Another CP: Retrofit Engraving for my flutes

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Casey Burns
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Another CP: Retrofit Engraving for my flutes

Post by Casey Burns »

FINALLY! I am now able to engrave the silver bands already mounted to my flutes! Am thinking of charging $150 per flute or more depending
how custom the artwork for this purpose. The brilliance of having the cutter reciprocate rather than the head stock as is custom in Rose Engines
revealed itself in this set up. Note that if the head stock reciprocated , the tailstock supporting the other end of the flute would also have to
reciprocate and bridging this would get in the way of the other tooling. I think the use of these superb linear sliding tables is the future of
Rose Engine Turning.

Also my designs make it possible for anyone with a lathe (wood or metal) to do this for under $1000, assuming they gave a faceplate or two,
and a tailstock with revolving center. This coming winter I will have a book on how to build and use this including designing and resources,
including a place that will custom cut Rosettes.

I left the pics in original size so other makers can get up close and inspect it. Hopefully I will inspire a rush and I encourage the younger makers
to get into this especially. The usual entry costs for Guilloché engraving usually range from $12,000 for a new Lindow Rose Engine (see
lindowmachineworks.com ) to an antique Rose Engine costing $20,000 to $100,000 to one of David Lindow's gorgeous MADELathes that cost even
more when all kitted out with accessories and attachments (see http://www.madelathe.com - there is one of these just 7 miles from me in a friend's
workshop. Thus it is impossible for most to get into this. Plus the only training possibilities include the Swiss Watchmakers usually though
Brittany Nicole Cox occasionally teaches how to do this in her workshop in Seattle (see http://www.mechanicalcurios.com) where I began to learn this
early last year. The average age and demographic are commonly entitled rich and retired men with attitude, many in their 70s and 80s. They do not
like us DIYers sometimes, since they had to pay their way into this.

My friends Brittany, David and I are doing what we can to democratize this skill
and especially inspire men and women in the younger generations to get into this craft. Also Callie Shevlin who just wrote the beautiful book
"Guilloché" that describes the technique well. Callie and another engine turne Phil Porier just had a pair of articles published in the 2018 Santa Fe Symposium that
RioGrande Jewelry Supply hosts (Phil has a few previous posts from early years) and both support this democratization. Also one should avoid
trying to fit in with the standard orthodoxy common to this craft; my lines for instance are too narrow and imperfectly spaced according to some.
Works for me though. For that matter, I have never taken to the orthodoxy common in making flutes as well!

Callie and Brittany are two shining examples of the younger generation and a different gender pursuing this. We seem to lack Women flute makers as well. I might
consider offering short 1-3 week internships for this side of the human race only, except for Julia Delaney. PM me if interested. Ever since my experiences teaching
several how to repair and maintain their bicycles while working at Portland's Bicycle Repair Collective in the 1970s, I've found that female students are much better
as they arrive at the workshop without any preconceptions and male-ish attitude. I once had some would-be male flute maker who had made a copy of someone's
Olwell (he had only been at it for 4-5 months) start to tell me that I was doing everything wrong and he was serious about it. He was ushered off the premises in
a New York Minute. (Julia by the way is known by another name and gender but I won't reveal his/her secret here...).

Another enthusiast is the London-based flute maker Robert Bigio (see http://www.bigio.com who has done much for flute making AND
Guilloché/Ornamental Turning. Robert wrote the book on the beautiful Rudall, Rose and Carte history.
He is very much into the Guilloché as well as ornamental turning in wood and other substances (the difference being the use of fly cutters and
rosettes with much greater amplitude and slow speed spindle drives) and has been involved with Society of Ornamental
Turners. I am seeing him in Vancouver on Monday and having lunch with him as his family. I wanted to finish these up and bring them for show and tell!

By the way, that piece of flute in the machine is very special to me and I eventually plan to finish it with a new body. I got together with Matt Molloy in 2003 to
arrange where to put the keys on his Bb flute. He asked me two questions the day before 1) where to get some weed (he had just come from Eugene
Oregon ironically) and 2) if I would bring any flutes in my workshop. I brought the dregs (flutes, not weed. I never touch the stuff), which included
my prototype and template for my Large Holed Standard model. He was variously unimpressed until he got to this one
(I had arranged this to be the last to try out in case he liked it).

15-20 seconds of playing and Matt muttered "I could play this in Concert!" He proceeded to play it for the next hour for my friend Paul
McClellan and myself. It was hard to focus on my work at hand and stuck my head between my knees a few times from the excitement. Paul recorded much
of it on his phone and with Matt's permission I might eventually post the audio. Afterwards we had a very nice lunch together at Pike Place and Matt mentioned
us both (Paul was working for me at the time as a marketer and flute maker) at the Chieftains concert that evening.

Enjoy!

Now to go clean up the workshop as I have a flute to engrave rings on and finish fitting a few extra joints on (this one goes out Tueday to one of
my clients who has performances in Europe the week after) and I have another flute client coming by in the morning. Is too messy now to do any
flute work in there otherwise!

Whew! What a week this was! Besides this, I organized my complex summer, practiced a bunch on a new-to-me 62 year old instrument (my vocal cords) and
roughed out an opera! All 3 acts are structured both dramatically and musically.

Image

Image

Casey
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Latticino
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Re: Another CP: Retrofit Engraving for my flutes

Post by Latticino »

Had a friend who recently passed away that had a couple of those old lathes (he certainly fit the profile you mentioned). He was a professor at a local university (in the design school, of course) and crafted some lovely pieces with his rose engine lathes. Unfortunately I never learned how to work one. Wonder what happened to them...
"Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it"
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Re: Another CP: Retrofit Engraving for my flutes

Post by tstermitz »

I like your special, calibrated rubber bands.
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Casey Burns
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Re: Another CP: Retrofit Engraving for my flutes

Post by Casey Burns »

These are for automatically withdrawing the cutting tool. These are very convenient! Work better than springs too.
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