DIY Dremel engraved g1176 front panel

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thedude

Member
Joined
May 8, 2009
Messages
10
Location
Sweden
Here is some pics of my g1176 front panel. I kind of like like the DÍY look of it:), and all you need to have to make it is a dremel engraving tool and a LOT of patience and some more patience :).

I thought this might be interesting to some people in this great forum. If you want a more detailed description and tips on how you do i can post some more pics on the process of making it. Unfortunately i lost my cell phone where i had most of those pics, had a little to many beers last week:) damn! Anyway hope you like it.

127o.jpg


120p.jpg
 
Actually it looks very cool.  I wouldn't even say it looks DIY, it looks like something made to look like it was handwritten but really isn't. Does that make sense? 
More pics, details! how did you do the inlay paint thing?
 
Wow!  Very cool, though my eye keeps getting caught by the rising sun motif on the EQ sitting on top of the 1176.  I'm sort of a fan of product art from the 1930's with that motif, all of which disappeared rather suddenly around December 1941...(no kidding - I've got some examples)
 
Nice one!

You managed a Comic Sans Serif. Steadier hand still and you'll have Times New Roman next time.  :D

I really like the the "japanese sun" calrec above as well.
 
Beautiful with a lot of character.

Not DIY at all by my book. More cool, arty, much sound great, would love to play with it kind of thing.

You've shown me it is possible.

Pictures and details would be much appreciated.

J
 
that's one of the best front panels for a 1176 i've ever seen. just for doing it with a dremel!
 
I really love how it looks, a little "un-straight" but clean enough, it looks... errr... ALIVE. Reminds me a kind of comic book drawing.

I had this same idea, but hardly could imagine the end result. Now I've got an idea, thanks to you.

One question BTW, how did you fill with white paint the engraved symbols?
My idea for that was: engraving painted in white=> remaining paint on flat surface cured with a razor blade=>engraving filled/masked with some paste or a kind of plaster=>paint on the whole surface=>then plaster cured with a toothbrush or so.

Beautiful  FP by the way!

Laurent.
 
Thanks for all the nice comments! Can't really take credit for the calrec case though. Bought it from the guy who used to sell cases here but does not seem to be around anymore. Don't know what he did but guess that is another discussion.

Here is the pics i have left, and how you do it. Maybe there is a better way of doing it, don't hesitate to share your ideas.

First of all i printed the scales on regular printer paper. I took them from Jakobs site, thanks for them and this awesome project!
Then i just positioned and taped them on the front panel. Now comes the part where you might wanna have a beer or two(not more ;D), just to get your hands steady :).

Now use the thinest engraving bit you got, and folow the scales and text on the fixed paper. Just to make a thin mark in the front panel. I know the text looks something like comics sans but it was times new roman from the beginning :). Just happen to get like that when you start to engrave deeper.

Once you have got the thin markings on the panel you can start to engrave deeper whit a bigger bit. This process takes a lot of patience!!

dsc00385rf.jpg


Panel finally engraved
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Then i i painted it whit some grounding, makes the paint stick better to the bare aluminum.
Here you can see the engraving a little better to. It's hard to capture on picture when the panel is black.

dsc00387ax.jpg


After this step you paint it black( or what ever color you prefer :)). I painted the engravings whit a thin brush on free hand. Maybe you can have another beer at this stage, you should have sobered up from the last two ;D. Took me about 12 hours to get there:). I found that the deepness of the engravings really helped when you paint on free hand.

When you are ready with the painting you maybe wanna put some clear coat over the whole panel. I havn't done it yet. Maybe i will some day :)

Here is the final result almost, i painted the engravings once more now that i think of it.

dsc00390kr.jpg


If you have any beer left, now is the time to drink it!!! ;D

Cheers!
 
NICE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Do you have problem with POTS 2x100 K  NEG LOG  in CALREC EQ ???
In Poland  haven't this pots.


Below my mastering blok :) . Best regards from Poland

http://www.fotosik.pl/pokaz_obrazek/4f365496486f5775.html

 
That looks like a great DIY method for cases.  Do you find that this is cheaper than getting cases properly manufactured from Purusha or something?  A dremel kit is like $60 here in the states, bits are ~$20, i'm guessing blank racks (no drillholes) are fairly cheap.    but you also gotta have a bench and clamp to hold 'er steady while you're drilling.   

GA Pre73!!!!!  Fantastic little box!
 
Excellent work !!!
i recently bought a Dremel in order to fit a Sifam meter in a GSSL faceplate and i love it ! i though of doing the angraving with it like you did, now that i see the very good results i will certainly give it a try !
thanks for the inspiration,
bravo !
 

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