xXDaveyJonesXx
Active member
Aw, damn! That's a bummer. Looking forward to your progress though. Thanks for posting!
BSRIAudio
Active member
FourT6and2":3uu0ed1q said:
Yep I was about to point this out after your last post. Especially true if you're using the SLO-style collet knobs. Just find a friend with a vice and a hacksaw. Then hold the end of the shaft in the vice and cut them down to size. You're basically cutting the pot away from the extra bit of shaft.
Its nice to see the C3 chassis come with all the holes pre-drilled now. When I built mine the only holes on the top of the chassis were for the tube sockets. You had to work out the placement of everything else yourself.
FourT6and2
Well-known member
Marykelly":a7wlx87y said:
I live in the city (SF). I don't think anybody I know has a place to operate a hack saw and a vice, let alone the tools themselves. Most people here live in small apartments (including me)
I will do some searching though.I asked Rob to drill the holes for the power board and a few of the others. But they do come with most of the holes drilled already. One of the biggies was having him counter-sink the hole that goes under the power transformer for the power board. I'm thankful he was able to do that for me. Saved me the trouble of having to buy a counter-sink bit.
BSRIAudio
Active member
FourT6and2":33ludone said:Marykelly":33ludone said:
I live in the city (SF). I don't think anybody I know has a place to operate a hack saw and a vice, let alone the tools themselves. Most people here live in small apartments (including me)
I asked Rob to drill the holes for the power board and a few of the others. But they do come with most of the holes drilled already. One of the biggies was having him counter-sink the hole that goes under the power transformer for the power board. I'm thankful he was able to do that for me. Saved me the trouble of having to buy a counter-sink bit.
Yep. So many little tricks to the chassis work for a SLO build. You could buy a cheap vice and hacksaw from Harbor Freight and clamp it to your kitchen table or something like that. There may also be a coop machine shop somewhere in the city where you can use tools. Any auto body shop could also help.
FourT6and2
Well-known member
Made some progress today. Preamp board is mostly finished. I just have a few small bugs to work out like the wrong wattage on two resistors in the power section and still need to install some jumpers. Also missing a ceramic disk cap.
Test fitting the boards in the chassis:
Test fitting the boards in the chassis:
FourT6and2
Well-known member
Installed most of the rest of the chassis stuff (except for the pots, still have to cut the shafts to length
One issue I've run into is this corner of the PCB board. The stand-off mounting hole in the corner of the board is too close to one of the F&T caps. So I can't get the nut on. I'm trying to figure out a way around this. There is another hole in the PCB to mount the cap a little farther away from the stand-off mount. But that would require me unsoldering the cap, cleaning up the solder/flux, rebending the cap leads and re-soldering.
One issue I've run into is this corner of the PCB board. The stand-off mounting hole in the corner of the board is too close to one of the F&T caps. So I can't get the nut on. I'm trying to figure out a way around this. There is another hole in the PCB to mount the cap a little farther away from the stand-off mount. But that would require me unsoldering the cap, cleaning up the solder/flux, rebending the cap leads and re-soldering.
FourT6and2
Well-known member
Removed the powder coat around the switches and pots for chassis-ground. Was a lot harder than I thought. Wound up using a Dremel. White powder EVERYWHERE. Should have worn a mask
M
mjtripper
Member
Nice work. That's a new chassis as well. When I got mine from him the lip on the bottom went all the way around and not just the sides.
FourT6and2
Well-known member
mjtripper":13hi4qq1 said:
Interesting. I think Rob updates his stuff every so often. PCBs, parts list, chassis, layout, etc. Not having the lip on the length-wise parts of the chassis should help when wiring everything up!
FourT6and2
Well-known member
Ok, on to the preamp heaters. Usually wiring up heaters is my least favorite part of building an amp. It's a pain in the ass. The normal way, I'll just throw some wire into the chuck of a drill and twist away. Then cut lengths as needed and bend and wire and weave it all together. Easier than doing it by hand, but still torture.
I was actually looking forward to doing the heaters on this build, though. Just some straight wire and you're done! Love it
If you've ever wondered how to get straight bus wire, this is how I decided to do it. I used an armorer's block that I use to strip down my 1911 and drilled an 18-20 AWG hole thru it. Then I put one end of the wire in a drill and "extrude" it through the block while the drill rotates. I move the block back and forth slowly and carefully until the wire is as straight as I can get it and/or until I get super bored. Then I'll roll the wire under a wine bottle on a flat counter a bit for good measure. Seems to do the trick. Just takes a while.
I was actually looking forward to doing the heaters on this build, though. Just some straight wire and you're done! Love it
If you've ever wondered how to get straight bus wire, this is how I decided to do it. I used an armorer's block that I use to strip down my 1911 and drilled an 18-20 AWG hole thru it. Then I put one end of the wire in a drill and "extrude" it through the block while the drill rotates. I move the block back and forth slowly and carefully until the wire is as straight as I can get it and/or until I get super bored. Then I'll roll the wire under a wine bottle on a flat counter a bit for good measure. Seems to do the trick. Just takes a while.
FourT6and2
Well-known member
Ugh! Broke a pin on a power tube socket. They aren't as flexible as the ones on the preamp sockets. The metal is much more brittle. I am going to get some different sockets that use similar solder lugs as the ones on the preamp. Probably these: http://angela.com/8pinceramicbottommoun ... ckets.aspx Hopefully they stand up to bending better.
FourT6and2
Well-known member
Sort of at an impasse for the time being. Can't do much else until I cut the pot shafts and replace the power tube sockets. But I got most of the switch stack done (at least all I can for the moment).
IndyWS6
Well-known member
Damn, man - very nice work 
My OCD approves
My OCD approves
BSRIAudio
Active member
Looking good so far!
glassjaw7
Well-known member
This thread is great! I love seeing these builds and I might have to try a simple circuit myself someday.
prsplayer86
Member
This has been a fantastic read !
JCDenton6
Active member
Hell yeah man, awesome work so far on the build
I was thinking of planning a similar build if I get a chance during the summer and working on it here and there.
I was thinking of planning a similar build if I get a chance during the summer and working on it here and there.
FourT6and2
Well-known member
Been busy with work and life and such lately. But managed to make a little more progress: Pot shafts are cut to correct size now, started on wiring 'em up. And got new power tube sockets.
IndyWS6
Well-known member
Attention to detail is one of my strong suits and I want to believe that I could build an amp with that level of craftsmanship. I want to - but I'm not so sure.
Great job Hope it sounds as good as it looks 
Great job
Hope it sounds as good as it looks
FourT6and2
Well-known member
IndyWS6":1lu6cv8g said:Attention to detail is one of my strong suits and I want to believe that I could build an amp with that level of craftsmanship. I want to - but I'm not so sure.
Great job
Thanks for the kind words
I barely know what I'm doing. So I'm praying the thing works too.