Speaking of loose nuts and soldering

patrick620 · 4523

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Offline patrick620

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on: March 14, 2023, 06:24:36 PM
Everything is smooth on the build. Thank you. Why no star lock washers on the volume and balance pots? I used my own and was still able to catch 3 threads per mil spec. Those pots are the most used and will loosen up a bit over time.

Clean your star grounds and other exposed component leads. I use a small wire brush and a roll of plumbers sand paper. Solder has a hard time sticking to oxidized components that have been sitting around. Shiny metal is what you want. Not dull and gray. Clean every component lead and terminal strip before you solder it.  Also, when soldering anything mounted to the chassis let it heat for a while. The chassis acts as a heat sink and will suck up the needed heat to get a good solder joint. Always get a good heat bridge by putting some solder on the tip of the iron first and remember that solder will flow to the heat. Meaning that put the heat bridge on the opposite side of where you will apply the solder if possible.


« Last Edit: March 15, 2023, 02:03:09 AM by patrick620 »



Offline Paul Birkeland

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Reply #1 on: March 14, 2023, 07:21:03 PM
Some pots come with lock washers, some do not.  The ones we use on most kits just happen to only come with flat washers.  I have a well used Foreplay from 30 years ago and the pots still haven't loosened up ;)  The trim pots on the Kaiju do have internal tooth lock washers. 

Paul "PB" Birkeland

Bottlehead Grunt & The Repro Man


Offline patrick620

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Reply #2 on: April 28, 2023, 08:43:47 PM
Some do and some dont. And your supplier does not provide them. Got it. Seems to me that the most used knobs could benefit with a lock washer included from your local hardware store.



Offline Paul Joppa

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Reply #3 on: April 29, 2023, 03:27:19 AM
... and some are metric while others are english. And some have flatted shafts while others have round shafts. Not to mention variable shaft heights. Makes it hard to substitute in these days of unreliable supply lines.

Most (but of course not all) have anti-rotation pins which helps.

Paul Joppa


Offline 2wo

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Reply #4 on: April 29, 2023, 05:24:08 PM
A dab of nail polish or something similar usually does the job...John

John S.