Trying to squeeze all of it in there with a 9V battery was a b$*&%- I am starting to lean towards not including 9V in my pedals unless absolutely needed. Took my time, etching was clean, powdercoat nicey. As you see by the pics, I only had a large 1uF film cap on hand so I ended up having to remote it to make everything happy. After some minor board placement and wire tweaking it is solid now! 8)
(http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af262/rullywowr/rullywowR%20effects%20pedals/Glitterrattii%20%20Dormant%20Granny%20Smith/P1030802-1.jpg)
(http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af262/rullywowr/rullywowR%20effects%20pedals/Glitterrattii%20%20Dormant%20Granny%20Smith/P1030800.jpg)
(http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af262/rullywowr/rullywowR%20effects%20pedals/Glitterrattii%20%20Dormant%20Granny%20Smith/P1030803.jpg)
(http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af262/rullywowr/rullywowR%20effects%20pedals/Glitterrattii%20%20Dormant%20Granny%20Smith/P1030786.jpg)
(http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af262/rullywowr/rullywowR%20effects%20pedals/Glitterrattii%20%20Dormant%20Granny%20Smith/P1030792.jpg)
(http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af262/rullywowr/rullywowR%20effects%20pedals/Glitterrattii%20%20Dormant%20Granny%20Smith/P1030787.jpg)
(http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af262/rullywowr/rullywowR%20effects%20pedals/Glitterrattii%20%20Dormant%20Granny%20Smith/P1030788.jpg)
(http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af262/rullywowr/rullywowR%20effects%20pedals/Glitterrattii%20%20Dormant%20Granny%20Smith/P1030795.jpg)
(http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af262/rullywowr/rullywowR%20effects%20pedals/Glitterrattii%20%20Dormant%20Granny%20Smith/P1030796.jpg)
Beautiful! I've got two of these I've got to finish for some buds. There's no time, man!
Great stuff! I enjoy your build.
Jacob
Wow man! I'm really loving your finished product! Looks perfect.
So, are u using water-slide decals, then powder-coating with clear and finally baking it?
I would love to improve the way I'm working with water-slides and the ol' clear spray paint. Lately I haven't been 100% satisfied =\
-Kaleb
Bravo, man, that thing looks sweet! Super clean decals and build.
I too am interested in your finishing process with decals and powder coating. I'm thinking of buying a powder coating gun. I already own a good air compressor so for me the cost of entry may be well worth the price. Especially when considering rattle cans cost about as much as powder and that painting is time consuming and a royal PITA!
Great looking build. I like the powder and knob combo. Those dormant colors are great, good on the pictures as well, I always have a hard time on getting what the colors really look like.
Thanks everybody! It is really hard to capture the extra fantasitc "sparkle" that the dormant colors put off but you get the idea.
As far as powder coating, I owe it to the OP in the powder coating tutorial on this website for getting me into it. Check out this tutorial here if you haven't already:
http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=1785.0 (http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=1785.0)
Decal is fairly straightfoward. Just draw it up (Inkscape is great btw and free), print on laser decal paper, and slide it on. Let completely dry (this is key so any trapped moisture doesn't cause bubbles) and then shoot a light mist of clear over it. Once that is melted (flowed out) I take it out and shoot another slightly heavier mist of clear on it which melts right into it. It is self leveling for the most part. If you have any questions, I would be glad to share my experiences with the stuff - I have had the kit for about 2 weeks and after a few blunders and stripping (you will make mistakes when first starting) - I feel I have a good grasp on it.
Slick! Love the colour man... nice job :)
+1 on ALL the coments....really beautiful build. I have had a hard time using Gimp and Inkscape. Did you learn Inkscape by just fooling around with it or do you have a resource?
all of these powder coated enclosures are giving me the itch to start investing.... my wife will not be happy... :)
really beautiful!!!
That really is a superb finish! Nice work.
Josh
Quote from: masterlk on September 16, 2011, 04:39:23 AM
+1 on ALL the coments....really beautiful build. I have had a hard time using Gimp and Inkscape. Did you learn Inkscape by just fooling around with it or do you have a resource?
Thanks! I learned by fooling around as well as internet searching some tutorials. The absolute greatest thing about Inkscape (besides layers) is the "Align and Distribute" function. You can easily make all your knobs, drill holes, etc all line up perfectly with this function. If you do it right, punch your holes with a center punch and drill carefully you will have near perfect alignment with little surprises. Make sure you grab the Effects Pedal Builder Vector Pack (PDF) which contains all the knobs, LEDs, jacks, enclosures, which you can simply move into inkscape at 100% accurate sizing link:
http://www.ontheroadeffects.com/vectorpack/ (http://www.ontheroadeffects.com/vectorpack/)
I'm no expert but maybe I can make a quick tutorial on how to use Inkscape for Pedal Builders.
Layers are great. You mock up your whole pedal and then can turn things off like knobs, pcbs..etc when it is time to print the actual decal. Lately, I have been trying to do more curved text and even radius markers around the knobs.
Quote from: rullywowr on September 16, 2011, 02:02:14 PM
Quote from: masterlk on September 16, 2011, 04:39:23 AM
+1 on ALL the coments....really beautiful build. I have had a hard time using Gimp and Inkscape. Did you learn Inkscape by just fooling around with it or do you have a resource?
Thanks! I learned by fooling around as well as internet searching some tutorials. The absolute greatest thing about Inkscape (besides layers) is the "Align and Distribute" function. You can easily make all your knobs, drill holes, etc all line up perfectly with this function. If you do it right, punch your holes with a center punch and drill carefully you will have near perfect alignment with little surprises. Make sure you grab the Effects Pedal Builder Vector Pack (PDF) which contains all the knobs, LEDs, jacks, enclosures, which you can simply move into inkscape at 100% accurate sizing link:
http://www.ontheroadeffects.com/vectorpack/ (http://www.ontheroadeffects.com/vectorpack/)
I'm no expert but maybe I can make a quick tutorial on how to use Inkscape for Pedal Builders.
Layers are great. You mock up your whole pedal and then can turn things off like knobs, pcbs..etc when it is time to print the actual decal. Lately, I have been trying to do more curved text and even radius markers around the knobs.
I'd read it :) I've been using raster based programs and need to take the leap into vector.
I would love a tutorial! It would be appreciated for sure. Thanks for the link.
That vector pack is awesome, thanks for the link! I haven't had enough time to mess around with inkscape. I have a little experience with photoshop so I'm hoping I'll figure it out. If you do a tutorial it'd be very appreciated. Again, sweet build man.
I think I'm going to buy a powder coat kit today. My work just bought an HP laser printer (B&W) for my office so I can start making decals and better transfers. I think it does 1200dpi.
Just be careful. I've got a newer HP laser and my waterslide decal (made for laser printers) melted on it's way through. Luckily I didn't ruin the printer, just a heads up. I'm using my old brother laser again for waterslides.
Josh
Oh wow! That finish looks absolutely professional and I know you did it!! Ahh I'm itching more and more everyday for this powdercoated product, and your just teasing me with it ;D
Everything really does look great!
Quote from: gtr2 on September 16, 2011, 04:52:59 PM
Just be careful. I've got a newer HP laser and my waterslide decal (made for laser printers) melted on it's way through. Luckily I didn't ruin the printer, just a heads up. I'm using my old brother laser again for waterslides.
Josh
Efff! I'm not sure I should even try. Hopefully, I can find a review online that says the model has worked. Thanks for the heads up. I'd hate to explain to the boss that I murdered the printer the first day because I was using it to build pedals......you're fired!
Quote from: gtr2 on September 16, 2011, 04:52:59 PM
Just be careful. I've got a newer HP laser and my waterslide decal (made for laser printers) melted on it's way through. Luckily I didn't ruin the printer, just a heads up. I'm using my old brother laser again for waterslides.
Josh
I can't speak specifically for your printer, but this will happen with alot of laser printers. Generally speaking your printer should be turned on right before you print on your decal. If the inside temp is high the decal will melt to the fuser.
Thanks guys! I am really itching to do a full color one here on the color work laser but also have reservations about boning the work printer... My 'free' LaserJet 6MP (circa early 1990's) at home has been great and never had an issue (I leave it on all the time).
If you can get one of these older printers for cheap like my 6MP (Craigslist etc) I highly recommend it. Even if it only has a Parallel port you can get an adapter to convert it to either USB or ethernet (best solution as it plugs right into your router and you can print over WiFi). Toner lasts forEVER too...just add paper and print away.
I looked and couldn't find any old LaserJet 6MP, maybe if I keep searching.
My neighbor gave me one of these ->http://www.amazon.com/Epson-Stylus-Photo-Inkjet-Printer/dp/B00006F2W3
Anyone know if that will print waterslide decals?? IIRC I've seen inkjet tutorials on a few of these forums.
It will print just fine, but only on InkJet Waterslide paper - there is a difference between the inkjet and the laser stuff. I am unsure if the ink will withstand up to 400F (which you need if you are going to bake powdercoat)...
There is a 6MP on eBay right now for $65 shipped (includes a new toner cart)...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Laserjet-6MP-Laser-Printer-22K-Pages-New-Toner-/220841474524?pt=COMP_Printers&hash=item336b2d79dc (http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Laserjet-6MP-Laser-Printer-22K-Pages-New-Toner-/220841474524?pt=COMP_Printers&hash=item336b2d79dc)
I've got a LaserJet 4P and a brand new HP toner cartridge I'd trade for some boards or pedals. Very low usage.
Quote from: k.rock! on September 15, 2011, 06:53:49 PM
Wow man! I'm really loving your finished product! Looks perfect.
So, are u using water-slide decals, then powder-coating with clear and finally baking it?
I would love to improve the way I'm working with water-slides and the ol' clear spray paint. Lately I haven't been 100% satisfied =\
-Kaleb
Have you tried clear coating with EnviroTex yet? Lots of the folks on the BYOC forum have been using it and it seems to be giving really great results, especially over decals as it is so thick it hides all of the edges/screwups. I am going to try two with EnviroTex this weekend, will post back to let you know how it goes.
Quote from: DuctTapeRiot on September 19, 2011, 09:24:11 PM
Quote from: k.rock! on September 15, 2011, 06:53:49 PM
Wow man! I'm really loving your finished product! Looks perfect.
So, are u using water-slide decals, then powder-coating with clear and finally baking it?
I would love to improve the way I'm working with water-slides and the ol' clear spray paint. Lately I haven't been 100% satisfied =\
-Kaleb
Have you tried clear coating with EnviroTex yet? Lots of the folks on the BYOC forum have been using it and it seems to be giving really great results, especially over decals as it is so thick it hides all of the edges/screwups. I am going to try two with EnviroTex this weekend, will post back to let you know how it goes.
That sounds great! Please let us know how it goes with that EnviroTex. If it goes on over powdercoat that may be the ticket. For now, I am going to "modify" my toaster oven by putting the top grill in the top slot with alum foil on both sides to deflect the direct heat from the element above. I tend to burn the decals especially on a white background pedal sometimes (even at 350).
Quote from: rullywowr on September 20, 2011, 01:48:54 PM
That sounds great! Please let us know how it goes with that EnviroTex. If it goes on over powdercoat that may be the ticket. For now, I am going to "modify" my toaster oven by putting the top grill in the top slot with alum foil on both sides to deflect the direct heat from the element above. I tend to burn the decals especially on a white background pedal sometimes (even at 350).
Thanks, looks like I am going to have to wait till this weekend for the EnviroTex as my inkjet just kicked the bucket so now I have nowhere to print my decals (Man I HATE waiting for stuff like this). My understanding though is that it goes over everything, i have seen a lot of pics of people using it to create coffee tables by pouring it very thick over beek caps, shells, and other junk.
Quote from: keysandguitars
That vector pack is awesome, thanks for the link! I haven't had enough time to mess around with inkscape. I have a little experience with photoshop so I'm hoping I'll figure it out. If you do a tutorial it'd be very appreciated. Again, sweet build man.
I just downloaded Inkscape on Monday, stayed up all night last night, and by this morning I had redone the graphics for my next three builds, and they came out looking way better than the raster versions. It was so much easier than I expected. I will do a tutorial either tonight or tomorrow and will post it up here. In the mean time here are my thoughts(x-post from BYOC forum):
Ok, I stayed up almost all night last night after I downloaded Inkscape redoing all of the graphcis for my next batch of pedals in vector format and I cannot believe how much easier it makes everything. It was super easy to get up and running (caveat: I have a fair bit of experience with raster based graphic design work) even knowing next to nothing about the tool or vector graphics. Here are the main advantages as I currently see them:
- TEXT!!! With vector I can resize, bend, scale, skew, mutalate text with no loss of clarity, sharpness, etc. Worth the switch for this alone.
- Scaling: I can scale all of the objects as a whole, which is great for final adjustments to make sure the decal will fit the encosure top exactly. Print a paper test copy to see what adjustments need to be made, then just grab the whole graphic and resize everything perfectly.
- Measure sizes exactly: for drill holes, knobs etc. I know this is not a vector only thing, but it is sooooo much easier.
- Print in any resolution: I can print the file at the max resolution of any printer with no major adjustments to the file itself.
- Cant believe i almost forgot to put this one: Trace Bitmap!! This is an automated feature that will take a bitmap image (jpeg, gif etc) and will trace the edges in order to create a vector version of whatever it is. This works best for high contrast things with well defined borders (ie some kind of graphic image, as opposed to a photo). I used this to trace my logo that I designed (a b&w stylized zombie king head) and it came out perfect., and now with the vecor version I can scale it perfectly to fit where needed.
tl;dr: Vector graphics, worth the time to figure out.
Wow, sleep dep makes me wordy.
Can't wait - would greatly appreciate a tutorial on this!
+1
quote author=rjkanejr link=topic=2709.msg22791#msg22791 date=1316545906]
Can't wait - would greatly appreciate a tutorial on this!
[/quote]
Inkscape is the best!
Here are some tips for pedal guys like us:
- You can space text by selecting it and using "ALT+> or ALT+<" to adjust
- To put text on an arc or circle: Make a circle. Put circle on path (Object to Path). Then reverse the path (Path->Reverse). Then put text on path by selecting both text and path (Text/Put on Path). Then just rotate it
- The best part is the align and distribute tools (CTRL+SHIFT+A). Get all you knobs, holes lined up easily and quickly. I even make little circles which I allign in the center of knobs/etc as drill marks. When I print my decal i hide the knob layer and the little circles are right where I need to drill.
- I used to use the "Set Clip" function to extract the items from the Pedal Builders Vector pack. Now I just use ALT+ (mouse select) + SHIFT and select the vectors which make up an item (knob, switch etc). Paste this into a new layer in your project and be sure to GROUP (CTRL+G) them together so you can move the "knob" or whatever as a unit. This works extra good for centering these knobs etc.
There is more, but these are the little tips which make Inkscape great for pedal builders like us.
Quote from: masterlk on September 16, 2011, 03:27:52 PM
I would love a tutorial! It would be appreciated for sure. Thanks for the link.
Try this to start: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHn8Vw4qfqo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHn8Vw4qfqo), its what I used to get going with Inkscape, and shows the basic controls, plus how to "Bitmap Trace" which is one of the key features.
After some discussion here and on BYOC forum, I am going to do a pedal based tutorial tonight and tomorrow with the goal of having it edited and posted by the weekend. Will update as I go.
DTR- Thank you! That youtube vid on bitmap tracing made it a snap. I've had a cool idea kicking around for a pedal and thought what a nightmare it would be to remove one color to just get the black to print on a waterside. Done in 15 seconds!
I can't wait for the tutorial!
Quote from: DuctTapeRiot on September 20, 2011, 09:34:53 PM
Quote from: masterlk on September 16, 2011, 03:27:52 PM
I would love a tutorial! It would be appreciated for sure. Thanks for the link.
Try this to start: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHn8Vw4qfqo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHn8Vw4qfqo), its what I used to get going with Inkscape, and shows the basic controls, plus how to "Bitmap Trace" which is one of the key features.
After some discussion here and on BYOC forum, I am going to do a pedal based tutorial tonight and tomorrow with the goal of having it edited and posted by the weekend. Will update as I go.
A pedal based tutorial would be great!
This dude put one together. He knows his stuff with this I might add.
http://www.buildyourownclone.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=32694
Quote from: TNblueshawk on September 23, 2011, 07:58:54 PM
This dude put one together. He knows his stuff with this I might add.
http://www.buildyourownclone.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=32694
That's awesome! But how do you get the templates into Inkscape? When I try to drag them it pulls the layers apart :-[
Perhaps we should start an inkscape thread? I'd be interested in one.
I'm trying to figure out the same thing. I'm clicking File>open>vector pack>select page. I've tried inserting the vector pack into an existing page which contains a different page from the pack (the enclosure of choice) and I can't select the individual object.
Try rubber band clicking, click outside the object slightly above and below and drag to the opposite corner with holding the ALT key. It seems to be finicky, but it's working for me.
I just found a cool trick online. Select the object and drag it to where you want it to go, while still keeping your mouse button depressed, press the space bar, then escape. It'll drop a copy of the object and then return it to its original place.
Quote from: keysandguitars on September 24, 2011, 12:00:30 AM
Perhaps we should start an inkscape thread? I'd be interested in one.
Done.
jacob
Quote from: TNblueshawk on September 23, 2011, 07:58:54 PM
This dude put one together. He knows his stuff with this I might add.
http://www.buildyourownclone.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=32694
I noticed this tutorial is actually for Adobe Illustrator... is that what you meant us to see?
Quote from: slimtriggers on September 23, 2011, 10:04:24 PM
Quote from: TNblueshawk on September 23, 2011, 07:58:54 PM
This dude put one together. He knows his stuff with this I might add.
http://www.buildyourownclone.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=32694
That's awesome! But how do you get the templates into Inkscape? When I try to drag them it pulls the layers apart :-[
I used the pdf version, and then opened a new page, then imported the page I wanted in. I selected everything, the ungrouped it to it's basic parts. I then had to highlight and group each part one at a time. A pain. I wish we could get the .svg file instead of the .eps or .pdf files to work with.
I also wish there were some more parts to have to work with as well. a 9V battery as an example, or external nut DC jacks.
Jacob
Quote from: jkokura on September 24, 2011, 12:17:23 AM
I also wish there were some more parts to have to work with as well. a 9V battery as an example, or external nut DC jacks.
Jacob
I posted this one a while back. At least it has the Battery in there :)
http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=1967.0
-Kaleb
Good call. I'll load that pdf up and remove the battery so I can import it.
jacob
I just started to use the templates on GGG until I'm up and running on inkscape. GGG is down in observance of Shabbos. I can't find the link to the page that hosts links to all the enclosures, but this link should get you to the 125B enclosure...awesome template in my opinion and should be very usable in vector based programs.
http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/pdf/drill/ggg_drill_125b_all.pdf?phpMyAdmin=78482479fd7e7fc3768044a841b3e85a (http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/pdf/drill/ggg_drill_125b_all.pdf?phpMyAdmin=78482479fd7e7fc3768044a841b3e85a)
For now, just change the given enclosure model number in the URL to your desired model (1590b, 1590bb, etc) and the PDF should come up. I'll cross post in the inkscape thread.
Ok, i finally finished the tutorial on how to use the Inkscape vector graphics editing program to create a pedal decal layout. It goes through how to get a drilling template into the program, create text for knob labels and naming, creating an outline with jack labels, and how to take a bitmap (jpeg, or gif, or ??) graphic and turn it into a vector one. There is lots of discussion of the advantages of using vector graphics on the original post too.
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmOG5zE0sNE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmOG5zE0sNE)
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHL7SA-qX6w (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHL7SA-qX6w)
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXvy5Wb46ok (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXvy5Wb46ok)
I had to split it into 3 parts because it wound up being pretty long (~30 min). Also I apologize for the noise in the background, it is my laptop cpu fan and I didn't notice it until after I had finished recording everything and I just couldn't bring myself to redo it. It took much longer than I expected to get it edited and uploaded.
Let me know if there are any questions.
WOW! thanks for all the time and effort. Great job.