With that out of the way, we continue to the keydesk component of the model. I made more use of 45º angles for the corners of the model. As far as color, I chose to use a stain instead of latex based paint as I've done with the previous models. Below, you will see the stop jams with a mirage of keydesk components.
I have incorporated light into this model, which adds a different dimension as well as design. In order to allow access to the lights and room for the power source, some unique design work and space is needed. There will be four 1.5V lights - three in the swell box and one above the manuals illuminating the music rack. A part that I'm particularly proud of is the block of wood that houses the light above the manuals.
A center hole on the back side was drilled to a specific point on the bottom of the piece. The light, as you see in the photo, will be secured within this shaft and the light will shine out through the intersecting hole. Clever, I know. The two other holes on the sides that you see are for the swell box pipes. This sub-assembly will need to be able to be taken out for one of two reasons. 1) To get a closer look at the pipes. 2) To have easier access to the light in order to replace the bulb sometime in the future. The swell box pipe sub-assembly has been completed.
Now, I've said in the past that the manuals were to be reverse in color. That is, black naturals and white accidentals. However, with the change of overall color, the usual color scheme would work better. The manual sub-assembly has been completed
The Swell division has also been complete...and what a doozie that has been! Let's break it down into three components. The first is the Maltese cross grill that has been created from a 3D model and a CNC machine. CNC stands for "Computer Numerical Control." The program takes the 3D model, creates a numerical program from its features and the machine creates it. I had some great help with the CNC operator at my job. It took a few tries. However, we finally got a good product. However, that meant some work for me at home. I needed to do some cleaning up and removing some unnecessary wood from the part. All in all, I'm very pleased given everything.
The second component is the light bulb fixture. Like I said before, there will be three 1.5V lights illuminating this box. I needed a removable fixture for these three bulbs for, you guessed it, preventative maintenance. The idea was a maze...literately. If you look closely at the photos below, I created a little maze into the side supports of the swell box. Then, I made the mount for the lights. It is a 1/2" square rod with two 3/16" dowels on either end. The lights will be spaced (somewhat) evenly on this rod. This component then slides along that "maze" into its final resting place. I did this as I wanted it to be somewhat secured in place...plus it spices up the design a bit!
The last component would be the back of the swell box. This needed to be on a hinge so I can access everything inside. So, I bought some cheap wooden toy boxes at Michaels and stole the small hinges off the boxes. The hinges offered at Lowe's / Home Depot are too big. I had to notch the space for the hinges on the door and, with help from my dad, we got it to work. Unfortunately, I don't have a good picture of the actual attached hardware, but the below photo gives you some idea.
SO...that's a lengthy post, but there was a lot of material to be caught up on. As it stands now, I'm in the process of creating the entire mid section, which is both the assembled keydesk and the swell box. After the lighting is then worked out, the next stage is the pipe cabinets. About 95% off the parts for this large assembly have been cut and prepped. This means that it should go fairly easy. Then again...nothing is ever that easy.
Until next time...
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