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1

Open Discussion / Pro Tip: Drilling Aluminum Enclosures

« on: July 27, 2016, 11:56:28 AM »

I have been doing a LOT of enclosure drilling lately with my trusty drill press, center punch, 1/8" drill bit, and step bits. After galling a few older bits beyond repair (and buying a new $20 one at my home improvement store) - I found a tip on the home machining forum regarding drilling holes in aluminum.

Use a small squirt of isopropyl alcohol as a lubricant when drilling. Any concentration (70% - 91%) should work fine. This cools the bit and makes drilling go a lot better - especially when drilling lots of holes. It will make your bits last a lot longer too.

I wanted to drill before I powdercoat and screen print, but I didn't want to use any oil which would screw up the coating process if not removed. The alcohol is wonderful as it works well and evaporates fairly quickly. The only downside I can think of is that the small water content in the alcohol may rust your drill press if left in contact with it.

I'm sold on this completely. I keep a small Harbor Freight plastic wash/squirt bottle near the press now just for this use. Hope someone out there finds this useful.

2

Open Discussion / Tapatalk Server Down?

« on: January 19, 2016, 11:17:25 AM »

Hey Guys,

I know the site went hooters up this weekend...and I'm sure it was a lot of work behind the scenes to get it back to normal. I was suffering serious MB jones.

Is anybody having any luck with using Tapatalk on their mobile devices? I am wondering if it's just me or some setting I need to do on my phone.

-Ben

3

Build Reports / ScratchTrack Fuzz

« on: March 29, 2015, 11:27:21 AM »

Here's a ScratchTrack (inspired by the demo tape) fuzz.
The usual suspects, Detour Optical Bypass, ECQ-V, Kobiconn jacks, TI ICs.

Wowpedal cousins perhaps?

4

Build Reports / Lunar Blast (shoot the moon tremolo)

« on: March 25, 2015, 06:34:07 PM »

Powder coated flat black, laser etched graphics. Kobiconn jacks, Detour Silent Optical Bypass, blue led in the crown for rate. Used an orange 3mm flat top LED for the LDR combo which is nice because it's flat. Sounds killer. I'll have some PCBs up on the site shortly.

5

Build Reports / Model B

« on: March 16, 2015, 07:12:26 PM »

Inspired by the OD of the Deuce Coupe, a good sounding low to medium gain circuit. 18v charge pump adds extra clarity. Not a ton of gain but pretty tasty.

Powdercoat is gloss black (catches fingerprints better than the FBI). Laser etched front. Clear yellow LED. Detour optical bypass, Kobiconn jacks, ECQ caps. Im in love with the fat and low 8mm x 5mm 100uF 25v Electro caps I just ordered.

6

Build Reports / Dual Dynamic OD + Boost

« on: March 12, 2015, 10:13:53 PM »

Here's a 2-in-1 L_nd Gr---f pedal. Powder coated in dormant sparkle copper and laser etched. Features a LG Boost and LG Dynamic OD. Effects order switcher allows either boost in front of OD OR vice versa. CLIP switch allows 1n34a, red led, or none. Kinda went with a 70's theme (Atari type font and aluminum knobs.). Sad to part with this one, as it can cop anything from mild drive all the way to fuzz-like territory. Might have to build one for myself

I will probably ditch the white plastic stomp washers too...

7

Build Reports / Queen of Bone (s)

« on: March 10, 2015, 09:01:19 PM »

Here's the first one of a special limited run of QoB.

Powder coated 1590BB myself in flat black. Laser engraved enclosure. Panasonic ECQ-V caps, TI 4558, charge pump to 18v. Trying out my new stash of fat and low 100uF 25v caps too (8mm x 5mm). Diodes are Fairchild BAV33 and 1n4148. Kobiconn 1/4" jacks. Switches and knobs by BLMS.

Nice character on this one. Had to tame the presence with the internal trimmers. Overall I am pretty happy with this one.

8

Build Reports / LG_SHO boooooster with optical bypass in 1590a

« on: January 28, 2015, 04:12:59 PM »

Based off the Landgraff Clean Boost. Really great circuit, I love how it adds a bit of fatness/warmth to the drive. It's circuit is similar to a SHO. If you want to build your own, I created a project "LG_SHO" and tutorial (complete with build doc and single sided etching artwork) here in this thread (if you haven't seen it already):
http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=19463.0

Specs:
1590a powdercoated Gloss White (by me)
Detour Optical Bypass (for no-pop) switching
Low-Profile Alpha DPDT for smooth stomping
Flat-Top 3mm clear blue LED
BS170 FET (you can use 2n7000 as well)
Custom clear/green swirl knob by Sean at SRC Effects. Sean makes awesome knobs.
http://srceffects.com/
Kobiconn low-profile 1/4" jacks.
PCB etched and "Liquid Tinned"

9

Build Reports / "GlassHammer" - Landgraff OD

« on: January 28, 2015, 08:52:10 AM »

This is a circuit worthy of a box. Enclosure is Purple dormant powdercoat (done by me) although the camera doesn't capture the shimmer. All Panasonic ECQ. Three way clipping switch and SC1815 transistors. Kobiconn jacks and Detour Optical Bypass.

10

Build Reports / SHO - Single Sided Etch - PCB Mount Everything

« on: January 18, 2015, 07:39:19 PM »

I hate off board wiring. This project has almost none!

I started a member project in the other section and this is the result. I will be sharing the etching artwork and BOM there hopefully tomorrow. It is possible!

I don't etch much lately but wanted to give this idea a go with PCB mounting everything. Knob from SRC customs, flat top blue 3mm LED, Neutrik Jacks, I powdercoated this enclosure myself a while ago in blue dormant sparkle. Here she is...

11

Build Reports / Vapor Ray / Detour Optical Bypass

« on: January 02, 2015, 11:41:59 AM »

After a long hiatus, things are up and going again. My first build of 2015 is the Vapor Ray. Inspired by the Jan Ray, this circuit is similar to a Timmy with mild differences. Sounds great, very smooth and usable drive. The Jan Ray sells for stupid money so this felt pretty good to bring to life.

I powder coated the enclosure flat black, and laser etched the graphics. Kobiconn jacks, ECQ-v caps, and the new detour optical bypass were used. Flat top 3mm purple led and aluminum knobs make it complete.

The detour optical bypass uses the same switching scheme as the Classic "Voodoo" style. It mounts directly on a DPDT stomp and uses a smaller, cheaper, more efficient optocoupler. Plenty of extra power ports, and small footprint. The smooth switching action is paired with pop-free switching.

These will most likely make an appearance at the store however I do have a limited few extra pcs if interested (PM me). Thanks!

12

Open Discussion / Video: Laser Engraving a Faceplate (and it's really good to be back)

« on: December 30, 2014, 01:49:52 PM »

Hey guys, haven't been active on MB for a while due to moving to a new house and all the "fun" that goes along with it (packing, moving, negotiations, realtors, bargaining etc). I have been supporting my website @ www.rullywow.com but just haven't had time to do any projects (really jonesing) as everything is in a box "somewhere". We moved in just before Christmas and now are setup pretty well.

I am very excited to unpack all my electronics paraphernalia out of their boxes and get setup again to do more development and tinkering. I don't think I have soldered anything in 6 mos $:-\$ The "wifey" has allowed me my very own room for this as well as the basement and garage have huge workspaces. I am totally psyched and thinking how best to setup my "lab".

Anyways, here is a video of me engraving a couple of simulated wood ("Moogish") faceplates on the Epilog which you might find cool (or insanely boring):

13

Open Discussion / Old School PCB Manufacture

« on: September 08, 2014, 03:48:32 PM »

Forgive me if you already have seen this, but it is a really interesting look at the PCB manufacturing process back in the 1960s.....at the Tektronix factory.

http://www.vintagetek.org/tektronix-printed-circuit-boards-1969/

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Build Reports / Neon Kard Table (K.L.O.N.E)

« on: August 22, 2014, 09:21:18 AM »

Yup, another K.L.O.N.E. 1n270 diodes (um, these ARE essential), Neutrik Jacks, Panasonic ECQ-V caps. TI Opamps. Installed the 8n2 instead of the 3n9 cap in the toan section. Powdercoated in neon pink and laser etched by me. 3mm flat top clear white LED.

Layout is called..."Kard Table". I am fairly satisfied with this layout, however going to do some tweaking to allow for even easier assembly... tweak tweak tweak (lather, rinse, repeat)

The pics don't really capture just how blindingly bright this neon powder coat is but here we go: