Many things that I have made go through an evolutionary process. Sometimes they are subtle changes but more often the final design has very little to do with the original concept. The Nickster was one of those projects that had a common thread from the beginning.
The 1st appearance 'circa 2008' shows a strong resemblance to the later versions. I had the right idea but I didn't aggressively follow through with it until 2014 (see The Nickster post 7/22/19). I used a bicycle rear mount support, heat shrink tubing, rubber grommets and nylon cord.
2014 the Nickster 1.0:
I wanted to use a semicircle of aluminum to fit in the space between the thumb and index/middle finger. I had hoped this would make the design intuitive to someone who has experience only with the 'glue clamp' designs. It wasn't intuitive to many students and it was only playable for right handed players.
2015 the Nickster 2.0:
I continued to use the semicircle but I made a version for left handed players. I also angled the top downward to make it more stable when mounted on the music stand.
Late 2015 the Nickster 2.8:
The semicircle was too confusing for the players and the 'U' shape makes it's 1st appearance. This was also the 1st time that I used zip ties to hold the triangle. The top and bottom of the mount were parallel again which was a mistake.
2017 the Nickster 3.4:
The top was angled down again for stability but also it removed any rocking if the music stand was tilted upward. Felt or foam rubber was still used to isolate the Nickster from the stand. It was at this time that I started to use 2 part epoxy to connect the thumb/finger rest to the body of the mount. Before this I used a product that 'welded' aluminum to aluminum using a propane torch and occasionally pop rivets. I realized that I lacked the skills to produce a clean strong bead on the weld and the pop rivets added unnecessary weight.
2019 the Nickster 4.0 (see The Nickster post):
Silicon strips were used for sound isolation with the music stand. The angle between top and bottom of the mount was reversed to further address the rocking issue.
July 2019 the Nickster 4.1:
Part of a 'Sticky Hands' party favor was cut out and used for isolating the Nickster from the music stand. Not only did this remove any sympathetic sound when playing on the 'closed leg' but also the 'bottom leg' of a 6" triangle. Larger/heavier triangles still produced the unwanted vibrations when mounted and played on the 'bottom leg'. I also tried using a dipping plastic product to cover the entire mount. The jury is still out on this one.
Obviously the Nickster 4.1 needs refinement and will continue to evolve (ad infinitum?). I am still on the quest for the elusive philosopher's stone of sound isolation for any triangle, even 18" triangles made from rebar (yes, I've made them and will describe the reasons for making them in a later post).
The Nickster Wall of Shame:
The Wooden Nickster:
It wasn't too difficult to cut out a wooden Nickster using a scroll saw but the result was a disaster. Wood transferred the vibrations through the music stand with even the thickest of felt, rubber, silicon or sticky hands.
The Polycarbonate Nickster:
I was really excited about this material. It would not require the intense heat from propane, instead it could be easily bent using a heat gun. But I forgot about one of it's other qualities, it's flexible. When a triangle is mounted on a stand the polycarbonate sags and bounces. Multiple strikes on the triangle turned into a whack-a-mole kind of game.
2014 the Nickster 1.0:
I wanted to use a semicircle of aluminum to fit in the space between the thumb and index/middle finger. I had hoped this would make the design intuitive to someone who has experience only with the 'glue clamp' designs. It wasn't intuitive to many students and it was only playable for right handed players.
2015 the Nickster 2.0:
I continued to use the semicircle but I made a version for left handed players. I also angled the top downward to make it more stable when mounted on the music stand.
Late 2015 the Nickster 2.8:
The semicircle was too confusing for the players and the 'U' shape makes it's 1st appearance. This was also the 1st time that I used zip ties to hold the triangle. The top and bottom of the mount were parallel again which was a mistake.
2017 the Nickster 3.4:
The top was angled down again for stability but also it removed any rocking if the music stand was tilted upward. Felt or foam rubber was still used to isolate the Nickster from the stand. It was at this time that I started to use 2 part epoxy to connect the thumb/finger rest to the body of the mount. Before this I used a product that 'welded' aluminum to aluminum using a propane torch and occasionally pop rivets. I realized that I lacked the skills to produce a clean strong bead on the weld and the pop rivets added unnecessary weight.
2019 the Nickster 4.0 (see The Nickster post):
Silicon strips were used for sound isolation with the music stand. The angle between top and bottom of the mount was reversed to further address the rocking issue.
July 2019 the Nickster 4.1:
Part of a 'Sticky Hands' party favor was cut out and used for isolating the Nickster from the music stand. Not only did this remove any sympathetic sound when playing on the 'closed leg' but also the 'bottom leg' of a 6" triangle. Larger/heavier triangles still produced the unwanted vibrations when mounted and played on the 'bottom leg'. I also tried using a dipping plastic product to cover the entire mount. The jury is still out on this one.
Obviously the Nickster 4.1 needs refinement and will continue to evolve (ad infinitum?). I am still on the quest for the elusive philosopher's stone of sound isolation for any triangle, even 18" triangles made from rebar (yes, I've made them and will describe the reasons for making them in a later post).
 |
| The polycarbonate Nickster |
The Nickster Wall of Shame:
 |
| The Wooden Nickster |
The Wooden Nickster:
It wasn't too difficult to cut out a wooden Nickster using a scroll saw but the result was a disaster. Wood transferred the vibrations through the music stand with even the thickest of felt, rubber, silicon or sticky hands.
The Polycarbonate Nickster:
I was really excited about this material. It would not require the intense heat from propane, instead it could be easily bent using a heat gun. But I forgot about one of it's other qualities, it's flexible. When a triangle is mounted on a stand the polycarbonate sags and bounces. Multiple strikes on the triangle turned into a whack-a-mole kind of game.
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