Manufacturing Process

Carbon Fiber(CF) is basically carbon that is woven in to threads and act as a fabric. It is usually a cross weave just like any other fabric but there are various sizes of the weave, the most common for what I am doing is using a 2mm x 2mm.

As a piece of fabric, it is weak and flexible but once the epoxy resin is added, it is incredibly strong compare to other materials of the same weight.

The most exotic cars, bikes, and even now drones are using CF in the construction mainly to reduce the weight.

One thing that no one has ever pay attention to it is the way it sounds. Because of its density after the resin cured it has a natural ringing effect that is pure natural. Because of how hard and light it is, it is able to transmit vibration in a much faster time.

CF is very brittle, unlike the Kevlar which absorbs vibration, it will shatter upon impact while the Kevlar will not and that’s why Kevlar are used for making bullet proof vests etc. but it is terrible for transmitting vibration or sound.

Making a CF part is time consuming, there are no short cuts when doing it the correct way and that’s why they are very expensive. Each step takes tremendous effort and waiting for the epoxy to dry can take up to 8-10 hours each time curing in the oven at 180 degrees. It’s similar to making a violin. You have your material, pattern, lots of extra material that you throw away, you make a mess, you glue it, cut it, shape it, varnish it (clear coat), you sand it, polish it, drill holes etc..

I have spoken with many experts in F1 racing and everyone agree that each piece is made by hand and the mold for each part can take weeks to refine. That being said, this entire CF tailpiece experience has been amazing that I am able to learn and discover how we can use this amazing technology to enhance our beloved instruments and set it free at last.

PHOTOS

Materials
Laying initial outer layer fabric on mold
Using infrared light to cure the coated resin
Sanding excess resin from tailpiece in the clean box
Smoothing out the key hole to fit titanium puller arm by using diamond coated file
Polishing the finished product with compound and buffing drill
Weight
JP Mullen, Kenneth Kuo, Andrew Brittle
Tailpiece on a cello

VIDEOS


Cutting by the best cutter in my shop


Moment of truth….


Mold making process


Grinding away excess resin, this process needs to be done in a enclosed environment as the resin powder in this stage is bad for your lungs


Drilling pilot holes in cello tailpiece


Violin tailpiece


Cello tailpiece sound comparison


Bass tailpiece sound comparison


Thanks to my dear friend Renato, we are able to use a 3D scanner to scan the original tailpiece and create additional designs base on the original measurement and curvature. You got to love modern technology.


Please put on your headphone, get ready for something amazing!


Maybe I should be making marimbas instead of tailpieces! Lol, 4 different tailpiece 3 different pitch.


Tuning a Tailpiece (part 1)


Tuning a Tailpiece (part 2)


Tuning a cello tailpiece down from D


Consistency of the sound


Ridiculous price!