The MacGuffin

[pickdropper]

A buddy of mine wanted a Klon and a Bluesbreaker circuit in a single box.  I didn't have a mini Bluesbreaker PCB, so I laid one out for this.  It's still not one of my favorite circuits, but I think I like it better paired with a Klon than a second Bluesbreaker.

The theme of the pedal was not mine, but I find it pretty funny.  He picked out the graphic as well.  I basically just implemented his vision, although the layout of plate graphics was mine (but fairly obvious, really).

Sorry for the lousy pictures.  I only had a short time before delivering it to him.  It was bright and sunny, so any direct shots had way too many reflections.  Thus, the weird side angle shots.

[stringsthings]

Fantastic!

[JackSkellington]

Amazing pedal!
What exactly is that plate? And how did you work it and got graphic and text on it?

[woolie]

Looking at how well you do your innards, I would give a lot to watch a video of you putting something like this together.

Beautiful work.


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[LaceSensor]

unreal

[pickdropper]

Amazing pedal!
What exactly is that plate? And how did you work it and got graphic and text on it?

It's a reverse etched laser engraved acrylic plate.  Basically, I take a sheet of clear acrylic, paint one side of it black (or any color, really).  Then I engrave it with the graphics reversed (and then cut out the shape and the necessary holes).  I then flip it around so all the paint is protected by the acrylic itself.  It can scratch or get smudged, but the actual artwork is well protected.

[pickdropper]

Looking at how well you do your innards, I would give a lot to watch a video of you putting something like this together.

Beautiful work.


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I don't have a video (and it'd be a long video), but I do have some photos.

I start by mocking up the graphics.  This is my first pass at making sure the hardware fits.  Occasionally I rush too much and it doesn't, so I try to take my time here.  I'll usually print out a copy and place the hardware bits in place along with the boards.



Once I'm reasonably confident it's going to fit, I drill the enclosure.  Nothing fancy with this.  I'm currently drilling on a borrowed $60 Craftsman drill press.  Cheap, but effective.  The bigger deal is the Hougen mini hole cutters.  Those are worth their weight in gold.





Now, with the holes drilled, I dry fit the parts and check it over.



It looks good, so I start wiring up the pots with ribbon cable



Getting closer.  Some of the wire still needs to be trimmed to the final length, but you can see how it is going to fit together.



On the Switch PCB for the Klon, the LED is off to the side (because the layout is for a 1590a enclosure).  I needed to get a bit funky with the LED.  I could've just glued it in place, but I didn't feel like it.  I had to extend the legs a bit, but it worked fine.



Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of the next stage, which involves me wiring up the I/O and power jacks before the boards are wired in.  At that point, everything is in place, except the boards, which then are just soldered to the ribbon wires that have already been routed and are just waiting to drop in.  You can't see it in the photos, but there are some cut acrylic pieces under the PCBs that are used as spacers.  I hold them in place with 3M VHB tape specifically designed to be used with aluminum.

At this point, the boards get wired in and we're good to go.  Unfortunately, if you want to change anything (which in this case I did), it's usually very difficult to do any work without moving around some of the wiring.

[ahiddentableau]

Love your wiring.

Are you using ribbon cable ripped into 3-wire sections?  What's the deal (and source) of that?  Very neat looking.

[woolie]

Long video or not, I would pay to watch the whole thing. Thar be gems in there fo' sho'.

Great write up. TY


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[pickdropper]

Love your wiring.

Are you using ribbon cable ripped into 3-wire sections?  What's the deal (and source) of that?  Very neat looking.

It's Amphenol Spectra-Strip 3-conductor ribbon cable.  I get it from Mouser.

[pickdropper]

Long video or not, I would pay to watch the whole thing. Thar be gems in there fo' sho'.

Great write up. TY


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Thanks, I appreciate that.

[blearyeyes]

Talented. I can't even think like that. Much less build like that. Beautiful pedal.

[drog_trog]

Top build

[cooder]

Absolutely top notch off the scale. As per Dave's standards... 
Very nice tutorial on your process. Most excellent.

And I'll put a laser engraver on my Xmas wishlist.
I don't think I will have been good enough for that though...

[oip]

thanks for the explanations!  might have to steal that ribbon cable technique it looks so neat

amazing pedal also