Orphenion Dampers
By Jim Heyworth
Hi folks,
I have a 16" Orphenion disc musical box that is badly in need of a new set of dampers. Because the box is of a relatively uncommon design I doubt very much that these can be obtained from the usual sources and expect that they will have to be made. (Needless to say, if you know of a source, please speak up!)
The question is how to go about it, and I'm seeking ideas.
The originals are made from flat steel shim stock, 0.25 mm (.01") thick and with outside dimensions 12.2 cm long by 3 cm wide (4.8" X 1.1").
Now comes the hard part.
(I have simplified this a bit, but the essentials are covered.)
The finished set of dampers looks very much like a fairly finely-spaced musical box comb cut from shim stock.
The slots between the "teeth" are 0.33 mm wide (0.013") and each "tooth" is 2 cm long (2/3 the width of the "comb").
Each "tooth" is 1.6mm (0.063") wide at the base.
A notch 1 cm (0.39") long is cut into the same side of each tooth, leaving each with a "tip" 1 mm (0.038") wide.
The final appearance is that of a very thin comb with flat-tipped step-shaped teeth.
I would appreciate any suggestions as to how I might fabricate (or get fabricated) such an item and still have the whole thing come out flat.
I have thought of using a slitting disc, but this would require that the "comb" be well-supported top and bottom necessitating a lot of extra grinding to cut through the supporting medium which would probably have to be of steel. (I supppose, though, this would leave me with a jig from which I could then make endless copies ?)
Another thought comes to mind and that is laser cutting. Anybody with experience on this, costs, etc. ?
Any ideas appreciated.
Jim, in Sechelt,
on the Sunshine Coast
of Beautiful British Columbia. |
(Message sent Sun 17 Nov 1996, 22:03:14 GMT, from time zone GMT-0800.) |
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