NEW BARGAIN KAZOOS AT ARTFIRE

From time to time I will be in the process of smoothing in a kazoo when I discover a flaw or blemish in the wood that will not be removed in the smoothing in process. Most often this is a very small stress crack in the wood that is barely visible and has no effect whatsoever on the dynamics of the kazoo. The problem is completely cosmetic in nature. I call these "Grade B Kazoos" as opposed to my other kazoos which are "Grade A". All of my personal kazoos are "Grade B Kazoos".

Until last week never had I had more than one of the "Grade B" Kazoos at a time but I ended up with four! Two Dual Resonator Ultimate FatBoy Kazoos and Two Spirit Chaser Kazoo's that I just happened to rough in all from the same piece of woodstock. Well sure enough there was an almost identical hairline stress crack on each, in the same location on the kazoos that could not be removed in the final smoothing in.

These four "Grade B" Kazoos were just to danged pretty looking and great sounding to put on the shelf. So I decided to make a new kazoo category in my ArtFire Shop called "Bargain Kazoos" and make these beautiful kazoos available at a much reduced price. As I said I don't normally have these very often but in the future the one's I do have will be listed in the "Bargain Kazoos" Category/ Here's what I have there now.

http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/greataswegokazoofactory/1/7/372227//

DOC KAZOO DIY CANDLE HEATER

A few days ago I saw a video on making candle heaters and thought this would be a great idea for a small room off the workshop area approximately 60-70 sqft.  Plus not a bad idea to have around for an emergence winter power outage.  After doing a search and looking at various designs people have made I started looking around the workshop for things I could use to make one.    I am one of those people that have coffee cans full of old hardware. LOL  Plus I don't throw away anything that I might use for something at some point. LOL  My day use to say "keep it five years, if you don't use it then sell it or throw it away."  Trouble is I never remember when I got something so nothing gets thrown away! LOL

I have a bunch of flower pots sitting around so that part was easy.  I use four pots graduated in size outward to a 6" pot.  To connect the pots and make the hanging ring I used an old electric lamp finial, a long bolt with threads that matched the female threads on the lamp finial, a large washer between each pot and a porch swing style hook for hanging the assembled pots,  The pots can be adjusted up and down 3/4" by simply screwing the hanging hook in or out.

My candle heater stands 15" tall and the pine base measures 8"X14"X1".  The "yard arm" support for the hanging is made from 1 1/2"X2X1/2" recycled oak from an old shipping pallet.  The two "yard arm" pieces are assembled with wood glue and three 2 1/2" countersunk wood screws.  It is attached to the base with wood glue and three countersunk 1 1/2" wood screws.  It's a real simple design but sturdy design that can be assembled in an hour if you have all the parts.  One possible addition I may make to my candle heater is a heat reflector between the flower pot and the "yard arm" vertical support.

For the tea candle holder I used a 6" clay pot drip dish that I have epoxy'ed to a cheap candle stand.  It is not permanently mounted to the stand so that you can safely and easily move it in and out when hot to replace burned out candles.  To test the heater I used five cheap "dollar store"  tea lights.  They did fine except that the burn time was only about 90 minutes.  I will be ordering some better quality 4 hour tea lights I have found online for the heater.  After allowing the candle heater to warm up for an hour or so I checked the exterior temperature with a HVAC probe thermometer by holding it against the top at the mounting ring and bottom on the side 2" above the rim at the candles.   At the top the temperature registered 105F and bottom 125F.   First really cold day I will give it a real time test in the workshop room but I do believe this might just work there.

I am also thinking about one more addition to my candle heater with a metal reflector between the hanging pots and the yardarm vertical support.  I have some 12" wide bright aluminum flashing in the workshop that will work just fine.

This is definitely a real easy project that anybody could do and probably with stuff already around the house.  I can remember last winter loosing power for several hours on a cold winter day and had to fire up the Coleman Propane Lantern for heat.  We have a small bedroom that this will probably heat just fine based on what I have seen in videos where people are using them.   Definitely handy for emergencies.

Plus it's a lot of fun to make!

Happy and Warm Kazooing to All
Doc

NEW KAZOO DESIGN! THE HOTROD "TUNED" KAZOO

A couple weeks ago I cut out and drilled a 6" kazoo blank with no idea whatsoever how the finished kazoo would look.  From time to time I would look at it and sit it back down while I was working on other kazoos. I finally got caught up in the workshop the other day and started messing around with an idea a totally new kazoo design that I now call the Hot Rod Kazoo.

There are several things that make this a totally new design.  First this kazoo actually starts out with four separate parts.  As in a standard kazoo there is a kazoo body and resonator cap.  Unlike a standard kazoo there is also a vent hole air "scoup" shaped like the hood scoup for an automobile.  Next there is a mouth hole size reducer.  The scoup and reducer are permanently attached to the kazoo body.

This kazoo starts out with an over size mouth hole similar to my Spirit Chaser Kazoos. This also enlarges the air chamber beneath the resonator cap.  I then install the mouth hole reducer which results in a standard size mouth hole.

The air scoup is also permanently attached  over the vent hole at a location which provides the best sound and control.  This kazoo has the vent hole exiting the bottom of the kazoo so the scoup also prevents the vent hole from being accidentally covered when playing the kazoo.

When positioning the air scoup over the vent hole I discovered that as I moved the location of the scoup in different locations over the vent hole there was a dramatic change in the quality of the sound produced when I hummed and moved the scoup.  Once I identified  the location that provided the best sound it was permanently attached in that location.

I compare this effect with that of having "tuned headers" on an automobile engine. Where the headers are providing the optimum exhaust pressure for engine performance my kazoo scoup does the same thing for the air passing through the vent hole.  So in terms of tuned performance this is an "old kazoo maker tuned kazoo"!

ROUGHED IN HOT ROD KAZOO

The Hot Rod Kazoo is also designed to fit a Hohner Harmonica (HH01) Harmonica neck holder.  It will also fit most standard neck holders.  I hope to have this kazoo available next week!

Please be sure and stop by  the Kazoo Factory  and Doc Kazoo Facebook Pages to see what's new in the workshop.  Each morning a workshop plan of the day is posted and each evening a Workshop End of the Day picture is posted show the status of all kazoos being made.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Great-AsWeGo-Kazoo-Factory/168109906556127

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Doc-Kazoo/141120789324160

Happy Kazooing!
Doc Kazoo

SPECIAL EDITION CHRISTMAS 2013 ACOUSTIC/ELECTRIC FATBOY KAZOO & STAND

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Each year I make several Special Edition Kazoos to celebrate various holidays and special events.  This includes National Kazoo Day, Independence Day, Halloween, Christmas, New Years and other special days.   Generally these are unique kazoo designs that are only made once.  Right now I am working on this year's Special Edition Christmas Kazoo which is both a one of a kind Christmas Kazoo and a new FatBoy Kazoo Design.  It is a sculpted one of a kind Collector's FatBoy Kazoo with an absolutely beautiful wood grain/knot pattern and color.

I call this new design the "Convertable" FatBoy Kazoo for two reasons.  First it because it converts from an acoustic to an electric kazoo, which in itself is not a new design as I already have an acoustic/electric Performer FatBoy Kazoo in the kazoo factory catalog. There is also another convertable feature of this new FatBoy design.  It can be mounted in a standard Hohner Harmonica Neck Holder on either the mouth or vent side of the resonator cap.  The original design of the FatBoy Kazoo only offers mounting in the neck holder on the vent side of the resonator cap which results in about 2.5" of the kazoo mouth end extending beyond the neck holder.  When mounted on the mouth side of the kazoo less than an inch of the mouth end extends beyond the neck holder.  This more similar to that of a harmonica.

This kazoo will come with two resonator caps.  One acoustic and one electric to fit the Hummbucker Kazoo Pickup/Mic available at Kazoobie Kazoo. You can play acoustic with either resonator cap but the Hummbucker will only fit the Electric Resonator Cap.  It also comes with a beautiful matching wooden display stand.  The Hummbucker Kazoo Pickup/Mic is not included with this kazoo and must be purchased separately.  They are are available at KAZOOBIE KAZOO   and some other great electric kazoo stuff too!!

This Special Collector Edition "Convertable" FatBoy Christmas 2013 Kazoo, Serial Number 001, will be finished and available in my ArtFire Shop sometime in October 2013.

Acoustic Resonator Cap On Kazoo

Electric Resonator Cap On Kazoo

Stand, Body and both Resonator Caps

Stand, Body and both Resonator Caps

On January 1, 2014 a new Performer Design "Convertable" FatBoy Kazoo with dual mounting locations will be available in the kazoo factory catalog.  At that time all other FatBoy Kazoos models will have an option for selecting the location of a mounting point for the harmonica neck holder,  either on the mouth or vent side of the kazoo resonator cap at no additional cost.

So be sure and keep an eye out for this one!  It will make a beautiful Christmas gift for for everyone especially performing musicians and collectors.  The FatBoy Family of Kazoos are my most popular instruments literally around the world.

Happy Kazooing to All!
Doc

PS
Here is a picture of a previous Acoustic/Electric Collector FatBoy Kazoo.  This kazoo has been sold and is not available.  I added this picture to demonstrate how the Hummbucker mounts to the kazoo.

This picture shows a traditional Collector FatBoy with mounting on vent side 
of the resonator cap.  It is used for demonstrating the Hummbucker Kazoo
Pickup/Mic attached to the kazoo. 
Hummbucker Kazoo Pickup/Mics are available at
KAZOOBIE KAZOOS

I TOOK A WRONG TURN IN ALBUQUERQUE!

I'm back!!! LOL   It looks like I have been lost since my last blog post It's been a while since I have had time to post a new blog.  Today I have the workshop all caught up and am taking the day to do website updates.  I thought the best place to start would be letting you know what's been going on in the Kazoo Factory and around the Homestead.

It has been a pretty rugged summer weather wise with daily heat index (what it feels like) going over 100F outside and way hotter in the workshop.  So this has mean that the workshop is on Tropical Hours.  This is an old sailors term from my days on an old WWII destroyer with no air conditioning anywhere but the galley. When operating in tropical climates we would start work early while the coolest and knock of ships work early before the peak afternoon heat.  I do the same in the workshop each year.  I should be back on regular hours in a month or so.

Lots has been going on since my last blog post.  I have been petty busy making kazoos and designing some new ones too.  Have also had lots of fun on several new collaborations with performing musicians for some great custom designed kazoos! This includes the UkeZoo Kazoo that is shaped like a Ukulele, the MicZoo Kazoo designed to fit a microphone clip held in a mic stand, Yellow Submarine Kazoos and a few more!  I am working on a collaboration right now for a 12" dreadnought kazoo that will be performing early next year at the World Busker's Festival in Spain!  I have also designed a few new kazoos myself including and Electric Performer FatBoy Kazoo that is made to accept the Hummbucker Kazoo Pickup/Mic that is available at Kazoobie Kazoo.  I am presently making a Special Edition Collectors Electric FatBoy Kazoo that will be available soon!  I even modified my old Performer FatBoy to accept the pick up and am having a ball running it through my old Digitech Genesis 1 processor to my old favorite Peavy Rage guitar amp.  Kazoobie Kazoo also just added a Professional Hummbucker Pickup to their catalog!!

Back in July I was very proud to be part of N'UKEFEST 2013 in the UK donating a beautiful Custom UkeZoo Kazoo for their raffle in support of Macmillian Cancer Support.  The UkeZoo joined some beautiful ukuleles and other items that were donated and raised nearly 1000 pounds for a great cause!!!   I just sent another kazoo back to my stomping grounds as a kid back in Charlotte, NC to a local elementary school for a Silent Auction fund raising event.  The school is within a few miles of where I grew up so that made this a very special kazoo for me.  It is a new designed Custom Traditional Carolina Kazoo.  I will be making these available soon.

Recently added a new country to the list of "Where In The World Are Aswego Kazoos".  In one month I shipped the first two kazoos to Switzerland.  Still shy of my "Bucket List Item" to have one in every country on the planet but making process.  As always I have had the great pleasure of making kazoos for some fantastic people from all over.  I sure like making kazoos my way.  I makes it nice getting to meet and communicate with real people for a week or so while I make their kazoos.  One thing I have discovered is that there are really some other crazy people in the Kazoo and Ukulele communities around the world!!!

Which reminds me I also got myself a soprano ukulele last Christmas.  I figured that since so many ukulele players were using my kazoos the least I could do was learn to play the ukulele!  Not only have I discovered a much under estimated instrument that is just plain fun to play but a bunch of ukulele players around the world who have helped me learn.  I ain't there yet but I am closer than I was last Christmas and just got my second ukulele, a tenor ukulele this time.  I highly recommend the ukulele to everyone as a perfect companion to a kazoo!

There's lots more that's been going on as usual in the workshop.  I have tinkered with a few other instrument builds when I had time and as always having a bunch of fun.  Hope this blog finds each of you happy, well and most importantly having fun.

Happy Kazooing to All
Doc

N'UKEFEST 2013 SPECIAL 10% DISCOUNT ON ALL KAZOOS

Well it's almost time for N'UKEFEST 2013!!! Since a lot of us won't be able to make the trip to the United Kingdom I thought I might do something so that everyone can join in the N'UKEFEST 2013 celebration. 

As most people know I sent Barry of the N'Ukes a UkeZoo Kazoo for the Macmillian Cancer Support Raffle. Today I heard that the Southern Ukulele Store, who donated a beautiful ukulele, also sent Barry some brochures that contained a special N'UKEFEST 2013 10% Discount Code.

This gave me an idea! I set up a 10% N'UKEFEST 2013 Discount Code in my ArtFire Shop for everyone that attends the festival. The code is valid from July 20th to December 31st one use per customer. This discount is for any of my kazoos and cannot be used in conjunction with any other discounts.

In celebration the first N'UKEFEST everyone from anywhere can use the N'UKEFEST 2013! 10% Discount Code for any kazoo in my ArtFire Studio Shop.

All you have to do is enter the Code "NUKE" at check out. That's all caps and no quotation marks.
Cheers,
Doc Kazoo

CHRISTMAS IN JULY 2013 AT THE KAZOO FACTORY

I am very happy to announce that the Kazoo Factory has joined Homestead Music with a Christmas in July 2013 Sale.  

Through the month of July you can take advantage of a 10% discount on all of my kazoos!  This includes special custom made kazoos and ready made kazoos.

All you have to do is enter the Discount Code "santa" (minus the quotation marks) at check out in my ArtFire Shop.

Merry Christmas In July and Happy Kazooing,

Doc Kazoo

http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/greataswegokazoofactory