Yay! I modded my bespeco "weeper" wah pedal by removing the 68K-to-ground resistor, and replacing it with a switch between the old 68K, and a 100K pot wired as a variable resistor! Now I can set it from fat juicy wah, to dry as dirt, to total oscilation! Way cool!
Sorry, this is my first mod, and I am a happy noob. But now I have to drill holes in the plastic casing to fit the switch and pot. What drill bit should I use? Wood or metal?
cheers
Ben
ive always used a metal bit and it will work fine.
i would be afraid of using a wood bit because if it is dull it
could cause some damage to the box or even to your fingers....
i hope it works out for you.
i have a dead soldering iron that i use to just burn through it.
I don't think I'll try burning through. Kinda smelly and inaccurate. I was going to try metal, but the I thought it might be too powerful, as it were. But now I remember a project in technology class where we built a LED-lamp, we had to drill holes in a block of clear plastic, we used a metal bit for that.
Thanks for the help!
smelly and inacurate.
smelly yes but if you do it quick, and wipe it off then no..
inacurate.. well if you can't control a soldering iron, how do you plan on controling the drill bit???? not to sound mean, just wondering?
Well, I can make a soldering Iron go through steadily, fine. But my judgement skills are lacking, I'm afraid :oops: I don't know when to stop. And to drill I'm gonna be using one of those mounted drills, with a handle on the side, at school. So that'd make it easier, at least :)
i seee, yess that could make it easier.. i really need to get a shop... lol have you seen my last work bench... too funny.
www.geocities.com/dermadbaker
this was the page started for diy pics of our benches i have the smallest bench of anyone. lol
I like the slogan! I'd go crazy at such a small workspace. I've got paper and bits and pieces all over the table, which is about 1.8metres by 1 metre. And I'm supposed to be studying at this desk :mrgreen:
Where can I find a plastic case?
Well, my wah was a factory produced one, so it came in a plastic cas with a rocker, you know what I mean, i can't think of the right word.
I get my plastic casings in the town where I live at a small electronics store. Doesn't radioshack deliver plastic casings?
Stick a piece/block of wood behind it before drilling.
block of wood?
Why that? To stop the plastic from cracking or something?
Quote from: smoguzbenjaminblock of wood?
Why that? To stop the plastic from cracking or something?
Exactly that, it prevents the plastic bending when the drill is applied/breaks through, which can lead to cracking.
Cool :) thanks guys!
I always just use a metal bit, however, it has the tentancy to sort of... melt/bend the plastic rather than drill holes, it's sort of odd.... but normall it works just fine.
-Colin
Another good tip I learned years ago when drilling plastic is to use a variable speed drill and don't drill too fast. If it is spinning too fast the heat generated can melt the plastic and make a sticky mess. However, in my (limited) experience I have only found this to be a problem with thicker plastic and I usually don't have problems with the thin plastic found in Radio Shack boxes.
Peter
:S molten plastic boxes, help! But the drills at school go real slow, up to about 2 rotations per second. Shouldn't be a problem :)
I got no problem with the smell of burning plastic [well as long as I don't have to smell it much].
My friend had just got a 40$ clear tube bong and wanted a carb on it. He started getting his drill out and we started discussing the benifits of just burning [no chance of cracking], well he''s the aircraft mechanic [don't ask what an air [craft/head] mech was doing drilling bong, so he had to do it the oriifinal way he'd planned and started boasting.
Unfortunately [for his new item, the drill bit crackeed the new red transluscent plastic tube...needless to say he was bummin, especially after all the analsys and unheeded warnings,
Moral of the story is: low tech techniques SHOULD be considered for their practicality first, "stinky, stupid, messy, amatuer" ... or whatever critisizms should be lower on the list of criterion for which technique to choose...
Well, I guess it would be PRACTICAL. And about amateuristic I don't really care, I AM an amateur. I'm just afraid if screwing my box up, I want it to look good aswell :oops: So I think I'll still try drilling my holes. How hard can it be?
If you're worried, see if you can pick up some off-cuts from a plastic sheeting supplier, then you can have a trial run. I have a little shop near me that has an off-cuts bin and everything in it is dirt cheap.
Providing you don't set the drill speed too high you shouldn't have a problem.
I've seen bits in the hardware store made for drilling plexiglass, I'd imagine they'd work well for plastic.
The thing I always make sure of is to go slow, and be ready to stop if the bit catches.
I almost always drill a small hole, (1/8th inch) and then use a reamer to make it to size, seems to work best. But I'm overly cautious.