Design Options – In Depth: Part 2

Following on from my previous posts on the toob key design (overview, Part 1) and moving further through the “family tree” I’d like to take you through our ideas on a fabric hinge for the toob keys.

This idea came out of our pre-occupation with the offset of the fingerpad from the tonehole along the toob. This was combined with the desire to achieve a low profile solution to hinging the keys.

As you may have seen in Misha’s video post earlier, his model based on this concept worked well and gives us the sort of feel that we’re aiming for. The main unresolved issue is how to fix the fabric in place. Mechanical fixings seem to be unlikely to be the answer due to the thinness of sheet or plate being used and the difficulty of achieving a reliable thread in it.

Adhesives would be the more likely solution to assemble this concept, however we will need to do some further research to find production quality adhesives with a known reliable lifespan.

As always your comments are always appreciated, I’ll be trying to get this updated more regularly too…