On 2008-01-31, Jon Elson wrote:
Ignoramus19508 wrote:
Just a little update. I found a certain adjustment that I adjusted
and the vacuum increased very substantially. I think that this station
is perfectly usable now as it is.

i

This is the knob that throttles the OUTPUT pressure? Yeah, it
chokes off the outlet of the pump, thereby killing its vacuum
capability, too.

I believe that it is that part indeed.

i

On Thu, 31 Jan 2008 01:20:59 GMT, "Arfa Daily" wrote:

:
:"Ross Herbert" wrote in message
.. .
: On Wed, 30 Jan 2008 09:34:29 -0600, Ignoramus19508
: wrote:
:
: :On 2008-01-30, Ross Herbert wrote:
: :
: : Your desoldering tool (like most) is probably fitted with a small
: diameter
: tip
: : (approx 0.8mm - 1.00mm inside diameter)
: :
: :Yes.
: :
: : designed for sucking solder from around small gauge component leads
: : and IC pins where the tip make full peripheral contact with the
: : board. When the solder melts around a pin all the air passes solely
: : around the lead and maximum effect is achieved inside the through
: : hole.
: :
: :Well, it does this pretty well with a real vacuum pump attached
: :instead of the "desoldering station pump".
:
: Yes, of course it will. But the desoldering station pump is NOT a
: specialised
: 1/3HP vacuum pump. It is designed as being adequate to suck solder from
: around
: component pins ONLY when the nozzle completely surrounds the lead AND make
: 100%
: peripheral contact with the pcb solder pad.
:
:
:Well Ross, I gotta tell you that I use my Weller desoldering station just
:about every day, I keep the same sized tip on it with a 1mm hole at all
:times. It is used both for pin sizes where the hole will fit over the pin,
:as you describe, and also for any other joint that I need to get the solder
ff as well. I have never had a problem with it developing enough suck to
:remove solder from a joint that requires the tip to be applied in a way less
:than your stated 'ideal', unless it has reached the point where it needs
:servicing. I think that in common with most soldering / desoldering tools,
:it depends on how often you use it, and hence how much skill in its use,
:that you have developed.
:
:Arfa
:

Yes Arfa, I agree with what you say. I also can use my Hakko to remove solder
from around larger pins quite quickly, but due to the large amount of solder
which often must be removed from large terminals, several attempts may be
required and sometimes the tip requires a clean out to complete the job on a
single switch. I can't say if there is anything wrong with the OP's desoldering
station, although this may be the case. I find that for small number of large
terminals the old Soldapult takes less time and requires less cleaning.

In article ,
Ignoramus19508 wrote:
Just a little update. I found a certain adjustment that I adjusted
and the vacuum increased very substantially. I think that this station
is perfectly usable now as it is.

I've never quite understood this adjustment. Never use mine on anything
other than max.

--
*How do they get the deer to cross at that yellow road sign?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

snip
better job of conducting heat from the iron tip down into the PCB hole.

That's probably true, but there's also a lot of amalgamation going on.
That's why copper soldering iron tips get pitted from solder; it
amalgamates with the copper.

What a shame lead-free doesn't do the same ... d;~}

Seriously though, most soldering iron tips have been made from nickel plated
iron rather than copper, for many years now, and they get just as pitted as
the copper ones did, but at least you could file the copper ones down. I
never used to put a new bit in my old Adcola, until it was a 'stump'. I am
more of the opinion that tip erosion, both back then and now, is caused
mainly by the mildly corrosive action of the flux in the solder core, and
that the nasty gob of metal that you find on the tip when the iron hasn't
been used for a while, is oxidised components of the original solder
almalgam. Smitty, what thinks you ?

Arfa

"Ross Herbert" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 31 Jan 2008 01:20:59 GMT, "Arfa Daily"
wrote:

:
:"Ross Herbert" wrote in message
.. .
: On Wed, 30 Jan 2008 09:34:29 -0600, Ignoramus19508
: wrote:
:
: :On 2008-01-30, Ross Herbert wrote:
: :
: : Your desoldering tool (like most) is probably fitted with a small
: diameter
: tip
: : (approx 0.8mm - 1.00mm inside diameter)
: :
: :Yes.
: :
: : designed for sucking solder from around small gauge component leads
: : and IC pins where the tip make full peripheral contact with the
: : board. When the solder melts around a pin all the air passes solely
: : around the lead and maximum effect is achieved inside the through
: : hole.
: :
: :Well, it does this pretty well with a real vacuum pump attached
: :instead of the "desoldering station pump".
:
: Yes, of course it will. But the desoldering station pump is NOT a
: specialised
: 1/3HP vacuum pump. It is designed as being adequate to suck solder from
: around
: component pins ONLY when the nozzle completely surrounds the lead AND
make
: 100%
: peripheral contact with the pcb solder pad.
:
:
:Well Ross, I gotta tell you that I use my Weller desoldering station just
:about every day, I keep the same sized tip on it with a 1mm hole at all
:times. It is used both for pin sizes where the hole will fit over the
pin,
:as you describe, and also for any other joint that I need to get the
solder
ff as well. I have never had a problem with it developing enough suck to
:remove solder from a joint that requires the tip to be applied in a way
less
:than your stated 'ideal', unless it has reached the point where it needs
:servicing. I think that in common with most soldering / desoldering
tools,
:it depends on how often you use it, and hence how much skill in its use,
:that you have developed.
:
:Arfa
:

Yes Arfa, I agree with what you say. I also can use my Hakko to remove
solder
from around larger pins quite quickly, but due to the large amount of
solder
which often must be removed from large terminals, several attempts may be
required and sometimes the tip requires a clean out to complete the job on
a
single switch. I can't say if there is anything wrong with the OP's
desoldering
station, although this may be the case. I find that for small number of
large
terminals the old Soldapult takes less time and requires less cleaning.

For many years, I used a desoldering pump with great success. Then I took on
a contract that required me to have the desoldering station running just
about all of the time. It became easier to just pick up that iron 'ready to
go' than to start hunting around for the hand sucker, so that's what
happened ! Using it all of the time like this, you develop techniques for
'making it work' on just about any sort of joint, but I do agree that it
does sometimes take a couple of attempts to get enough solder off the joint,
and it has to be kept well maintained. I do still use a good quality solder
wick - expensive, but worth every penny - to 'clean down' in preparation for
placing a s.m. IC for instance, and occasionally, for clearing out a
stubborn thru' hole that just won't suck clear, no matter how well your iron
or sucker is working, and how much new solder, you get into it. Bet you've
been there ... !!

Arfa

Second, there is a wad of felt in the glass tube inside the
handpiece that also becomes saturated with fine solder dust and flux. I
have not found those to be recoverable due to the non-soluble dust. I got
a bag of them with the machine, so I'm
probably set for life.

If they are anything like the felt wads fitted in the same place in my
Weller vacuum desoldering station, you can recover them once, sometimes
twice, by just running a curved, blunt scalpel blade over the surface as a
scraper. The surface layer thats stuffed with solder dust, just falls away
re-exposing clean, uncontaminated felt. I would guess that you perhaps lose
a half a mm from the pad's thickness.

Arfa

None of those little solder suckers compare to a real properly
functioning desoldering station. When I spent a summer working
at a fiends stereo repair shop...

Dracula? Rotwang?

In article ,
"Arfa Daily" wrote:

snip
better job of conducting heat from the iron tip down into the PCB hole.

That's probably true, but there's also a lot of amalgamation going on.
That's why copper soldering iron tips get pitted from solder; it
amalgamates with the copper.

What a shame lead-free doesn't do the same ... d;~}

Seriously though, most soldering iron tips have been made from nickel plated
iron rather than copper, for many years now, and they get just as pitted as
the copper ones did, but at least you could file the copper ones down. I
never used to put a new bit in my old Adcola, until it was a 'stump'. I am
more of the opinion that tip erosion, both back then and now, is caused
mainly by the mildly corrosive action of the flux in the solder core, and
that the nasty gob of metal that you find on the tip when the iron hasn't
been used for a while, is oxidised components of the original solder
almalgam. Smitty, what thinks you ?

Arfa

I haven't looked into this so much, so can't comment intelligently on
tip degradation. Actually the symptom that tends to arouse my curiosity
the most is the burr that often forms on the end of the tip. The one
that snags and tears at the sponge as you wipe it. Where the hell does
that come from? Mechanical abuse is my only guess. I'll sometimes put up
with diminishing performance from other issues, but that one so
interferes with ease of use that it warrants immediate replacement.

The worst thing for a tip, I think, is to leave the iron on for extended
idle periods. Use it all day long every day for a month and it's fine.
Leave it on overnight once, and it's shot.

BTW, I agree with you and others on the maintenance necessity regarding
desoldering stations. The difference in performance between a
well-maintained machine and a neglected one is staggering. I'd add to
all the other comments that a fresh tip there works wonders, too. I like
to do a regular shotgun routine frequently on my Hakko:

Empty and completely clean residue barrel, replace steel wool ball,
replace both felt filters. With unit hot, remove and discard tip. Run
the poker through the suction tube (The larger diameter poker does not
fit through the tips, so this must be done without a tip.) Install new
tip with anti-seize compound on the threads. Try not to breathe fumes
from smoldering anti-seize as I install new tip on hot barrel. Paint a
tiny smear of O-ring lube on the residue barrel ID near both ends, where
it mates with O-rings, then reinstall.

I do keep a supply of new tips in the 0.7, 1.0, and 1.3 mm sizes, and
use a size appropriate for the work at hand.

Besides maintenance, also agree that technique is crucial, and a skill
that must be learned by experience.

On 2008-01-31, Smitty Two wrote:
BTW, I agree with you and others on the maintenance necessity regarding
desoldering stations. The difference in performance between a
well-maintained machine and a neglected one is staggering. I'd add to
all the other comments that a fresh tip there works wonders, too. I like
to do a regular shotgun routine frequently on my Hakko:

Are all desoldering tips (such as 1/8" tips) compatible? I need to buy
a few and am a little confused about brand compatibility.

i

In article ,
Ignoramus18705 wrote:

On 2008-01-31, Smitty Two wrote:
BTW, I agree with you and others on the maintenance necessity regarding
desoldering stations. The difference in performance between a
well-maintained machine and a neglected one is staggering. I'd add to
all the other comments that a fresh tip there works wonders, too. I like
to do a regular shotgun routine frequently on my Hakko:

Are all desoldering tips (such as 1/8" tips) compatible? I need to buy
a few and am a little confused about brand compatibility.

i

Dunno. Are you having trouble sourcing OEM replacements?

In article ,
Ignoramus18705 wrote:
BTW, I agree with you and others on the maintenance necessity
regarding desoldering stations. The difference in performance between
a well-maintained machine and a neglected one is staggering. I'd add
to all the other comments that a fresh tip there works wonders, too.
I like to do a regular shotgun routine frequently on my Hakko:

Are all desoldering tips (such as 1/8" tips) compatible? I need to buy
a few and am a little confused about brand compatibility.

Heh heh - even Pace tips ain't compatible across model ranges. Think they
use Microsoft for design work.

--
*A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Robert Swinney wrote:

Do like I did on my 220W dual heat Weller. I made a tiny ceramic piston, 2 stage, vacuum pump and
inserted it in the light bulb socket. A teflon tube coiled around the tip supplies suction to the
work. The tip is hollow and flux is pumped through it in calibrated amounts from another small pump
in the light bulb socket. Solder and flux is effectively sucked up (cleaned) from the work in such
a way that only an "amalgamate film" is left.

Do you have an photos of this contraption?

Michael

On Thu, 31 Jan 2008 10:13:38 GMT, "Arfa Daily"
wrote:


Second, there is a wad of felt in the glass tube inside the
handpiece that also becomes saturated with fine solder dust and flux. I
have not found those to be recoverable due to the non-soluble dust. I got
a bag of them with the machine, so I'm
probably set for life.

If they are anything like the felt wads fitted in the same place in my
Weller vacuum desoldering station, you can recover them once, sometimes
twice, by just running a curved, blunt scalpel blade over the surface as a
scraper. The surface layer thats stuffed with solder dust, just falls away
re-exposing clean, uncontaminated felt. I would guess that you perhaps lose
a half a mm from the pad's thickness.


Just trim a bit off the end pointed towards the solder side.
I liked to use a sharp pair of dikes (take several nibbles)
or a good utility shear. You only need to take off a 1/32 or
so. You can do that trick several times before you have to
replace the wad/filter.

A piece of stainless steel antenna rod works good for poking
out the hollow tip. Put a little wiggle in it so it looks
like this:

-------------^----------
| |
---

The little wiggle/bump will help burnish down the burr that
builds up inside after use (and filing). You can also use a
flat-file to straighten the end after it wears a bit. I use
to give up on a desolder tip when if developed a hole
farther upstream inside the heater area

A small straight screw driver with about a 1/16 inch
diameter shank and 6 inches long works really good to take
nasties out of the heater area. Run it in with the tip out
and the heater on/hot. Be quick about it so you don't melt
the handle down on the driver.

I had all the proper tools/brushes available for cleaning,
but these little guys did a better job in my opinion.

--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email

In rec.crafts.metalworking "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:
In article ,
Bob La Londe wrote:
Two words.

Solder wick.

You don't have a proper desolder tool, then? ;-)

He doesn't do things the right way.

In article ,
Cydrome Leader wrote:
In rec.crafts.metalworking "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:
In article ,
Bob La Londe wrote:
Two words.

Solder wick.

You don't have a proper desolder tool, then? ;-)

He doesn't do things the right way.

To be fair desolder stations were incredibly expensive once and even now
secondhand reasonably recent Pace etc still fetch big money. I ended up
making my own. ;-)

--
*If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Ignoramus19508 wrote:

Another question. These circuit boards were originally sprayed with
some coating. I surmise that the purpose of it is to prevent
accidental shorts due to dust contamination or other debris being
drawn into the unit.

This was, in fact, a great thing, as this particular welder had so
much dust inside, that I was shocked. The amount of dust was nothing
short of incredible, maybe 5 lbs of dust settled on absolutely
everything. I took this welder out of its protective shell, vacuumed
it, and then blew the dust out using compressed air (outdoors). The
truly amazing thing, is that it was still functioning fine with all
that dust inside.

Thanks to the Miller company.

Having said that, I would like to apply that coating to the areas that
I re-soldered. What is that coating?

i


It is a conformal coating. General Cement in Rockford, Illinois,
makes a silicone based version called "Print Koat", as well as the
solvent.

Part No. 22-203 - Print Kote Conformal Coating
The ultimate coating for PC boards. Provides a
protective shield to resist environmental
contaminants. Prevents arcing and shorting. Air dry
15-30 minutes. May be baked at 200°C for 30-60

and

Part No. 22-209- Print Kote Solvent
A solvent to remove silicone and other types of
protective coatings from PC boards. Required when
modifying PC boards or replacing components
where the protective coating interferes with the
desoldering and resoldering operation.

Allied Electronics stocks it.

--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

On Thu, 31 Jan 2008 10:06:08 GMT, "Arfa Daily" wrote:

:
:"Ross Herbert" wrote in message
.. .
: On Thu, 31 Jan 2008 01:20:59 GMT, "Arfa Daily"
: wrote:
:
: :
: :"Ross Herbert" wrote in message
: .. .
: : On Wed, 30 Jan 2008 09:34:29 -0600, Ignoramus19508
: : wrote:
: :
: : :On 2008-01-30, Ross Herbert wrote:
: : :
: : : Your desoldering tool (like most) is probably fitted with a small
: : diameter
: : tip
: : : (approx 0.8mm - 1.00mm inside diameter)
: : :
: : :Yes.
: : :
: : : designed for sucking solder from around small gauge component leads
: : : and IC pins where the tip make full peripheral contact with the
: : : board. When the solder melts around a pin all the air passes solely
: : : around the lead and maximum effect is achieved inside the through
: : : hole.
: : :
: : :Well, it does this pretty well with a real vacuum pump attached
: : :instead of the "desoldering station pump".
: :
: : Yes, of course it will. But the desoldering station pump is NOT a
: : specialised
: : 1/3HP vacuum pump. It is designed as being adequate to suck solder from
: : around
: : component pins ONLY when the nozzle completely surrounds the lead AND
: make
: : 100%
: : peripheral contact with the pcb solder pad.
: :
: :
: :Well Ross, I gotta tell you that I use my Weller desoldering station just
: :about every day, I keep the same sized tip on it with a 1mm hole at all
: :times. It is used both for pin sizes where the hole will fit over the
: pin,
: :as you describe, and also for any other joint that I need to get the
: solder
: ff as well. I have never had a problem with it developing enough suck to
: :remove solder from a joint that requires the tip to be applied in a way
: less
: :than your stated 'ideal', unless it has reached the point where it needs
: :servicing. I think that in common with most soldering / desoldering
: tools,
: :it depends on how often you use it, and hence how much skill in its use,
: :that you have developed.
: :
: :Arfa
: :
:
: Yes Arfa, I agree with what you say. I also can use my Hakko to remove
: solder
: from around larger pins quite quickly, but due to the large amount of
: solder
: which often must be removed from large terminals, several attempts may be
: required and sometimes the tip requires a clean out to complete the job on
: a
: single switch. I can't say if there is anything wrong with the OP's
: desoldering
: station, although this may be the case. I find that for small number of
: large
: terminals the old Soldapult takes less time and requires less cleaning.
:
:For many years, I used a desoldering pump with great success. Then I took on
:a contract that required me to have the desoldering station running just
:about all of the time. It became easier to just pick up that iron 'ready to
:go' than to start hunting around for the hand sucker, so that's what
:happened ! Using it all of the time like this, you develop techniques for
:'making it work' on just about any sort of joint, but I do agree that it
:does sometimes take a couple of attempts to get enough solder off the joint,
:and it has to be kept well maintained. I do still use a good quality solder
:wick - expensive, but worth every penny - to 'clean down' in preparation for
lacing a s.m. IC for instance, and occasionally, for clearing out a
:stubborn thru' hole that just won't suck clear, no matter how well your iron
r sucker is working, and how much new solder, you get into it. Bet you've
:been there ... !!
:
:Arfa
:


I have sure been there... On those "difficult to totally clear" holes I
concluded that the main cause was that the through-hole diameter was not quite
big enough to allow sufficient lead displacement during the "wiggle and suck
phase". The lead could not get clearance from the side of the hole to allow
molten solder to pass by. That is one of my major complaints about some board
designers - they seem to pride themselves on saving as much board territory as
possible, even though the board is not crowded. My motto is to make lead
mounting holes capable of allowing a fair clearance around whatever size lead is
to be fitted, not the minimum size which will barely allow clearance for the
largest pin diameter for any component on the board. One size doesn't fit all
and if it means an extra drill size then so what. It makes for easier component
removal, if needed, later on.

Sometimes adding extra solder and flux would assist but not always. When this
happened I would resort to a pure liquid activated flux which sadly is no longer
produced, Magna Alloys type 87. I still have a small quantity left but when that
is gone...

As for final clean down of smt pads, yes, you can't beat a good quality
solderwick, or as you would say, soderwick. However, much of the product around
today doesn't work very well so it is best to pay for the quality brands such as
that made by Multicore or ITW Chemtronics as Solder (or Soder)-Wick or
Chem-Wick.
http://www.chemtronics.com/products/product.asp?id=88

In article ,
Ross Herbert wrote:
My motto is to make lead mounting holes capable of allowing a fair
clearance around whatever size lead is to be fitted, not the minimum
size which will barely allow clearance for the largest pin diameter for
any component on the board. One size doesn't fit all and if it means an
extra drill size then so what. It makes for easier component removal, if
needed, later on.

Snag is the most reliable solder joint is where there is minimum solder
infill.

--
*What are the pink bits in my tyres? Cyclists & Joggers*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Ross Herbert wrote:

snip
I would resort to a pure liquid activated flux which sadly is no longer
produced, Magna Alloys type 87. I still have a small quantity left but when
that
is gone...

We use Kester 1544 for hand soldering, and desoldering as well. It's
fully activated and works very well. At 50% solids content, it's too
thick for a foaming flux bath, but works well in a capillary dispenser
for hand work. Maybe you have a Kester distributor there? They produce a
large and varied flux line.

"Bob La Londe" wrote in news:47a015a0$0$26111
:


"Ignoramus1782" wrote

Two words.

Solder wick.


Ghetto desoldering:

Heat up the solder and rap the board, usually edgewise, against the
bench.

Works quite well but not recommended unless wearing lots of
protection.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Cydrome Leader wrote:
In rec.crafts.metalworking "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:
In article ,
Bob La Londe wrote:
Two words.

Solder wick.

You don't have a proper desolder tool, then? ;-)

He doesn't do things the right way.

To be fair desolder stations were incredibly expensive once and even now
secondhand reasonably recent Pace etc still fetch big money. I ended up
making my own. ;-)

--
*If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

What did you make your desolder station out of? I'd be interested to see
since I'd consider making my own as well.

Mike

Michael Kennedy wrote:

snip

What did you make your desolder station out of? I'd be interested to see
since I'd consider making my own as well.

I am not the party to whom this query was directed, but I too made
a desoldering station; I used the vacuum pump from an IBM 360/30
mainframe and a new commercial head and filter unit (Weller?, I
forget the brand and the unit is in storage) which at the time
cost me perhaps $10.00.

For SMT work, see my homebrew solution at:
http://www.cybertheque.org/homebrew/smt-rework-tool

Regards,

Michael

On Fri, 01 Feb 2008 07:29:30 -0800, Smitty Two wrote:

:In article ,
: Ross Herbert wrote:
:
:snip
: I would resort to a pure liquid activated flux which sadly is no longer
: produced, Magna Alloys type 87. I still have a small quantity left but when
: that
: is gone...
:
:We use Kester 1544 for hand soldering, and desoldering as well. It's
:fully activated and works very well. At 50% solids content, it's too
:thick for a foaming flux bath, but works well in a capillary dispenser
:for hand work. Maybe you have a Kester distributor there? They produce a
:large and varied flux line.


Kester products not distributed in Australia as far as I can tell. We generally
rely upon the Multicore range which is part of the giant German Henkel group.
Multicore solder products are grouped under the Loctite brand owned by Henkel.
http://www.henkel.com/cps/rde/xchg/

In article ,
Michael Kennedy wrote:
To be fair desolder stations were incredibly expensive once and even
now secondhand reasonably recent Pace etc still fetch big money. I
ended up making my own. ;-)

What did you make your desolder station out of? I'd be interested to see
since I'd consider making my own as well.

Basically I wanted something I couldn't really find on the market - or
certainly at a price I could afford. So gleaned bits off Ebay, etc.

I like Antex handsets for soldering so wanted those. And easy selection
of two with different bit sizes. Auto switch off after a period of time -
I've set that at 5 hours.

A good buy on Ebay got a Pace SX-80 handset new. Another a Pace pump from
a non working base unit. All the electronics are home designed.
To keep the size of the main unit down the pump is in an external box.

Pic he- http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q...kies/Stat3.jpg

--
*Many hamsters only blink one eye at a time *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Michael Kennedy wrote:
To be fair desolder stations were incredibly expensive once and even
now secondhand reasonably recent Pace etc still fetch big money. I
ended up making my own. ;-)

What did you make your desolder station out of? I'd be interested to see
since I'd consider making my own as well.

Basically I wanted something I couldn't really find on the market - or
certainly at a price I could afford. So gleaned bits off Ebay, etc.

I like Antex handsets for soldering so wanted those. And easy selection
of two with different bit sizes. Auto switch off after a period of time -
I've set that at 5 hours.

A good buy on Ebay got a Pace SX-80 handset new. Another a Pace pump from
a non working base unit. All the electronics are home designed.
To keep the size of the main unit down the pump is in an external box.

Pic he- http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q...kies/Stat3.jpg


Sweet! What did you use to design / print the front panel ? Last few years,
I've been using the drawing facilities embedded in MSWord (they actually
work very well, and are very accurate, once you get to grips with them), and
then printing out and laminating the result. This is then stuck to the front
panel using a spray contact adhesive that my mate the carpet fitter gave me.
It's very good, but it gives you no second chance ...

Arfa
--
*Many hamsters only blink one eye at a time *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Arfa Daily wrote:
Pic he- http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q...kies/Stat3.jpg


Sweet! What did you use to design / print the front panel ?

Designed using Draw on my RISC OS computer and made with the anodised
aluminium printing system from RS Components. Not cheap but good value for
one offs. And gives a very robust finish.

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*If all the world is a stage, where is the audience sitting?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.