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Home Made VERY ACCURATE Tip Measuring Machine

20K views 26 replies 17 participants last post by  conntentin 
#1 ·
So - I have always hated measuring tip openings. I have tried several ways of the "Old School" and never felt good about it.

So - I REALLY like the Theo Wanne Tip Measuring Tool - but $150 is a bit much.

So while surfing the web the other night I came across a photo buried in some mouthpiece maker's website (Couldn't find it again or I would reference it) and said - hey I have all the parts to make that!!!

Piece of Plate glass, 4 dowels (approx 7 inches each - however all 4 HAVE to be EXACTLY the same length) 5 Min Epoxy - Use all of that to make a Table.

Now go to http://www.grizzly.com/products/Magnetic-Base-Dial-Indicator-Combo-President-s-Special/G9849 and spend $22.75. All the parts are there however you have to re arrange them a bit and fiddle with some parts and cut the main shaft down - but you get in the end an accurate measurer.

There is some time involved with the set-up - however once carefully aligned, you got your self a great tool.

I will say I used a piece of perfectly FLAT granite to set this all up.

Enjoy the pics!

Charlie



 
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#4 ·
More or less - I use my one hand to hold the MPC in place which gives the stability to the table as I measure. I would like to just reiterate that the 4 legs have to be EXACTLY the same length or the table will wobble. A wobbling table means inconstant readings.

I shimmed one of my legs that was just a smidgen off. Having the Flat piece of granite to build on was VERY helpful.

Keep in mind that this is just for tip openings and not facing work. The base I can move to wherever I want as well as the table. Doing that however I would be constantly re-calibrating it.

But... thanks for the compliment Mojo!

Charlie
 
#6 ·
On the base of the dial indicator is a metal shaft which the indicator is mounted to. That mount has a wing nut so I can adjust up and down the whole indicator. Basically I used a Mouthpiece backwards hanging of the edge to find my starting point to raise the indicator to meet the facing.

Admittedly, it does take some time to initially set it up - but it is, it is dead on.

Hope that answers your question avan. If it doesn't, let me know and I will try better to explain.

Charlie
 
#8 ·
A digital caliper is not much less then the dial indicator I listed above.

I use to do it that way, but I never felt great about how my results. I also use to shave down a broken reed's width and slide that under the tip and draw a line on the reed with a pencil at the tip then measure that with the digital calipers. Again, it just never seemed accurate enough to me.

The dowels cost maybe $2. The Glass if you go anywhere they do custom glass work, you can get a scrap pretty much free - or they will cut it to size and smooth the edges for maybe $5 at most. Add another $5 for epoxy. Lets assume you already have a hack saw to cut the main shaft on the base of the dial indicator. Then the $23 for the indicator and base. $35 (roughly) and some time to set it up really isn't that much for something that is more simple and more accurate.

Charlie
 
#10 ·
The one that came with the dial indicator could of worked - however, that is one that I aquired a few years ago that I just prefer. I could of made one like it in my lathe was well I guess.
 
#11 ·
Many years ago I've made a very complex machine to measure tip opening. It was accurate but too expensive and difficult to manage. At this time I use Theo measuring tool, it works great and fast. Also I perfectly see the point where I make the measurement. All the best,

Stan
 
#14 ·
I very much agree!

For whatever it's worth, PM Woodwind sells a great gauge that's a dial indicator tip type (very much similar to the dial tip indicator gauge at the Wanne site, except a little cheaper), and it works great. Granted, if you're just trying to put something together as cheaply as possible and it's just for measuring tip openings (not for refacing work), the gauge outlined in this thread sounds like a great option (and cheaper than the PM gauge). However, I've found that a small hand held dial tip indicator gauge, such as the PM Woodwind or Theo gauge, is both easy to use and yields consistent results. It's a little tricky to see where the depth indicator is hitting the tip rail with the PM Woodwind gauge, but if you hold it up to the light and look from the side it's easy to line up the depth indicator with the back edge of the tip rail for measurement.
 
#16 ·
This is all interesting!

I've made a tip gauge from a piece of grenadilla wood shaped like a small tapered wedge with two flat edges. I carefully painted tiny lines of the side of the wedge and measured the thickness of the wedge at each line with a caliper. With a piece of plate glass, the wedge is inserted in the mouthpiece tip and the painted line noted, giving the dimension from the caliper measurements. This is probably less precise than the equipment described here, but it is adequate for my needs.
 
#19 ·
This is excellent and so is the Wanne but where do you measure on the tip rail? If you measure on the outside of the rail you get a more open number but if you measure on the inside you get a more closed number depending on if the rail is curved. I measure on the middle but the chances are that the reed hits on the middle anyway, right? Phil Barone
 
#25 ·
I measure it two ways with my digital caliper.

1. I hold the mouthpiece table against glass with the tip near the edge of the glass and simply stick the jaws of the caliper in the opening and open until they contact the glass and the tip rail center.

2. I measure the thickness of the glass and zero it out on the caliper. Then I put the piece against the glass with the tip hanging over the edge enough to use the depth probe on the back side of my caliper measuring from the back side of the glass to the center of the tip rail.

With both of these methods I take 5 to 10 careful readings and go with the reading that seems predominate.
 
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