Wild Goose Studios

20/02/2024

Nick Whitmer half set tune-up complete. Added blowpipe, stock and chanter stock to complement Nick’s turning style. Also rolled ferrules for the blowpipe stock and one that was missing on the tenor drone slide.

13/02/2024

Photo compression on this is not doing justice with the shellac finish.

12/02/2024

New UP blowpipe for a restoration of a Nick Whitmer set. African Blackwood turned to a simple taper complemented with beads and bird beaks found in Nick’s minimalist style.

04/01/2024

My only bad drilling job so far, but it is worth reflecting upon what happened. I was having a hard time getting through this one, so I split it open with the bandsaw to find out what was going on. Heat problems aside, the first three inches or so the hole was straight and true, but you can see at the end of the drill the grain starts to go about ten degrees. This is the part where I was feeling some real problems. It is interesting to see how grain direction can influence the direction the drill will go.

13/12/2022

Forged in Fire: D-bit edition. Will it cut? They will not keel. Heat treatment, using boric acid/alcohol packing to mitigate scale buildup. Idea from Clickspring, but I think he got it from Mr. Pete, so thanks Tubal Cain! Works pretty good!

05/12/2022

D-bit blanks with transition diameters on shanks ready for heat treatment! I could use other sizes for transition drills/reamers, but I will cross that bridge when I come to it. Diameters ranging from .140”-.598”. On to grinding after heat treatment.

23/11/2022

Last one for the season before Thanksgiving! I am thankful for a good year full of making good music for people, a wonderful family and friends. What are you thankful for?

22/11/2022

Cribbage pegs, anybody? Bueller? Bueller?

09/11/2022

May I introduce my most ambitious project to date: Fantasy Opus No. 1. It is an orchestral piece I started writing in May when a music library I was working with sent out a brief for the Aquaman 2 trailer. I wasn't selected for the project, but I started writing anyways because I had an awesome oceanic theme in my head that was developing into an earworm. I had to put it down during a vacation that went south from me getting COVID, and I didn't really feel good until mid-July. I picked it up again with a passion, but my sheet music head was stuck in a DAW, and I was thinking of the work in terms of sheet music, so I had to get organized on sheet music. This added to the amount of time I took to work on it, but it helped me stay organized. As a bonus, the sheet music instrumentation on the app sounded amazing to me, so I incorporated the stems into my mix, and I have an alternate mix to use on top of that.
I wanted to tell a story with this work, so the piece is a collection of 4 clear leitmotifs. To start is awakening or call of the hero. In answer to that is a rise of some malevolent force. There is a journey the hero takes through this dark domain to a land of good forces who come to aid the hero. The hero then comes to realize destiny, fully embracing the hero path, leading to victory. It is a common thread we see in many stories from Lord of the Rings to The Matrix.
I hope you enjoy listening to this work as much as I have enjoyed making it.
All the best,
Justin

08/11/2022

No cappuccino for National Cappuccino Day, today. Tea is a staple around here. Steep well for a hearty brew.

08/11/2022

A bit of a deeper dive into the Shaft Diameter Reduction Tool, with squirrel commentary! 🐿

Using the Shaft Diameter Reduction Tool to cut brass reed staples for uilleann bagpipes.