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« on: December 27, 2018, 11:27:01 PM »
Tools you will need.
The following common shop tools will be required:
A circular saw, chop saw, or radial arm saw – used to cut the oak and the aluminum to length. Regular carbide-tipped blades will cut through the aluminum "like butter." I use saw blade wax to keep the aluminum from sticking to the blade.
A jigsaw, bayonet saw, or reciprocating saw with bi-metal blades for cutting the steel lever. If you have plenty of patience and stamina, you can suffer with a simple hack saw.
A bench grinder to shape the round end of the steel lever.
A belt sander to smooth the oak body, or to create a grained finish in the aluminum body. The belt sander can shape the rounded tip of the lever too. The cheap 4” x 36” units are fine. 120-grit belts are available at Harbor Freight, and finer grit belts are available from Amazon (Red Label Abrasives has worked well for me).
A drill press. Even a tiny cheap one like mine.
A drill press vise. Wider is better.
A tap wrench, like Harbor Freight 38560 or Vermont American 21901 or 21916. I like the Vermont American 21916 because the tightener is six-sided, not round and slippery.
Single-cut smooth or second-cut mill file, 10” long. Not double cut. Not bastard.
Sandpaper – 120-grit, 220-grit, and 400-grit. Finer if you really want the metal to shine.
A 3/4” step drill bit for the aluminum pedal.
If you build the sustain rod, you will need a metric M8-1.25 plug tap, and a 1/4”-20 plug tap.
Tools specifically for the wooden-base pedal:
A 3/4” Forstner bit to drill the hole in the top for the sustain rod.
An extended-length 5/32” drill bit, jobber length is only 3.125” on a 5/32” drill. To drill the pivot hole, you want one drill bit to go all the way from one side to the other of the 3” wide oak pedal housing. A 4” long bit would be enough, but they come in 6”, 8”, and 12” lengths. Like McMaster 29315A123 or Bosch BL2637. If you decide to go with a larger diameter spring pin, like 3/16”, you won’t need a special bit. The ordinary “jobber-length” 3/16” drill bits are 3.5” long, so you can drill all the way through the 3” body.
A bunch of 12” bar clamps, like Harbor Freight 96214 or 62237. One longer bar clamp (Harbor Freight 96213 or Irwin 1825766) will be helpful to insert the tube into the clutch if you build the sustain rod.
A #6-32 two-flute thread-cutting tap, like McMaster 26955A15. A three-fluted tap would be fine, they are just a tiny bit easier to break because they clog up easier. All the taps I found at local hardware stores are three-fluted. In thick stock, like the 1/2” aluminum bar, I have good luck if I completely remove the tap when I get halfway through the hole, clear out all the chips, clean the tap, and then restart.
Is there really anybody crazy enough to read all the way to the bottom of this?
If you build one, please post photos!
Sean
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