U47-style bodies - who can make one?

[craptical]

Thanks, that will be really useful  :

Sorry, didn´t mean to come across as impolite! I gladly take a few pics, but the inside of the vertical bars (and joints) are covered by the three layers of mesh (and solder!) so you can´t really tell a lot. Luckily (thanks Lee!) the Flea pictures tells the story pretty well!

Best,

/Dave

 

[seavote]

i wouldnt mind paying and waiting. if we can get $90 that would be great. im thinking it will be more but i hope not. as for 100 pieces i dont think we have that much interest. not that i counted. maybe when a price or approximate is confirmed . a feeler thread can be posted. just my ideas. thanks for woprking this out .

 

[ioaudio]

dave,

thank you very much for the grille pix!

-max

 

[Lee]

You're most welcome Skylar. I was hoping that those photos might shed some light on the subject for you. I really appreciate all the time and effort you and the others are putting into this project.....Lee.

 

[Whoops]

Someone trusted will need to be the money man (or woman) then we'll all send money via paypal... no need to front it, that is a lot of risk for one person.

Please let not Trust women.



I would be in for two

Pay  in advance to the money Man.

 

[Moby]

Today I visited 4th machinist. I'm still waiting for responses. Just to inform that I'm in action 

 

[craptical]

Measured the innermost mesh wire; 0.5 mm.

From above (trying to upload biiiiiig file, no success as of yet):

Some inside pics:

/Dave

 

[azander]

Hello all,

If this goes forward, I'd be down for one (for sure, but maybe two). Looks great so far.

AZ

 

[Whoops]

Amazing pics.

This project deserves to be a winner!!!!!!!

 

[thermionic]

FWIW, my business is in getting parts that are very similar to those outlined here machined via multi-axis CNC and sold into the hi-fi market (which is very fussy about cosmetics). I reckon that taking on this job is quite an undertaking… In fact, if you get it off the ground, I’ll buy at least 2.

If you want to anodise it, bear in mind there are only a handful of alloy grades that are guaranteed to anodise. Also bear in mind that machinists don’t like some of these alloys as they can clog tools. The ‘soft chipping’ alloys are much easier to machine, but their copper content rules out anodising. 


Justin

 

[e.oelberg]

I asked at Gleier Galvanik how they treat body and grill of a U47. They sand the body, the nickel the body matte and the grill shiney. I
gave two mic bodies plus grill to them and they look great !

Nicholas

 

[thermionic]

I only mentioned anodising as it was mentioned earlier in the thread and it needs to be stressed that it can be an absolute PITA to get right, and will often involve a large amount of stock to be bought to do so (once the stock tests well you want a pile to ensure conformity). Check out API knobs - they have to stockpile the alloy.

Nickel plating, as Nicholas says, is totally repeatable and ensures conformity between units for years. What's more, you can nickel plate steel which has better RFI screening than alloy.

BTW - Plating in general is much more expensive than anodising. However, in terms of appearance, the sky's the limit. I have parts plated in 'gun metal' - they look pretty cool. Bead blasting then plating would probably look good on a mic.

Justin

 

[Moby]

Thanks for sharing experience.

What's more, you can nickel plate steel which has better RFI screening than alloy.

I wonder why all the vintage have brass body? I doubt that steel is good for this application  :-\
At last there is a stainless steel , looking great polished or sanded but ...

 

[thermionic]

I also get parts made in brass and nickel plated. Machinists love brass because it's easy to machine - i.e. it doesn't kill tools. I've had it plated in a variety of finishes. You can go for a matt 'pearlescent' silver plating which looks pretty good.

Brass is 'self lubricating' which means it's great for interference fitting.

One of the designers I work with has a book on screening materials. It gives charts for EMI / RFI permeability. I'm not sure about brass - maybe it's really good. Interference fitting is desirable on a mic that needs maintaining though.

Looking at Skylar's design, I reckon there will be enormous differences in price depending on where you get the bodies made and how many are ordered. Fewer than 250 bodies, made in Europe or the US will likely come to *at least* a couple of hundred dollars each. A thousand made in China or Taiwan will be a different matter...

Justin

 

[Buttercup]

I have just completed a pretty finnicky U47 'clone' and I spent months, finally finding a relatively local engineering company to make the turned parts. They did me a very special deal and it came to £250 for the two brass head rings, aluminium body tube and end bell. The aluminium discs discs inside that hold the whole lot together were laser cut as were the steel upright struts with the plastic parts being water jet cut.
All that was approximately £190 ( better to get a few done at the same time! ).

I think that anodizing makes a non-conductive finish ( tell me if I'm wrong ) so plating is the best option as the whole lot needs to be a big screening can.

Mesh I used was 10hpi outside and inside and 40hpi sandwitched in between.

Will upload pictures as soon as I get a mo...

 

[Lee]

Here's a side by side comparison of the original U47 head basket vs. the Flea 47 clone I found on the Gearslutz web site. Notice the flatter top and wider top ring on the original.....Lee.

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/high-end/120303-big-test-u47-capsules-heads-also-wunder-cm7-telefunken-clones.html

Scroll down to the bottom of post #12 and click on the image.

 

[Whoops]

I have just completed a pretty finnicky U47 'clone' and I spent months, finally finding a relatively local engineering company to make the turned parts. They did me a very special deal and it came to £250 for the two brass head rings, aluminium body tube and end bell. The aluminium discs discs inside that hold the whole lot together were laser cut as were the steel upright struts with the plastic parts being water jet cut.
All that was approximately £190 ( better to get a few done at the same time! ).

I think that anodizing makes a non-conductive finish ( tell me if I'm wrong ) so plating is the best option as the whole lot needs to be a big screening can.

Mesh I used was 10hpi outside and inside and 40hpi sandwitched in between.

Will upload pictures as soon as I get a mo...

I will Love to see those pictures.

 

[FerrariT]

any news?

 

[Moby]

any news?

Yes, I have some news but still looking for head basket brass tube source  It's hard to find in small quantities. Overall it seems that it's gonna happen  Of course I will do the prototype first , and it's gonna take some time :-\

 

[e.oelberg]

there is a swiss factory specialized in mesh production. What I sometimes do if I need something desperately but they won't sell in small quantities. I order a sample and make the thing I"m doing with it officially a prototype for them.


this works  vishay dale just send me  a bunch of difficult to get parts for free


takes  some time though,