The tip rail seems to be for me the single greatest source of
frustration and I think if I were to fashion an old scribe with a
descending sandpaper screwhead from the moving wooden slide, I could
sand in back of the tip WITH a width adjustment...
I have been using Diamond files and then sandpaper to get rid of the
gouges. After the filing the tip looks great and then the sandpaper
munges it all up - probably because it is hard to keep perfectly flat.
I read Paul's note about Mr. Runyon showing him the dowel method and I
will try that too...

The dowel was for a final polish of the baffle.

Note, if you will lay the mouthpiece flat on the workbench, with the 
table up, the facing and tip rail will slope down.  If you hold your 
file at a constand height from the table, holding the file, and with 
your knuckle of your pinky and ring finger  against the table, you can 
adjust your hand such that you can hold a constant angle on the file.  
If the file is approximately horizontal, with the facing and tip rail 
slanting down, you will not file on the tip rail itself.

Now, to sand the file marks from the baffle, wrap the file with a strip 
of 600 grit paper, and hold the file the same way as when you filed the 
baffle. Again, you should not touch the tip rail itself.

NOW you polish the baffle, holding the dowel, with chamois glued on a 
flat spot, the same way as you held the file, and with a little 
polishing compound (I use Kit Scratch Out, from automotive stores) and a 
drop or two of water, polish the baffle.

Once the chamber, baffle, and facing are all satisfactory, I next 
lightly HAND polish the body of the mouthpiece.  If there are teeth 
grooves, I fill those with epoxy, sand to shape, polish by hand, and 
cover with a thin clear mylar patch. 

As a final cosmetic step only, with a piece of 600 or 800 grit paper, 
turned BACKSIDE UP, I make a few strokes on the table, and one light 
stroke on the facing to put a light polish.  There is enough fine dust 
in the paper backing to do this, and it works well on rubber, plastic, 
and metal pieces.  And this looks more professional to the customer.

KEEP THE MOUTHPIECE AWAY FROM BUFFING WHEELS.

It is also a nice mark to fill the logo, ligature groove, and facing 
marking with a gold crayon (there are special crayons for this from 
Ferrees Tools), then polish off the excess.  This really gives a nice, 
fresh look... kind of like a nice coat of paint on a freshly rebuilt engine.

Finally, I get mouthpieces wrapped and boxed in horrible manner.  I put 
the mouthpiece in a fresh mouthpiece box, wrap it in bubble wrap, foam 
peanuts, and a good, sturdy cardboard shipping box.

These little steps take little time and expense, and have a big impact 
on customer perception.

Paul

Patrick wrote:

> The tip rail seems to be for me the single greatest source of
> frustration and I think if I were to fashion an old scribe with a
> descending sandpaper screwhead from the moving wooden slide, I could
> sand in back of the tip WITH a width adjustment...
> I have been using Diamond files and then sandpaper to get rid of the
> gouges. After the filing the tip looks great and then the sandpaper
> munges it all up - probably because it is hard to keep perfectly flat.
> I read Paul's note about Mr. Runyon showing him the dowel method and I
> will try that too...
>
>
>
> Got a Mouthpiece Work question?  Send it to MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
>
> Visit the site at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MouthpieceWork to see 
> the Files, Photos and Bookmarks relating to Mouthpiece Work.
>
> To see and modify your groups, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/mygroups
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>     * To visit your group on the web, go to:
>       http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MouthpieceWork/
>        
>     * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>       MouthpieceWork-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>       <mailto:MouthpieceWork-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsubscribe>
>        
>     * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
>       Service <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/>.
>
>