It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Subscribe to our Patreon, and get image uploads with no ads on the site!
Base theme by DesignModo & ported to Powered by Vanilla by Chris Ireland, modified by the "theFB" team.
Comments
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/60w-mains-lcd-solder-station-a55kj
- it was the same price i.e. £39.99 in store, and I also bought some spare tips for a few quid as well. Other places seem to sell the same unit with various brand names used. For guitar wiring, I've got by for years with really cheap i.e. sub £10 soldering irons, so I think this is certainly an improvement on that.
Your other points very much taken onboard though - I think I might easily have gone for a cheapo solder sucker, so I'm grateful you've saved me making that mistake. Good side cutters will be obtained I promise, and I like the blue-tack tip, so cheers for that also.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Piergiacomi-TRE-03-NB-Electronic-Side-Cutter/dp/B00841YA44/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1477851086&sr=8-4&keywords=side+cutters
Also some very skinny pliers will be useful. I've not found any I like better than these Bahcos, but they're expensive:
https://pimdata.snaeurope.com/media/sub152/14d39124db97c73f.png
A set of jewellery tools will probably do the job - Lady BMcH has these and they'd be an excellent starter:
http://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery-Tools/Beadsmith-Beaders-Tool-Kit-In-Aqua-Fashion-Clutch-Bag-prcode-999-K02A
Also to echo Danny1969's point earlier once you've built a few kits and the addiction sets in just buy pcbs and start sourcing the parts yourself in bulk it's a lot cheaper. I find RS and Farnell are pretty good for resistors and caps when you buy 100 of each, Tayda are great for knobs, sockets, common ICs and some diodes but I'd stay away from their resistors, caps etc and hard to find parts.
Powder coated enclosures will save you a lot of hassle with painting I find the upcharge for powder coating pays for itself in the time you save.
It will be great if I get to a point where I can just buy PCBs and source the bits myself, and drill the enclosure and may the pedal in the format I choose. I see that there are veroboard diagrams published for some pedal circuits as well, and it would be cool to be able to use those. So, yes, I hope things will go in that way.
For my initial rat-clone build, I'm ordering a pre-drilled black powder coated enclosure, so got that one covered.
https://static.rapidonline.com/catalogueimages/Module/M551189P01WL.jpg
If you find yourself wanting to draw up schematics I'd recommend EAGLE - https://cadsoft.io/ - it'll go right up to industrial sizes and multi-layer PCBs, but there's also a free non-profit version that'll do a PCB big enough for almost any practical stompbox. Lots of libraries of components, error checking... and loads of schematics and layouts and such out there to use. Not somethign to worry about yet though.
I've drilled the enclosures for the last few pedals I've done (from veroboard diagrams on tagboardeffects.com)- it's not too tricky, if a little risky- for one thing, you only get one shot at drilling, and if you put the holes in the wrong places you're stuck with them (and you're out a tenner if you've bought a proper Hammond box).
There are templates around for various combinations of pots, switches etc that you could use. If you're not using something like that, plan carefully and remember to take account of all the dimensions of the components - height, width and depth.
FWIW, a stepped or conical drill bit is a good investment:
http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/products/0499299/?grossPrice=Y&cm_mmc=UK-PLA-_-google-_-PLA_UK_EN_Tools-_-Power_Tool_Accessories_And_Drill_Bits&mkwid=sy1KTqots_dc|pcrid|88057064763|pkw||pmt||prd|0499299&gclid=CPGw2O_XhNACFYefGwodkC8Bbw
I've found that I've got the best results by drilling very small pilot holes, then slightly larger ones, then using a conical bit to widen the holes to the size I wanted. Keep the drill at the slowest speed you can. If you do it like that you can do your drilling without the need to use a vice (although it would be significantly safer if you did). I generally keep the components I'm drilling for handy, so I can check when I've drilled the right size hole. Drill slowly and keep checking.
Others will give you better advice about finishing- I've never put a huge amount of effort in to it. Hammerite paint will give you decent results with minimal effort (although in a fairly limited range of colours, and not very cheap), and if your handwriting is reasonably neat you could just handwrite your labelling (I've got a Stabilo Write-4-All pen that works on bare enclosures or on Hammerite paint).
Oh, and Tagboardeffects also has a good numpty's guide to component sourcing- should help you avoid buying wildly inappropriate components.
Don't talk politics and don't throw stones. Your royal highnesses.