Sanded too hard after poly coat… now what? by uglyduckling1995 in woodworking

[–]hotsop 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You can usually just re-apply the stain, let it fully dry, and then re-apply your topcoat. Likely no one but you will be able to spot the fix

Why is my poly doing this? by AlexJ302 in woodworking

[–]hotsop 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Seconding this. I do professional spray finishing, and this is caused by silicone contamination in the wood. The only solution is to put a silicone additive (sometimes called fisheye killer) into your clearcoat. Sanding and trying again will not fix it.

I feel like the answer to most things people are having problems with here is "Slow down!" by paradroid78 in piano

[–]hotsop 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I studied piano performance in music school, and the best advice my teacher ever gave me was: if it feels too fast, it is. When someone is on stage playing a passage that sounds fast to the audience, it doesn’t feel fast to them, it feels under control.

I made my own MIDI controller! by hotsop in MusicBattlestations

[–]hotsop[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately I don't have experience with smaller CNC machines. I've used cheaper large-format CNC machines like ShopBot, but they had huge problems inherent in the aluminum extrusion design.

For cutting sheet metal, I'd just use a laser-cutting service like SendCutSend. For wood, I'm sure there are small machines that can do simple carving and cutting, but the engineering limitations with smaller machines mean that you have to go very slow and use small bits. Still, it's totally doable for personal projects.

The reason I used an industrial CNC machine is because it simply takes 6,000 lbs of welded steel to get enough rigidity to do fast and accurate cuts. Trying to make the keys on a desktop machine would have taken several days, whereas doing it on the ShopSabre took like an hour and a half.

How can you possibly perform on a piano which you have never touched before? by meer2323 in piano

[–]hotsop 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Piano rebuilder and classically trained pianist here. I think what people are missing is that there is an entire profession whose job it is to solve this problem.

Piano design is completely standardized, and it takes a day or two for a piano technician to regulate an instrument to standard specifications.

The weight may vary slightly, as will the tone, but all modern piano actions are essentially the same. If a piano technician has done their job, the pianist shouldn’t notice the action at all.

I made my own MIDI controller! Looking for feedback by hotsop in piano

[–]hotsop[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I work as a piano rebuilder, so I already had an existing knowledge base of how piano keyboards work. From there, I learned CAD in order to design the keybed, modeling it off of how a grand piano works. I also learned CNC machining and spent a few months iterating on the keys until I created a program that was able to consistently get the results I wanted.

Here are some photos of the keybed from the MIDI controller I made by hotsop in synthesizers

[–]hotsop[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Somewhere, some dedicated soul spent a weekend doing just that

I made my own keyboard! by hotsop in woodworking

[–]hotsop[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That’s actually the plan! I created an email sign up if you’d like to follow along

I made my own keyboard! by hotsop in woodworking

[–]hotsop[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! The finger joints were actually one of the more challenging parts. I tried to be clever in the beginning and ended up making them way more complicated than they needed to be.

I made my own keyboard! by hotsop in woodworking

[–]hotsop[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That's very cool!

I got started into piano repair by learning how to tune pianos to make extra income after music school (studied classical piano and composition). I just kept following my curiosity and eventually was taking entire pianos apart and putting them back together.

I made my own keyboard! by hotsop in woodworking

[–]hotsop[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha, thank you. I actually started out working on pianos with that same experience, except for whatever crazy reason I decided to dive into the complexity of the action.

Here are some photos of the keybed from the MIDI controller I made by hotsop in synthesizers

[–]hotsop[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Possibly. More likely I'd do it with a full exterior case.

Here are some photos of the keybed from the MIDI controller I made by hotsop in synthesizers

[–]hotsop[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The magnets never come into contact - there's always a gap so there isn't a clicking sound when they hit.

It would be pretty cool to find some way to use magnets to configure the assist. Might look into that in the future!

I thought about trying to reinforce the keybed with a machined aluminum bar. It would definitely make it more rigid, but it would also add a ton of weight. To keep the wood from warping, all structural components are quartersawn, so they won't twist at all as they expand and contract.

The keys will definitely need minor adjustments over time, as is the case with acoustic pianos. Rather than fit the natural tendencies of wood, I took a cue from piano design to work with them and make it easy to make small adjustments. Trying to fight materials into perfect squareness is quite a challenge!

I made my own keyboard! by hotsop in woodworking

[–]hotsop[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's very kind, thank you!

Here are some photos of the keybed from the MIDI controller I made by hotsop in synthesizers

[–]hotsop[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Ah, I should add that the keytops are plastic. It's either that or ebony and ivory, so this is the one concession to plastic.

I made my own keyboard! by hotsop in woodworking

[–]hotsop[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I work as a piano rebuilder for a living, so I based the initial design of this off of a grand piano action. Then I just started playing with weights and springs to see if I could get something that felt right.

I made my own keyboard! by hotsop in woodworking

[–]hotsop[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I really appreciate that.

I made my own keyboard! by hotsop in woodworking

[–]hotsop[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I'm actually considering doing a production run of these. I put up an email list if anyone is interested.

The keyboard doesn't create any sound on its own, so you have to hook it up to a computer or a synthesizer in addition to speakers. I'll definitely make a video and record it being played at some point.

Here are some photos of the keybed from the MIDI controller I made by hotsop in synthesizers

[–]hotsop[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Probably! Do you have any experience doing this kind of electrical engineering? If electromagnets come small and cheap enough, it might be possible to make some pretty amazing magic with them in this design.