News  :  April 2002

Music and Musings from Jim Graham...

     I became fascinated with the harmonica the first time I saw Commander Cody play live in 1977. There was a little guy by the name of Norton Buffalo in his band and every time he stepped forward and played a solo I felt chills go up and down my spine. He was electrifying! He made that little $10 harmonica sound so cool! Not many people have heard of Norton Buffalo, but I’ll bet everyone has heard his work without realizing it. I have followed his career and let me tell you it is quite impressive.                                          

     Norton has played on over 100 albums with various blues, rock and country artists. He played on the Doobie Brothers Grammy Award winning hit “Minute by Minute”, and also earned a Grammy nomination for a song he recorded with slide guitarist Roy Rodgers in 1991. Some of my favorite tracks of his include Bonnie Raitt’s version of “Runaway”, and also Willie Nelson’s version of  “Midnight Rider”, from the soundtrack of the movie “The Electric Horseman”(starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda). He has also played with the Marshall Tucker Band, Kenny Loggins, Johnny Cash, Juice Newton, America, and many more. Norton has also composed and produced all of the music for some feature films for television, and played on some “ Garfield” and “Peanuts” cartoons. He has appeared on the “Tonight Show” and “David Letterman” with the Steve Miller Band and still tours with Steve when he hits the road. He had an acting and musical role in Bette Midler’s movie “The Rose” and also played on the soundtrack of Oliver Stone’s “The Door’s” (with Val Kilmer).

     I met Norton Buffalo in a small club in California when he was touring with his own band “The Knockouts”. He is a fascinating person who knows just about everyone in music and show business. I got a chance to talk to him for quite a while between sets and he told me he plays Huang harmonicas from China. He had just gotten back from a two-week trip to China, all expenses paid. The founder of the Huang harmonica company, Cham-Ber Huang, who is a professional classical harmonica player, invited him to visit. Norton said Huang showed him the factory, gave him all kinds of harmonicas, and treated him like royalty all the time he was there. Because Norton is one of the greatest harmonica players in the history of the instrument, Huang wanted him to endorse his harmonicas, and Norton gladly accepted because of their quality.

      These days Norton is touring with his own band “The Knockouts”. The San Francisco Bay Area of California is his home, and he has been pretty much sticking close to home with his performances. But if the Steve Miller Band comes to SPAC this summer, you can bet Norton Buffalo will be there… and I’ll be there, too!

Tips & Tricks by Leonard Fronhofer V........

USE GOOD SET-UPS

            More often than not, a machinists' knowledge of machining exceeds their ability to make and use good set-ups. To be a good machinist you must know all aspects of drafting including full knowledge of tolerancing.

Almost every machinist has some type of formal education on the understanding and proper uses of machine tools. For the most part, machine tools use a straightforward concept of the lead screw, which takes very little time for almost anyone to understand. CNC equipment is a little different; although it uses lead screws it has very effective ways of dealing with conventional problems like backlash. Anyway, all these fundamentals and things like material cutting speeds and feeds can be calculated with very little difference in the outcome from one machinist to the next.

What really separates machinists is their ability to consistently create the ideal set-up.  Some machinists always try to use the minimal required to get the results needed and some always go to the max. It’s hard because sometimes they’re working on a part that has hundreds of hours of previous work invested while other times it’s a piece of sheet metal but the operation could be the same. When the job is quoted, risk is taken into consideration. The machinist has to interpret that risk and make a judgment call. Obviously you wouldn’t spend the time on the piece of sheet metal that you would spend on the part that already had lots of hours into it. So, what do you do? The most important learning tool in this application is the wisdom of someone who has been in the trade for years and someone whose opinion you would respect. There are good solid fundamentals to use when clamping and when using other work holding ideas but the dilemma occurs when you have to consider how far too go in insuring a successful set-up. The more time already dedicated to the part both in labor and materials should mean the more time you will spend insuring a positive outcome. The less time and materials invested means use good solid fundamentals but don’t over do it. But in any case, DON’T UNDER BUILD your set-up. Too often short cuts are taken and as a result, bad parts. 

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Last modified: November 08, 2007