Simple Pantograph

[J.F. Custom]

Hi All.

A comment by Dom in another thread just made me remember this video I saw some time ago.

Many of you may have seen this, but in case you have not, it is a very simple but effective Pantograph for repetitive inlay work etc. I had intended to make one of these but am yet to get around to it... amongst many other things.


youtu.be/

Jeremy.

[Puff]

For mine that is a copier or replicator rather than a pantograph which is by definition able to scale up or down as well as copy.

[rocket]

i like it.

[Dominic]

Thats the one I was talking about Jeremy. There are a few more like it on youtube but unless you look for a pantograph you won't find them. Its just what others call them, I don't really care if it the correct term or not.

Ok, as soon as I get back from Warsaw I'll put mine together and post a few pics. I got one of the air powered twisty router thingies (don't want to upset puff by calling it the wrong name ) from Blue creek and its great for inlays, much less vibration that the dremel.
Cheers Dom

[Puff]

No offence would be taken Dom. Pneumatic or air die grinder is the general term here. Speed is the essence as they go from air die grinder through mini... through micro. In reality from 30,000rpm through to 80,000 rpm. Matching your air supply to the needs of the hand piece is important. Some micros guzzle and some are more reasonable. A much more economic (for air supply) solution comes with a dental hand piece -450,000 rpm.

[Dominic]

Puff, I suppose you couldn't see my tongue stuck in my cheek from there. Are you American btw?

Dom

[Puff]

No mate I'm a Kiwi. Born Cornwall(UK) 1953 and bought to NZ by parents transfering from RN to RNZN in 1954.
Sorry just realised RN and RNZN might not compute. Royal Navy to Royal New Zealand Navy.

[Dave Higham]

I built a McKenzie style 'pantocopier' and it works well enough for me. By the way, this is tenor ukulel sized.

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[Dominic]

So dave, show us your machine then. The results look good.
Dom

[Nick]

Dave, even your inlays are perfect! You set the bar high for the rest of us to try & achieve.

[DarwinStrings]

I spend a fair bit of time doing inlay by hand and enjoy it cause it is a bit meditative, I guess one of those would speed it up a little especially as I am considering making a few standards rather than one of's but the thing that appeals most is that my sight frustrates me a bit nowadays so I am seriously considering making one. Can I put in a vote to see some pics of yours too Dave.

Jim

[Allen]

I'm with you on that one Jim. I'm really struggling to see what I'm doing no matter how much light and magnification I have going on.

[Dave Higham]

Nick, it's not perfect by any means, as you'll see. I've already posted this on TLC but I suppose it won't hurt to show it here.
Once I'd cut out the shell pieces I used 3M re-positionable spray adhesive to position them face down (don't forget) on a board. I then gave them a coat of 'mould-relase' spray. This, in fact, is a Teflon spray I already had for treating saw or jointer tables, etc. Keith uses olive oil which probably works just as well but is a bit more messy.

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I then warmed up some 'friendly plastic' in hot water. Mine is in fact called Utileplast (a French equivalent) but you can get the real thing from LMI if you don't have it in Oz. I kneaded this well around the shell. Note the 2 spacers stuck to the board.

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Then, while the plastic was still soft, I put another board on top and squeezed the whole lot up in the vice, and left it to cool down.

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This gave me my mould with a nice even thickness and it lifted off the shell quite easily.

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This is the only photo I have of the 'machine' but I'll tell you a few things about it that need to be modified before I use it again. First of all I simplified it a bit by making the Dremel attachment and the stylus fixed. That was a mistake as I had to very carefully align my headplate veneer and the mould to get the inlay in the right position. So either the Dremel or the stylus (or both) needs to be adjustable. Second, as you can see, I used lightweight drawer runners and heavier ones would probably have made it a bit less flexible. To attach the Dremel I bought the accessory for cutting holes in dry walling and used the threaded part. If you think of making one just watch Chris Paulick's video a few times and you'll get the hang of what you need to do. Take note of what he says about 'racking' the hinges to take out the play; I wouldn't have thought of that.

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[Dave Higham]

Do some trial runs before starting on the real thing. My first results were very disappointing; the recesses I cut were much too big. I used the 1/32" downcut cutter from Stewmac and a 1/32" drill shank as a stylus. I had to experiment a bit and finished up using a bit of brass rod as a stylus and kept putting it in the drill chuck and filing it down a bit until it gave me a recess that was the right size. It also needs a very light touch. I found the best way was to hog out the inner part of each recess, watching the stylus, not the cutter and then carefully follow the contour of the mould using as little pressure as possible. Of course, if it were made from aluminium plate, using precision hinges and linear bearings instead of drawer slides it would be more accurate and wouldn't need such a light touch, but this only cost a few quid.

A 1/32" diameter router bit looks tiny and you'd think that a 1/64" radius would be next to nothing, but it ain't. So this machine's not really suited to inlays with long pointy bits. Any inside corners in the recesses still have to be cut by hand. And I'm with you guys when it comes to eyesight. I'm seriously considering one of those binocular thingies that Dan Erlewine always has stuck on top of his head!

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So when all the bits finally went in, it looked like this. As I said, it's not at all perfect, but I don't think I would have got it any better by hand.

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With a bit of sanding dust mixed into the epoxy the shell was glued in. The sanding dust/epoxy mixture always looks darker than the surrounding wood (unless it's ebony) so I mix a bit of chalk dust in as well to try and get a better colour match.

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[kiwinoz62]

Hi All,

That is so kool, where can we buy friendly plastic or equivalent in Oz.
My pneumatic die grinder arrived from Blues Creek this week, so keen to give some inlay work a try.

[DarwinStrings]

Thanks Dave all food for thought. Looks like Keith uses a reasonable quality hinge but he does mention he cranks the hinges against each other which will take any slop out of them. The piano hinge you used should be okay if you can get a bit of a crank in them too I would think. I say that cause I already have SS piano hinge laying around.

Jim

[Nick]

Hi All,

That is so kool, where can we buy friendly plastic or equivalent in Oz.

I got some through LMI but do a google search if you want something local as there are several arts & craft stores that stock it.

Thanks for the quick rundown Dave, still looks impressive though because as you say the radius's have to be 'sharpened'. On Ebony I tend to be lazy & just rout 'past' the point a little & rely on the filler to hide it .

[Clancy]

How would it go cutting out the shell inlay?
What type of cutter would you need then?
My thinking is of doing replicas of shell logos and fret markers.

[DarwinStrings]

It should cut shell fine if you make it play free. I found these guys ages ago when I was looking at CNC's but have never bought off them. http://www.precisebits.com/products/car ... /shell.asp

Jim

[Puff]

It is thermo plastic and Jaycar used to sell it. Also known as Polymorph there's a trader selling it at $16/100g on TradeMe.
Is great as you can use it again and again. Just heat it up to 60C and she's soft again. At room temp it will take a 'reasonable' thread.
Please be extra careful doing shell on these. At very least a good draft away from your face toward the work. This stuff in your lungs is with you forever - the particles have hooks/barbs that do not come out. A water vapour spray is better.
As for mini or micro die-grinders; here in NZ, you can buy them for $20 and $35 respectively.

[Dominic]

This is the only photo I have of the 'machine' but I'll tell you a few things about it that need to be modified before I use it again. First of all I simplified it a bit by making the Dremel attachment and the stylus fixed. That was a mistake as I had to very carefully align my headplate veneer and the mould to get the inlay in the right position. So either the Dremel or the stylus (or both) needs to be adjustable.

Dave, do you mean adjustable back and forth, side to side or both? May as well avoid other mistakes before I get going and not having tried to align one I am not sure what the difficulty is.
Cheers
Dom

[SteveF]

Hi all,found this guy on ebay a while back
http://shop.ebay.com.au/consiliumdesign ... m=&_ipg=25
price seems reasonable even with postage from UK 500g @$26.00..
Hope it helps someone out cheers Steve

[Kim]

Jaycar works out to about $90 per kg. (No Freight)

LMI works out to about $56.00 per kg + Freight (app $25 to $30)

This pommy ebayer works out to about $54 per kg..'Including' freight.

http://cgi.ebay.com/250g-POLYMORPH-Amaz ... 45f5a59d4b

EDIT...Too slow for Steve

Cheers

Kim

[Puff]

That UK link looks first choice for more as there are still rellies over their
The exchange rate from here puts Jaycar some way ahead of LMI.

[Rod True]

That's just awesome. Never saw it originally or Dave's on TLC. Thanks guys, another jig to make