong length. I took the hinge hardware back (complicated because the holes in the top and the bottom of the hinge are different diameters--if I knew who designed that, I'd have a quick word) yesterday. I won't be able to take the latch hardware back until Monday, I think. But I love my local hardware store because they are patient with me when I buy the wrong hardware and let me return it. Which is great because it cost me 16$.
I have decided to fit and install the hinges and latches, and then epoxy them all in one go when they're ready. For now nuts and bolts are good enough to hold them on. The plan is that the bolts will align them and hold them to the case when it comes time to epoxy. I thought it over quite a bit and decided it would be easier to fix a wrongly drilled bolt hole than to grind off a wrongly epoxied shim. (And I did in fact drill a bolt hole or two that had to be enlarged. I think the epoxy/ dookie schmutz will weld shim and hardware and all into one solid piece--my main concern is not gluing the hinge open or shut. (For those who don't remember my adventures in boat building, dookie schmutz is epoxy thickened with sawdust to the consistency of peanut butter. It is great for gluing when there may be awkward gaps between the pieces--as when you tried to match an outer and inner curve by eye and grinder.)
Then it will be time to make the inside box that braces the neck, and the two cradles for the neck. And pad out the inside, and then I can put the instrument in it, find the center of mass of the whole thing, and figure out where the handle will go and make the shim for it.
Oh, and I need little feet for the bottom that will double as snap attachment points for backpack straps (but still be something that won't wreck the floor--still working out how that will go) and little feet for the hinge side so it can be set on its hinge side without leaning over.
Oh, and probably fill the weave of the fiberglass, at least on the outside, with epoxy, and also varnish the outside.
This will not be done in time for Contata. But OVFF is a real possibility.
