wiring cover

[gfxbss]

i have an epiphone that i just did some custom wiring on. as a result i had to make the wiring cavity bigger. this means that i need to make a new wiring cover. what would be some good materials? what would be some bad ones? i am going for a home-made look on this one. any help would be great.

[dd842]

I often find items for such projects in unexpected places - the dollar store comes to mind.

You may find a semi-rigid plastic serving tray or something there, which could then be cut into the shape you need fairly easily. A little aluminum tape on the inside as shielding and you have something homemade, durable - and cheap.

Cheap is good when you have a habit of botching the first attempt, as I sometimes do; or if you find out it was not such a good idea after all - throwing it away hurts a lot less.

Dan

[bjg]

Check out sites like www.stewmac.com, which sells blanks, and other sites that would sell items like pickgaurds.

also i have seen things about building one out of a plastic trash can, check it out: projectguitar.com/tut/cavcv.htm

[gfxbss]

alright, thanks guys. im also thinking of using plexiglass, just becausei have some laying around and it would be cool to see the wiring...

[UnklMickey]

plexi might work well.

if your work is very clean ........... use clear plexi

if your work is respectable ........... use smoked plexi

if your work is not-so-good .................................................. use opaque plexi

[flateric]

wise words from the mighty one....

[ChrisK]

Drill carefully, it's prone to shattering.

[sumgai]

Tyler,

Tips on how to drill a hole in plexiglass with the least chance of shattering or scarring it:

1) Use a drill bit with dull cutting edges. See Note 1 below for details.

2) Use the slowest motor speed you can. Fast drill bit rotation will heat the 'glass too quickly, and might create a blurry spot.

3) Don't press very hard, let the drill bit do the work.

4) Neither water or lubricants are needed. Don't take a chance on spoiling the surface sheen of the 'glass itself.

5) Use tape over the intended hole, and drill through it.

6) Start with a very small pilot hole, and work your way up.

7) Use a piece of scrap wood underneath the hole to support the 'glass as the drill bit comes through.

8) Alternatively, stop the drill bit just as it starts to exit the far side, then turn the 'glass over, and finish drilling from the opposite side.

HTH!


sumgai

Note 1: The idea is to scrape the 'glass away, not to gouge it out, like you do for metal or wood. Here's an image showing how the drill bit should contact the plexiglass surface:



That's as versus how a regularly sharpened bit contacts a metal or wood surface:



You can take a file to your drill bits, then sharpen them back up after you're all done. Alternatively, if you anticipate doing this more than once or twice, you can buy bits already made for the job.

[whynot]

i have a compluter power suply and it burnt out so im striping the pcb board and making a cover so on the back of the guitar u will see 2 green boards with solder blobs on it so it looks high tec

[ChrisK]

Be aware that the solder contains significant lead. If you live in a CE country (and most others eventually), you can never sell this since it violates the CE RoHS directive(s) now in effect.

If you look at any new (summer of 2006 or later) Fender guitar, you'll see the RoHS sticker on the pick guard. To work on these, you need lead-free solder.


The use of such a lead-bearing substance will require you to thoroughly wash your hands every time after touching it and certainly before eating or touching your face.

Lead is long-term in its retention by the human body and is carcinogenic.


At my work ALL solder droplets must be captured and disposed of in accordance with such directives, PERIOD. If you don't comply, you gets fired.


We'all wash our hands and never eat or touch our face when we're (lead) soldering, DON'T WE?

(If you don't, you will die sooner!)

[whynot]

never even thort about the lead if i put a sheet of plastic over it should be ok then u think just thort it would look cool and high tec

[gfxbss]

thanks chris. ill have to get new solder. i have a couple of pounds worth of the lead stuff, and it is just laying around my bedroom. i didnt even think of the adverse effect it would have on me.

[ChrisK]

You can continue to use the "lead stuff" for your own stuff (depending on your local laws). I'm not sure that you can mix the leaded with the new unleaded solder.

I do know that the new unleaded solder requires a higher temperature that leaves about 1/3 the headroom between a good solder joint and component destruction (at least for surface mount components).

To keep leaded solder, place it in zip lock bags. And wash your hands every time that you handle it (this includes solder joints as well as solder). I have rolls of leaded solder, but it ain't in my bedroom!


At some future point, I suppose that it will be banned. If you don't have any, you better get some pronto if you need it. We tried to find some thru OEM distribution channels last month and it was hard to come by.



BTW, it ain't just lead in solder under RoHS. It's also cadmium among other things as well as lead in anything.


Google RoHS.

[gfxbss]

thanks man. i deff have to put it in a better place. i just do all of my work in my bedroom using my bed for a chair and a TV tray for a stand. ive been known to fall asleep w/o cleaning up. just making sure the iron is off. ive woke up hugging my guitar and tangled in solder.

[lethargytartare]

One thing I've been thinking of using lately is raw copper clad pc board material. You can get nice sized sheets at Fry's reasonably cheap. 8"x10" sheet is 10 bucks. It drills well, is nice and rigid, is the right thickness, and I think the aging of the copper side would look neat over time...or, you could write on it with a black marker, etch it, and then the copper would be your own artwork...or flip it over (or get double-sided) and it's pre-shielded...hmmm....gets me thinking...

gfxbss said:

i have an epiphone that i just did some custom wiring on. as a result i had to make the wiring cavity bigger. this means that i need to make a new wiring cover. what would be some good materials? what would be some bad ones? i am going for a home-made look on this one. any help would be great.

[gfxbss]

ahhh, good call i like the fact that i could do my own custom artwork on it. most of my stuff ends up that way anyways. thanks for the thoughts....

Tyler