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I cut, shaped, and annealed some brass tubing today. This handy little tool is very useful for installing new water key springs on brass instruments.

Time to do some silver soldering. This was my first attempt with silver solder. I made a handy porting tool for assessing valves.

Greg introduced the rim of my trombone mouthpiece to the face of a roughed up brick. This is the result after cleaning, spin burnishing, and polishing. It’s looking great

I completed my mouthpiece receiver board, and everything is in place. The arbors that get placed on the bottom weren’t on our tool block list for this year, but they’re currently on order from my good friends at Ferree’s Tools!

The majority of the class dressed up like Brian for Halloween. Sadly, I had to be out of town for the day. Happily, I dress like this almost everyday anyway!

I turned my dining table into a makeshift workbench to get some work done on my project flute. The cork yoga mat is a great work surface. I also REALLY like the screwdriver set from Welnuo Tools. Shout out to Zoe for the solid recommendations.

Zoe brought by a clarinet for show and tell! It was built in the 1830s. This model was only produced for about 16 years. It’s made from boxwood and ivory. It was captivating to see the craftsmanship and production techniques from that era.

I am compressing some tenon cork using my bench top vise. This makes the cork more flexible and capable of wrapping around the tenon without breaking.

I made my first bearing seater on the mini lathe. I am happy to report the correct depth, facing, and hole taper have all been achieved!

I got my new bench peg installed today. Progress is slow but sure on my starter bench at home!

I picked up this nice set of screwdrivers from Welnuo. I really like them! The spring hook is a little something I picked up from Music Medic. It’s been quite handy thus far.

Here goes my first attempt at tenon corking. It’s going to be a fun time in Red Wing!!

Well… I disassembled my first clarinet. These things looks funny when they’re naked. 🤭

I brought it home, stared it down, took it apart, put it back together, and got it all working properly.

I’m not sure if I’ve ever been this organized. See where it says “Economy Binder”… I even switched that out for a much nicer binder - pics to follow!

This is my first attempt at corking and beveling a clarinet key. I’ve been learning a lot about the process and enjoying every minute of it!

A few of the beginning projects I worked on at Red Wing - a custom oil tube, a large and small poker, custom-shaped pad slicks, and mirror-buffing my pliers and pad slicks.

A place for everything, and everything in its place! I start to organize my woodwind bench and find a home for every single thing.

Today we venture to make a large poker. Pads are going to be no match for this joker… joker poker; rhyming - nailed it!

My daughter and I having some fun with our cornets! Hello! My name is Cody. For the past 15 years, I’ve been working as a technician for folk harps. It’s been a fun and rewarding experience, as well as a way for me to stay connected to my passion of music. I am hoping you’ll join me on my new adventure to become a certified band instrument repair technician. My background is in low brass instruments, specifically trombone and euphonium. Life happened, and I had a long 23 year