| 1. The cane barrel is hardened stainless steel
with the end shafts integral to the cane barrel. The grinding of the
cane barrel produces a precision cylinder that is within a tenth of
a thousandth of being round. |
| 2. There is a grid etched on the cane barrel in
precise alignment with the profiled cane from my special shaper. My
shaper outline is superimposed and etched on the grid pattern. The
placement of the grid and shape is aligned with the special plugs
of the shaper and the same precise locations on the cane barrel. It
is now possible to place pressure sensitive shim material on the grid/shape
pattern that will provide precise trimming of the blank when the shaped
piece of cane is clamped on the cane barrel and then profiled. The
precision shim material can be any shape and thickness according to
the requirements of the reed maker. |
| 3. This feature it makes a separate tip trimmer
unnecessary. In addition this setup can be changed unlike a tiptrimmer
which has only one placque/template. Another important point is that
while a tiptrimmer operation is done separately from the reed pattern,
this tip shimming feature is an integral part of the whole reed profile
pattern. |
| 4 The master cam has three cam patterns any of
which can be used by simply turning them on the master cam shaft.
Each of the three cam patterns has a shorter trimming angle and is
clamped in place with a precisely placed cam lug that holds the cam
on a precision-ground flat on the cam shaft. There is no loss of accuracy
or symmetry regardless of which cam pattern is used. The cams can
be moved longitudinally on the cam shaft in order to have the cam
pattern on any place on the blade of the reed. Thus a wider or narrower
blade can be provided. As described in the shimming possibilities
of the paragraph above, the combined shimming and cam variations,
the three cam patterns, and the cam placements can produce an unlimited
number of profile patterns. Any variation is symmetrical because of
the accuracy built into the profiler. In addition, the hardened materials
from which each part is made guarantee durability and precision over
a long period of time. |
| 5. In conjunction with the shimming process, I
have developed an attachment to the cane barrel, called the Verifier/Locator,
that helps locate and measure specific corresponding spots on the
profiled cane while it is on the cane barrel. Thus, the symmetry of
the profiling pattern can be proven. The Verifier/Locator also indicates
the areas on the cane barrel where the operator desires to place shim
material. |
