Normal channel mod and formica question

[Smitty]

I really enjoyed meeting some of you guys at the amp show. All that talk about PAB and mid boost got my juices flowing. I rewired the normal channel on my Twin Reverb to an abbreviated ODS clean channel. Seperate 250K mid and cap on bass control. I put a master volume in the "2" input hole.

The neat thing is that I did a mini pab and mid boost combined in place of the bright switch. DPDT. The pab is the version that lifts the bass cap so the treble control still sees the bass control. And the other side bypassed the 470pf cap thats in series with a 1000pf cap (versus 2200pf). 10M resistors soldered right to the switch. I flew the 470pf from the board to the switch so no extra eyelets. Next time I have the chassis out I'll take a pic.

Works really good. Not an ODS but a really useful channel now. Might call it mini pab or middy pab or something like that.

I'm going to try doing some formica in my Bluetron amps. Do you guys favor single layer or doubling up? Pros and cons? If you double up do you use an adhesive or just let the eyelets hold the two pieces together? If you use an adhesive is it Weldwood and is that conductive?

Thanks guys.

Smitty,
Bluetron

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG3xeXMsO4o

[jelle]

Smitty,

I cannot help you with the formica, but...Welcome and nice meeting you at the ampshow.

Jelle

[M Fowler]

Smitty,

Just got some formica from another AGer and I trimmed it to length and I am going to use contact cement used in formica application and double up as it is way to flimsy not to. Then mark and drill for eyelets. This stuff breaks easy I didn't think it would.

Mark

[Smitty]

Yeah. If that stuff isn't conductive, it's probably the way to go. Anyone know?

[Baxtercat]

Formica and phenolic.....
In '73 or so I traced out and tried to cut a Formica Strat pickguard. I wanted to be the only guy with a unique dark p/g. There were only white Strat P/Gs at the time [and very rarely, tortoise or anodized].

What a crumbly, crackly hassle....and then Fender started offering black pickguards a few months later anyway!

[BobW]

Hey Smitty,

Enjoyed meeting you back in June at Cragnackers. Thanks for letting me play through your amp at the jam.

[UltraHookedOnPhonix]

Hi Smitty!

This is from Formica's website:

How did Formica get its name? At that time, the mineral mica was commonly used for electrical insulation. Because the new product acted as a substitute “for mica,” Faber designated the name “Formica.”

I've gathered that Formica's founders (Daniel O' Connor and Herbert Faber) were former Westinghouse employees who were experts in electrical insulating materials and both believed that their product had great potential in a growing electrical industry around 1913.

Doubling up the Formica boards as far as I see it has one purpose, it simply insulates the bottom of the top board from the chassis to give an added layer of security.

[ic-racer]

Some info here: https://tubeamparchive.com/viewtopic.ph ... c&start=15

[fabiomayo]

I haven't been to the hardware store, but the formica I have here is too thin to attach eyelets.. It measures around .035" (a little less than 1 mm). I think doubling it with contact cement would work fine for 1/16" eyelets. Is that what you guys are doing?

[pullshocks]

The blue material in this build is 2 layers of Nevamar (similar to formica) glued together with superglue, which I would not do again. The heat of soldering kicks out a very nasty odor.

If I use formica again, I would use a bead of some other kind of glue down the middle, keeping it well away from the eylets or turrets. I think a small bead would be enough to keep the layers from buzzing or rattling, and also the eylets or turrets would hold the edges together just fine

[IMG557]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc25 ... gforpb.jpg[/img]