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Nothing fancy ... a Pedal Parts UK TS808 kit ... ! bunged it in a case intending to do fancy things ... but it sounded so good that that's the way it's going to stay ... as I can't spare it to make it more beautiful
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
@MisterG
Those enclosures look awesome, did you do them yourself? If so, how?!
Haven't built anything for a while and sold those I had. Below is a crybaby that I did the usual mods to. I tried painting it with copper hammerite but it came out gold which looked hideous so I took a wire brush drill attachment to it!
Not much creativity in the case however. It came, fully finished from Maplin's. A real shame they don't stock these cases anymore.
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In brief:
1) Create your design and print it as a mirror image onto the Press'n'Peel paper (needs to be done on a laser printer).
2) Sand the box with wet & dry until it's completely smooth and flat. This takes ages, especially for cheap boxes.
3) Iron the Press'n'Peel onto the box - this is the trickiest bit. I find it helps to pre-heat the box with the (clothes!) iron then to use a silicone baking sheet between the iron and the P'n'P to even out the pressure. With luck, the pattern will transfer evenly without lifting when you peel the backing film off.
4) Mask around the edge of the design with 3M blue masking tape, and continue to mask the edges of the box, as any drips or splashes of etchant will make marks pretty much instantly.
5) Put a strip of masking tape around the top of the box so it forms a raised dam to contain the etchant*** like so:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/etchbox.jpg
***Do not be tempted to immerse the box in etchant***
The 3M blue tape will be fine with ferric chloride etchant - other makes may not.
6) The etching reaction is very vigorous, so you should expect fizzing, steam and the box to get hot. Ergo, you should take the appropriate precautions to keep your skin, clothes, lungs and eyesight intact. Have a bucket of water handy where you can dump things if it gets out of hand. Do not do this in the house - it stinks.
7) Suitably attired, tip somewhere between a teaspoon and a tablespoon full of ferric chloride PCB etchant onto your design and gently swill it around. Nothing happens for a few seconds, and you will think I'm being over cautious. Then it starts fizzing. Keep swilling it around or stirring it with a small paintbrush, etc. for a few minutes untill the fizzing dies down and bubbles stop appearing, then tip out the mess and give it a rinse. Repeat the etching two or three times.
8) Rinse the box thoroughly and remove the masking tape. Scrub the etch with a stiff brush & some fairy liquid.
9) Remove the P'n'P mask with solvent or fine wet/dry paper and drill the holes in the box, etc.
Different boxes seem to etch differently, so don't expect perfection. Narrow raised lines don't work, as they get undercut during the etch (see the BOR above for an example). If you use old ferric chloride, it deposits copper onto the box which looks pretty, but washes off.
The reaction between ferric chloride and aluminium is horribly vigorous - it's entirely possible that the box will become far too hot to hold, even with just a tablespoon of etchant, and for the etchant to boil and release acrid fumes.
Just be careful...
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5528/9517345728_9e9ceb18ce.jpg
Trading feedback: Previous (+18) and Current
Thank you also for the confirmation of the PSU type - I've read so many horror stories of people applying the wrong sort of power to their pedals which then are fried... I don't usually use pedals that much, but now have a few that I really like, which is prompting me to look for a One-Spot or similar at some point. I just wanted to make sure I didn't do anything to hurt it!
Couldn't speak for the picture on the case previously, this came to me as it is, sorry. It is EXCELLENT though, and it's making me move on a number of now redundant pedals as a result
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5466/9526841177_74f6410578.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7412/9526840527_20093a2970.jpg
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3765/9526841743_49c3bf6ec0.jpg
Trading feedback: Previous (+18) and Current
Many guitars have a re-sale value. Some you'll never want to sell.
Stockist of: Earvana & Graphtech nuts, Faber Tonepros & Gotoh hardware, Fatcat bridges. Highwood Saddles.
Pickups from BKP, Oil City & Monty's pickups.
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