rwillett

I've not done anything on the guitar over Xmas, due to a slight pink torpedo up from me, it's still in York and whilst thats the same county, it's 1.45 hours away so not easy to pop back for it. I thought I've have a look at sanding the original body, this was the original one and I'm not sentimental over it at all. So I've had a go sanding down the body with an electric mouse sander, these are the small triangular ones. I've never sanded PETG before so was interested in how it would work. I thought it would simply melt and deform. I was wrong. PETG is tough, and a small mouse sander even with a P80 roughness paper, wasn't making a massive impact on it. It was certainly roughing tghe surface, but it wasn't taking a massive amount off. I might have a try with an orbital sander. The intention is to sand, fill the gaps in, sand some more and get it as smooth as possible, fill the gaps again, get it even smoother and then try an undercoat/primer, then a few coats of satin black followed by an epxoy top coat. I'm not going to do all the body, just a sample section to test it. I'm just experimenting with different fillers. OOn the right is a Humbrol Model Filler and on the left Vallejo plastic putty. The Humbrol looks like it is a two part, though it's all in the tube. The Vallejo seems to be thinner but we'll see. The Humbrol appears to dry quicker, but thats not an important characteristic to me. Here's a picture of the tests

It looks good and you still have the same number of fingers , thumbs and appendages* so I’d chalk that up as a success Rob (*I am making a certain assumption about fingers, thumbs and appendages)

But apart from that....?

So is building one from scratch (or in my case printing one) in or out? It was mentioned previously but can't recall an answer. I have plenty of filament, I have bass necks and bits and bobs. I don't have spare pickups but I could make them from spare copper wire or baztardize another bass guitar. I have been looking at building a computer controlled pickup winder as I have a few Nema 17 motors and stuff left over from other projects. However 84,000cm of 44AWG enamelled wire could be tricky. I do have some spare stray pickups though so could reuse them. Strings seem to be consumables so that's good and I do have enough nuts, bolts and other electrical bits for a small nuclear reactor. To be honest I suspect I won't last the first month (or week) but you never know. I would have to delete all my carefully curated eBay searches as well. Rob

Brilliant. Thanks from Rob who piggybackes the OP

What a coincidence.... So am I! If you do get something please share it here. Thanks Rob

That looks very interesting. I happen to have a a spare pi 5 at the moment as well.

Looking at them again, the two outside ones are so similar and so complex, that I'm pretty sure they are 3d printed. They are too similar and too complex to be hand carved IMHO. Any information welcomed as I like them

I'm guessing they are 3d printed but can't be certain. The outer two look similar outlines and similar controls, but the middle one is different. From a design point of view, the outline and the infill design could be anything so long as its strong enough to support everything. I used hexagons as other people had and so I knew they'd work. It's probably a few hours work to change to somw of those designs. If they are 3d printed, not sure if it's one big print or smaller ones assembled. Those designs are neat though and I like them.

Great. Let me know of you need any help. Rob

Can you draw with sizes the above? It doesn't need to be an accurate drawing, but the measurements need to be accurate. Preferably in metric. If the ID is 100mm, then state that, the drawing doesn't need to be 100mm itself. Which part is the collar? Are the edges at 90 degrees or are they chamfered or rounded? How much does the internal tube stick out? Is the port two pieces or one? I'm in Spain for a few days and thingiverse isn't working for me Are there any mounting holes? If so what's the diameter of the holes? What's the spacing angle between the holes? The design looks easy to print but the devil appears to be in the details. I suspect once every measurement is known, it'll be a few mins work in F360. But we need every measurement and if edges need to be chamfered or whatever. If its going to be printed, make it exactly what you want. You can work to 0.2mm or less if you need to Rob

I can't print anything til end of next week though as I'm away. 4" is not a problem though.

Looks fairly easy to print though.

Hi The maximum external diameter I can print in one piece is 220mm. However if it can be broken down into smaller pieces, that allows it to be bigger as it's then glued. All depends on the external diameter

S'manth kindly provided some string locks for my yet unstarted and undesigned headless bass. Very, very generous of her and very welcome. Thanks Rob

Looks fine to me all that matters is that you are happy with it

Hi Does anybody know where I can get non tapered 19mm maple cross plugs please? I've looked around and Google provides tapered croplugs from various suppliers but 19mm seems to be a non starter. I looked at making my own but before too long had a drill press, a load of maple and some plug making kits in my basket and circa £400 gone before sanity prevailed. Tha ka Rob

"I have no particular skills" - FTFY

Completely agree, I work in IT and should not find the Mod Dwarf intimidating but I do. It's hard work to get into it and make it sing. I suppose I could compare Amplitube and Bias FX 2 to a Windows computer as it's easy to get going and Mod Dwarf to a Unix box, difficult to get into and to make things happen easily but once you do understand it, incredibly powerful. As someone who has made a good career out of Unix, I am mortified I can't make the Mod Dwarf do what I want with zero issues 😩 New year and all that, so I'll have another go. Rob

This magnetic mat is similar to the mag mat on some of the Ender 3s. It works really well on PLA but I found PETG stuck so well it ripped. The magnetic steel satin ones from Prusa get around this but at a cost. I went through 7-8 mats before I moved to the Prusa. I would recommend everybody start with PLA and get used to that before moving to anything else. Keep it simple. Rob

It's worth checking the brass nozzle every week or so for tightness. As it heats and cools it can come loose. This is more of a problem with different metal Nozzles but still happens with brass. I use a square that I print to adjust the z offset. It's on the SD card I leave in the Prusa. It prints a 100mmx100mm square, one layer thick. Really allows you to get the z offset spot on. I'm away until the new year but will dig out the details when I'm back. The z axis offset is key as you've found out. Rob

Thanks for this. The nano particles made me think. I may invest in an enclosure and extractor. Not 100% certain what I would extract to though....

Did this ever get fixed?

Nah, big hammer is best. Don't underestimate a club hammer in the right hands.