Comments on: A Balance Staff

By: J.Peter

J.Peter — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 14:48:04 +0000

I use a slot cutter ( a graver which can be inserted straight in) to rough out the left side of the staff but eventually you’ve got to turn it around to finish it up.

By: Ben

Ben — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 08:06:14 +0000

Hi Peter,
How do you tunr the part to the left of the balkance seat without removing the staff from the late?

I am struggling with this. It is too close to the headstok for me to get the graver in from the left as the angle always hits the collet and tailstock. Especially the left pivot. Yours looks as close as mine so how did you get around this problem?

By: J.Peter

J.Peter — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 03:58:20 +0000

I usually use MSC oil steel from MSCdirect.com and harden and temper it myself. The Bergeon blued steel for staffs is inconsistent and soft (pretty much worthless).

By: Michael

Michael — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 16:33:43 +0000

What type of steel do I use to make a staff? It says blued steel, what about machinest steel? Where can I buy the steel? What percentage carbon? Someone said I can use sewing needles? Thanks.

By: J.Edwards

J.Edwards — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 03:54:21 +0000

Great post J.Peter! Thanks for sharing.

By: J.Peter

J.Peter — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 20:02:34 +0000

Vince, what you are seeing isn’t necessarily a shoulder but it is an imperfection in the conical portion. This is a result of my only having to make a staff every couple of years.

The cylindrical portion’s only purpose is to add strength to the staff so if it isn’t perfectly smooth it has no detrimental effect on the performance of the balance.

By: Vince

Vince — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:34:40 +0000

Thanks for posting all the photos. I find this very interesting. I have a question. Maybe it’s just the photography, but it looks like there is a slight shoulder between the cylindrical portion of the pivot and the conical portion. Am I seeing this correctly? If so, what is the purpose of the shoulder? Thanks, and please keep these photos of repair jobs coming. They are very informative.

By: J.Peter

J.Peter — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 03:07:08 +0000

Well, I don’t do this often enough so the customer got a really good deal. I only billed for a couple of hours because I enjoy this kind of work and need to practice it to keep up my skills. The entire project from start to end took a full eight hours probably. If I did this more often I’m sure I could cut the staff, burnish it and install it in a couple of hours. One reason it took so long is that I wanted to go methodical so I didn’t have to make two. My first one worked! It’s been more than 3 years since I made my last staff.

By: J.Peter

J.Peter — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 03:05:20 +0000

I did actually notice that. It seems to be an issue with WordPress. When I get some time I’ll try and figure it out. Hopefully you didn’t have a problem reading the article, it was plenty legible in Safari.

By: Rohan Smith

Rohan Smith — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 02:41:31 +0000

Hi,
I am not sure if you noticed, but on my web browser (IE7), the text is underneath the pictures 5 and 7 (from the top).