Degree of Roundness -

This can create issues in the shaping sessions and I find it’s best to hammer a basic shape & get the cymbal to the edger as quickly as possible.

A circular guide line drawn with a draftsman compass near the edge is very helpful and I try to shape to that guide line and then edge the cymbal into a perfect disc before completing the shaping process.

A cymbal stores the most tension at the edge and bridge and therefore the tension and shape will change more dramatically with more edging.

Hammering beyond the point to which edging will occur, will change the sonic characteristics and is only advised if part of a design goal.

Turkish blanks can vary a lot, for a multitude of reasons.

Overcoming the various challenges makes you a more skilled and experienced craftsmen.

Below are just a small number of likely issues you’ll encounter, each with a possible remedy or direction in which to tackle the problem.

Edge Issues -

Turkish blanks are sheared into shape and often the combination of older blades and poor blank shape creates very uneven edges with varying degrees of serration and waviness.

Sometimes the edge hasn’t been sheared at all and is pitted from the rolling process.

Shaping a wavy edge is difficult enough, but if poor shape, varying edge thickness and differing degrees of serration are present, the job is even more complex.

Varying degrees of serration will create varying degrees of tension at the edge. The deeper the serration, the greater the tension. This needs to be factored in when shaping the blank.

Again, creating a basic shape and edging as quickly as possible before final shaping is advised.

Caliper Marks -

Traditional Turkish foundry practice uses calipers for transporting a hot cymbal in & out of the oven.  Paddles would be better in many cases and the downside of tradition is an unwillingness to change certain processes.

A blank goes through multiple heating and cooling processes, which includes multiple rolling phases. Caliper marks can create a number of issues and are most problematic at the bridge and edge.

In the worst case, a crack can develop either because of the thinning and subsequent heat tolerance variations at that spot or because of rough treatment of a more fragile pre-annealed blank.

The only remedy for a crack is to remove it. The edge crack in the pic above was removed on my edger. Deeper cracks may require being cut down on the lathe.

The caliper mark at the bridge in the photo above can either be left or in this case hammered out. Hammering it out required a lot of careful bridge work and continual flipping.

If a blank has a lot of caliper marks (I’ve counted close to a dozen on one blank) the options for a final sonic outcome will be reduced because of the additional hammering needed to shape the blank. One of my favourite dark and complex cymbals, began life as a multiple caliper marked blank.

Center Hole Issues -

I receive blanks with undersized center holes (thanks to Lee Ruff for inspiring me to do this), mainly so that I can use a stepped drill bit to finish the center hole and ensure that the hole is structurally and aesthetically sound.

Sometimes the factory holes are very rough and elongated or in the worst case there is a small crack already appearing.

If the crack or elongation is not too big it may be possible to remove it on the drill press (use a radial drill press with a large throat depth).

I have also fixed issues using a Noga deburring tool.

Most Turkish blanks are undersized.

Once they are edged to be perfectly round, they become even more undersized.

I shy away from buying the next blank size up and edging it to an exact next size down because it has an effect on the final sonic outcome. The general rule of thumb with a turkish cymbal is up to 1/2 an inch variation in diameter.

An OSC flat blank that’s had a pretty tough time going through the rolling mill.

Fortunately, a dark, complex and dry cymbal is the desirable sonic outcome.

Certainly not the best blank for a loud, higher pitched rock cymbal with a tighter spread :)