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N8YX
06-05-2012, 08:14 PM
If you've ever done this before - by creating masks from "scratch" or from a scanned image of an existing panel - I would like to talk to you.

Have a recently arrived TenTec tuner which is in need of a front-panel repaint/re-lettering and I need to know how to create a screen.
WØTKX
06-05-2012, 08:20 PM
Just for giggles, have you talked to Ten Tec? They might still have one lying around. I'd love to redo the panel on one of my Omni D's.

And some Heathkit amps. I might do the amps in my own color scheme. I do like the green, but it's an easy panel.
NQ6U
06-05-2012, 08:22 PM
Create the artwork, have it output as a film positive, right reading, emulsion down. Have a screen burned from that.
N8YX
06-06-2012, 05:23 AM
Create the artwork, have it output as a film positive, right reading, emulsion down. Have a screen burned from that.
Who/what/where...school me, if you know of sources for this stuff.
WØTKX
06-06-2012, 06:50 AM
Some Google Fu for You...

http://www.guitarfool.com/Silkscreen.html

http://www.westarsolutions.com/services.html

http://www.protocase.com/pdf/The_Basics_of_silk_screening.pdf
wa6mhz
06-06-2012, 08:37 AM
There is a big market for replacement panels to things like Heathkit SB-200, SB-220 and the Drake lines. Some have already started making those, and they occasionally show up on Ebay. One Restorer here in San Diego has been involved in getting Johnson equipment re-screened (Ranger, Valiant, etc) I will be making a panel for a Re-designed Heathkit SB-230 and wish I had access to silk screening.
NQ6U
06-06-2012, 09:14 AM
Who/what/where...school me, if you know of sources for this stuff.

In a town the size of Akron, you should have no problem finding it all locally.

Scan the old faceplate and use it as a template to create new artwork on your computer. Adobe Illustrator is the best software to use for that. Take your file to a service bureau, have them output it to film on an image setter (film positive, right reading, emulsion down), then take it to a screen printing shop. They'll know what to do with it.
N8YX
06-06-2012, 04:26 PM
Thanks for the tips, folks.

I am going to scan the old panel, have some paint color-matched to the front of the unit then construct a new one out of aluminum...spray it, letter it then install the Ten Tec logo and reattach to the tuner when finished.

Next project is to do this with Drake R7 front panels. Several different screens to be used here: One for the "stock" lettering, another for a combo notch/squelch control and yet another for a combo notch/IF Gain control.
kf0rt
06-06-2012, 04:42 PM
Thanks for the tips, folks.

I am going to scan the old panel, have some paint color-matched to the front of the unit then construct a new one out of aluminum...spray it, letter it then install the Ten Tec logo and reattach to the tuner when finished.

Next project is to do this with Drake R7 front panels. Several different screens to be used here: One for the "stock" lettering, another for a combo notch/squelch control and yet another for a combo notch/IF Gain control.

Talk you into taking some pics of the process? Would love to see...
N8YX
06-06-2012, 04:49 PM
Talk you into taking some pics of the process? Would love to see...
Be glad to. I may utilize Dave's suggestion for an online screen builder, then create 5 or 10 panels "just in case". (One of the online fabricators with an interactive CAD program may come in handy for this.) After I get the paint/letter process down I may keep a spare or two then sell the rest. Ten Tec no longer carries the panels.
kf0rt
06-06-2012, 05:25 PM
Be glad to. I may utilize Dave's suggestion for an online screen builder, then create 5 or 10 panels "just in case". (One of the online fabricators with an interactive CAD program may come in handy for this.) After I get the paint/letter process down I may keep a spare or two then sell the rest. Ten Tec no longer carries the panels.

Seems like this might be an interesting side-hobby. Get a basic quantity discount for 5-10 of them and sell the leftovers to cover your cost. I'd wonder a bit about a "first article" though. Would hate to wind up with 10 that are badly done.
N8YX
06-06-2012, 05:40 PM
Seems like this might be an interesting side-hobby. Get a basic quantity discount for 5-10 of them and sell the leftovers to cover your cost. I'd wonder a bit about a "first article" though. Would hate to wind up with 10 that are badly done.
I'll look into minimum lots from the fab shops and go with as low a number as possible to start with. If I had access to my employer's model shop I could turn these out by the boatload in short order.
kf0rt
06-06-2012, 05:48 PM
I'll look into minimum lots from the fab shops and go with as low a number as possible to start with. If I had access to my employer's model shop I could turn these out by the boatload in short order.

Your shop is in better shape than the one where I work if it has silk-screening capabilities.
N8YX
06-06-2012, 06:13 PM
Your shop is in better shape than the one where I work if it has silk-screening capabilities.
It's got laser beams (with sharks on their heads) and a big Trumpf press. We have a paint shop but typically farm our graphics jobs out.