Things With Strings

It's been ages since I built an effects pedal, so to get my soldering chops back up to speed, I decided I'd build a simple fuzz pedal for my long-time friend Pete as a surprise present for his impending birthday. The circuit I chose was the Bazz Fuss (yes that's the correct name)  which you can read about here if you care to. I went for the basic v1.0 of the circuit and used a 2N3904 for the transistor, and boxed everything in a 1590A sized enclosure. Despite a number of stupid mistakes that I had to rectify, I got it all done and boxed within a day, complete with lo-fi graphics. Here's a gut-shot. gut-shot And here is the finished item. lo-fi graphic It sounded OK when I played it although it needed the volume knob maxxed out to get the best out of it. Maybe a higher gain transistor would have been better still. I'm pretty sure Pete will like it though.

I saw a piece of scrap offset in my bin that got me wondering about whether to try cutting some thin slices of wood and laminating curved sections. I tried to bend the piece of scrap around an 11" diameter MDF circle I'd made previously and I was quite surprised just how flexible the piece of scrap was. The scrap was varying in thickness, but one outer edge was about 0.15 inches. The photos show how easily it bent, and this was just dry, no steam or water involved. I might try laminating a few layers out of curiosity. scrap and 11"MDF disk test bend

After having all three layers done, I decided to try to get the middle layer (shallowest) to size using a router and template, then I would glue all three layers together and machine the outer two layers using the middle layer as a router follower bit against the middle layer. In short this turned out badly, as I broke the middle layer whilst trying to route the inside surface. Fortunately I was able to patch it up, and in the end the patch should be invisible, but I decided at that point that it was probably best to get the three layers glued together before I made an unrecoverable mess of things. glued and clamped I'm not 100% sure how I will shape it yet. Probably router plus jig for the outside and sanding drum for the inside. Part 2 is here

I'm still experimenting with things really, and decided to try a different approach for the next segment layer. This time I thought I'd make a octagon using 45 degree scarf joints. There are a number of reasons why. I'd had difficulty with the mitred angles on the previous layer, and using scarf joints means half the number of angles to using equal angles each side of the block. Half the angles means the cumulative error is going to be less if anything is off (in theory). The wood I have is a not really as deep as I would like, and doing it this way means initially I only need to get one side and one face squared. The other face can be fixed after gluing the segments. I don't have to worry about the length or width of each segment providing they are above the minimum requirement. On the downside, the glue-up is tricker as I found out later. So here is how it works out in sketchup 11 inch segmented rim using 45 degree scarf joints First off, I trued up t...

I was a bit nervous about 14 shoes being able to handle the tension, so I decided to re-model the bracket band with 18 shoes. This time I left a larder space between two of them to accommodate the neck, then evenly spaced the shoes around the remainder of the circumference. new bracket band model with 18 shoes For comparison, here is the old model. No idea why the colours are reversed, there's probably a logical explanation somewhere. old bracket band model with 14 evenly spaced shoes

Things are moving a little quicker now due to being able to square-up the stock faster due primarily to a jig I made for that purpose, hence I managed to get two layers done for the banjolele this weekend. I'd planned to work on the banjo rim, but avoiding nail holes, knots etc. left me with insufficient pieces for an 11" rim, but plenty for an 8" rim. Each layer is quite different in density and cloud, but I'm hoping it will hold together and look decent. The layers were 1" deep, as opposed to the 3/4" of the first one I made. The first one was quite yellow in colour, and I think I'll use that as the middle layer. It will probably end up looking like a cheese sandwich. Two layers glued and clamped I'm now quite looking forward to the next steps which will involve ensuring each layer is flat and then gluing them together. I'm not sure yet whether I'll sand the layers flat or try to use the router, I'll have to sleep on it. Part 3 ...

I'm only a beginner at Sketchup modelling, but have found it really helps to visualise what parts are going to look like, and to ensure everything is going to fit together correctly. I designed a bracket band which I intent to make from a 3/4" x 1/8" brass bar and 1/2" x 1/2" x 1/8" brass angle stock. My skills in Sketchup don't run to  rounding-off corners yet which I plan to do on the actual build, but the picture gives good idea of what I'm aiming for. Sketchup model of bracket band I've calculated that evenly spacing 14 shoes will just about allow for the neck to fit between two of them. Edit : I re-modelled this  Bracket band Sketchup model #2