Comments on Crack Kit

[glynnw]

First kit I have done in several years, but most of it comes back easily.  I am building this for a friend who thinks he cannot learn to solder - this might just be his con to get me to do it, but I enjoy building these so all is good.  I built my first few kits using a razor knife to trim the wire - I was an idiot.  Today I used a trimmer - put the wire in it, squeeze the handles and BAM!  Don't even try to build a kit without one - cuts assembly time by hours.  And a comment on the instructions (this may already have been said, but I am not about to go through all 118 pages on the Crack forum to check):  On pages 18 and 19 are instructions on how to stack several things on the transformer screws.  This was impossible until I taped the transformer to the chassis plate.  Overall the manual is great, with plenty of warnings about unsafe practices.  Gee, I wonder what prompted you to include these? Thanks for the great kit.  Next I gotta do the Speedball part and then ship it to my friend.

[Paul Birkeland]

If the transformer is resting on your work surface upside-down, you can rest the chassis plate on top of the transformer.

[glynnw]

But then how do you turn the screws to get them to bite into the brackets?

[Paul Birkeland]

With the terminal strips tapped, the screws go in pretty easily.  A stubby Phillips screwdriver is handy if necessary.  I've also found that the Phillips bit that fits in an impact gun is enough to get those screws started.

Another strategy is simply to put the nuts on two of the screws on one side finger tight, which holds the power transformer in place so you can get a terminal strip and nuts on the other two screws.

[oguinn]

It’s easy once you get the hang of it, but my first couple projects that required that step had me doing a weird balancing act with the plate on its side