ABDX-PIF build

[EBK]

Maybe clear, tinted epoxy, sanded back to a mirror finish?

Seriously thinking about that or paying someone to powder coat this.

[EBK]

[accidental dupe post.  Will modify into something useful later.... ]

Do you think I should use smaller knobs?


(That's one skim coat of my translucent blue, but that's not inportant right now.  )

[Boba7]

You may need to put a buffer at the input, with the delay pot so close to the jack you might get a bit of noise. I had some in my build, that got fixed with a klone buffer.

Looks like the way huge delay that never got released, can’t remember the name, the big blue 500ms and modulation aqua puss

[EBK]

Perhaps I will box it up now instead of fussing with paint.  If I get noise, I will try some copper tape shielding.  Maybe it will work.  If it doesn't work, then I'll try something else, I suppose. 

[EBK]

A couple more knob choices:


I kind of feel that this should have white knobs though.

(Again, ignore the blue color in this pic.  )

[EBK]

Long long wires for the delay knob.  I hope that doesn't cause any problems when I eventually fire it up.  I will shield it if necessary.

[EBK]

Well, I thought I was going to stop my translucent blue experiment, but then I found some proper food dye that doesn't cause the Polycrylic to clump, so I will add a layer per day to this for a while and see what happens.


I'm using a small soft bristled paintbrush and short brush strokes.  That way, I can gently apply new layers without risking peeling of the finish as I apply it (and also to avoid bubbles that my foam brush was creating). Plus, the short brush strokes will probably contribute a bit of texture to the final result.

The working time of this stuff is short, so you have to resist the urge to keep brushing it to try to smooth it out.  The cure time, by contrast, is long (about 24 hours until it can be safely handled).

[Boba7]

Hope the long delay wire wont introduce noise

Love the blue color, and yes definitelt white knobs!

[EBK]

Hope the long delay wire wont introduce noise

That wire is long enough that I will probably go ahead and shield it.  It is far enough from everything else that I can probably just use copper tape and a ground wire around what I already have.

Love the blue color, and yes definitelt white knobs!

Thanks for the feedback!  For the rest, I am thinking I will attempt to silkscreen it.  Of course, I've only silkscreen printed once before, back in high school, which effectively means I have no idea how. 

[EBK]

I decided that the lid to this enclosure should be white.

I'm still adding blue layers (and some clear layers) to the main enclosure and working to smooth out the surface so I can eventually attempt to silkscreen it.  It's really hard to convey what this translucent blue really looks like with a photo.

Update:  I showed this to my wife.  Her response? "What are you making, and why?" 

[nzCdog]

Cool thread!  Looking forward to the progress

[EBK]

Thanks!  It is a multi-year project, with possibly more than a year to go, so progress will be slow.

I think I make these threads for three main reasons:
1.  It keeps me methodical and motivated.  Accountability?
2.  To help people realize that pedal building is always a learning process, mistakes will happen, and success can take a long time to achieve.  Encouragement?
3.  To nudge people to try new things.  Inspiration?

It all comes at a cost.  I feel like I waste quite a bit of community bandwidth updating threads for projects that don't move very fast. (I'm not even sure how many loose ends I've created at this point.)  I hope it balances out.

[EBK]

I've decided that I'm going to use Polycrylic to decoupage labels onto this enclosure rather than attempt to silkscreen it.
This is just a crude mock-up.  The control labels will each be separate rather than a single ribbon, and I want to bump up the font size a bit.  I've coated both sides of the paper with Polycrylic to make sure it doesn't have a blotchy "soaked paper" look to it and to check the coloration as part of my test (Polycrylic is slightly yellow when cured).

[benny_profane]

I've decided that I'm going to use Polycrylic to decoupage labels onto this enclosure rather than attempt to silkscreen it.
This is just a crude mock-up.  The control labels will each be separate rather than a single ribbon, and I want to bump up the font size a bit.  I've coated both sides of the paper with Polycrylic to make sure it doesn't have a blotchy "soaked paper" look to it and to check the coloration as part of my test (Polycrylic is slightly yellow when cured).

Polycrylic should dry clear. Polyurethane will definitely yellow, though.

[EBK]

It dries close enough to clear to be called clear, but if you apply it thick, it is very slightly yellow.  That's why my blue coating starts off sky blue but cures as teal/aqua.