I made these out of plastic pen blanks that I got from Lee Valley. I wanted to build a guitar with some knobs that would function as expression controllers for digital effects.
Turning this kind of plastic can be a bit stinky but it makes for pretty knobs and the 3/4 inch sticks come in different colour compositions.
Hey Ross,
It comes in 3/4 x 6 inch blocks. I was able to get four out of a stick and I got half a dozen different sticks because I didn't know how they would look when I turned them.
Only one stick turned out to be too garish for me so I used it for tests.
I'd like to find bigger ones to be able to make them with flanges like witch hats.
They buff up real nice with rubbing compound.
Was it JFK who said: Ask Not What TAB Can Do For You - Rather Ask Yourself "What Would B.B. King Do?"
A Little Mental Health Warning:
Tablature KILLS SKILLS.
The uses of Tablature is addictive and has been linked to reduced musical fertility.
Those who produce Tablature did never use it.
I'd definitely want to use a lathe. They have to be drilled and counter sunk for the hex nut for the pot shaft. Turning the dowl out of the square stick and parting the knobs off would also be hard on a drill press.
Turning these on a drill press would be dangerous as well. Drill presses are not intended to take side loads while cutting. They are for plunging only. Side cutting on a drill press can result in a chuck flying into your face….the chuck always wins this one!
Rickenbacher went to thru-the-body string attach (holes drilled into the end of the bakelite bodies) to an end-piece attach because they cracked too many bakelite bodies in the drilling process.
Drills are not gentle nor precise tools, they tend to accumulate shavings on their outer perimeter, which can lead to expansion pressure.
Drilling on a lathe will not solve that, but cutting will... but then, it's an awfully small diameter to machine.
"Drilling" with an milling end-bit, maybe... AFTER making room for the center with a center drill, since mill end-bits don't cut in the center?
Was it JFK who said: Ask Not What TAB Can Do For You - Rather Ask Yourself "What Would B.B. King Do?"
A Little Mental Health Warning:
Tablature KILLS SKILLS.
The uses of Tablature is addictive and has been linked to reduced musical fertility.
Those who produce Tablature did never use it.
