[CAUT] Shank cutting block

Edward Sambell esambell at yahoo.com
Thu Sep 16 10:48:48 MDT 2010


Here is another attempt to send the photos. The top one shows three grooves ; 
the center one is employed for all the hammers except the end ones, when the 
outer grooves are used. At the top edge extra pieces are added to narrow them to 
the shank diameter. and  these are angle cut so that the shank sits in a semi 
hexagon. In the bottom photo note the two clearance dados, one for the flange 
screwheads, and one for the drop screws. A pull saw MUST be used as a Western 
saw will cause the corner closest to the hand using it will lift and damage the 
center if the saw snags. An Asian saw will tend  to hold the block down in 
place. There is little dust, but if it were a problem, some sort of small hood 
could be made, and moved from hammer to hammer. With practice, no more than two 
strokes are needed to cut the stub away; the Kawai tech did it with one every 
time, and the cut was so flush that sanding was unnecessary. I use a Dozuki 
(dovetail) saw with a nine inch blade. It has a stiff back.
Making the block requires the use of a table saw and dado blades, and takes 
about half an hour. The dimensions are 4-1/2" H x 4"W x 1-1/2" Thick. A piece of 
leftover pinblock is ideal.
I have yet to use the block on WNG shanks, so do not know how well the saw will 
cut  them, but am looking forward to doing so.

Ted Sambell


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