I was talking with a friend of mine tonight who does a LOT of woodworking (and is pretty damn impressive to boot). We got talking about really detailed work, and got on the subject of the empeg faceplate. He's pretty interested to give it a try (ie. recreating the original fascia in wood).

Question is, would anybody be interested in something like this if it came out well? Don't get me wrong, this isn't a "How many should we make?" post at this point. Just a general interest check. Another option would be to have him work up a wooden version of the NewFace, or something similar.

And if someone has a broken fascia that they could donate / sell for the project, that would be much appreciated. If not, could someone point to mechanical drawings, etc? I know they've been posted before, but all I can find are the button drawings.

I'm definitely VERY interested!

I am always interested in new and interesting empeg bits. I even have one of the old burl fascia from long ago. They tended to be very fragile!

Yes. They were the same design. Quite well done, but the reason I do not use it is because the lacquer / polyurethane finish tends to bind on the cast buttons that Brian made. It might be the mix of plastics or it might be that the carved piece might be slightly out of alignment when used with the third party buttons. Whatever the cause, the combination is not something I use on the players.

With any kind of burl, you have to worry about cracking along any of the grain lines. In the case of the fasica, the bottom near where the handle rests is very thin. An unlucky burl location along that line might split if any pressure is applied from the rear - which can happen easily as you lift the handle. I lost one wooden fascia that way.

You might want to check out my install page - there are a few good shots of the wooden burl fascia there. Also, if you decide to go ahead with the project I can lend you mine as a sample.

I did won one from Cruzths two years ago...



The new owner of this Facia is Julf.

bye

If the wood by itself is too fragile, you can always stabilize it by soaking it under vacuum in polyurethane. Should be just as hard and durable as plastic then.

Those are just too too cool. Wood buttons and knobs anyone?

Oooooh! Although, unless they were a contrasting wood, I am not sure how it would look...

I'd be interested in a wood faceplate. Perhaps more than one. I miss my burlwood faceplate :-(. Any idea on cost?

Whatever happened to Cruzths?

Thanks,
Calvin

I'm still waiting for the panels I was promised in return for handing over the fascia CAD. I guess the project didn't quite work out!

Rob

Well, I can just say that I would be highly interested in one or two. Almost (*) like paul, I am always looking for interesting new acquisations (not only) for the empeg.

cu,
sven

(*) I can't afford new HDs for my players every few month when the old run full

Any news on wood fascia? I'd be really keen...

I'd love Wood Buttons and Know, Firefox31 . I'd get the 100%.

I'll be posting some information regarding this (and some other things) in just a short while, as in later this evening.

Everyone, please see this post for details:

http://empegbbs.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/240846/an/0/page/0#240846

Let's give what support we can to finally see a new design go through.

Bruno

Old, old thread... But since we're still in a holding pattern on the aluminum fascias (for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that we're too small to be very important at the shop) I got to thinking; would there be any way I could use the CAD drawings for the original fascias to get some wooden fascias made? That would be something I could get done with a hell of a lot less effort (it seems) than the aluminum ones, at least for the moment.

By going with the original design, it's should be just a matter of taking the stock to the shop and letting the machine go. Much easier than starting with a design from scratch.

So, if using the original CAD files is an option, someone please let me know.

PS - Please don't take my comments about the aluminum fascias as implying that we're not going to get them done. To be honest, the thing that's been the worst is dealing with the original button design; if we wen't with the plain, round buttons, we could probably be selling them in about two weeks. Getting the kind of angles the originals require in aluminum is not easy, to say the least. But after seeing FireFox's new Greenlights Buttons, it's worth the trouble. We're just dealing with the pain in the butt stuff as busy schedules allow. But the wait could pay off in the end; Brandon's shop is going to be moving to larger facilities soon, and part of the move will (it looks like) include the purchase of a new laser system; if that goes through, it will not only speed up prototyping, but also substantially reduce our costs, which has the effect of substantially reducing the final price.

Ok, so doesn't look like any takers.

I just spoke to the guy at the company I'm thinking of going through, and we discussed doing a short sample run (~5 fascias).

I'm interested in using stabilized wood (wood that is treated with a polymer in a process not unlike pressure treating) to prevent the kind of breakage problems some experienced with the earlier wooden fascias. This process would also give the finished product a very glossy finish.

If nobody has any suggestions, I think I'm going to consider just doing the sample run with the woods I personally like, if it isn't cost prohibitive; initial setup on stuff like this is where the majority of the cost is.

If anyone has any interest, please let me know, as it could be what determines if I actually do this. I figure it could be a nice way to fill the "cool fascia" void until Brandon and I can get the aluminum ones out.

If I do the initial sample run, I was thinking of using the following:


Again, if anyone is interested, please let me know.

Isn't it though?

Any idea about a price range? My interest really does depend on the cost.

--Nathan

I won't have any information on price for a week. That's when the guy I spoke to at the company is going to call me back with info.

He said he'd let me know the cost of setup, as well as the cost after that (which would be what people here would be interested in).

Oooooh... I am very interested, but I do offer one word of caution. I have one (had three) of the burl fascia done a long time ago. Burl is very difficult to work with and tends to be extremely fragile, especially in the thin areas near the handle. I am not sure how well this product will work - not having dealt with the stabilized burl before.

Having given you fair warning, I would certainly be interested!!!

TThanks much for the interest, Paul, and for the words of caution. Reading your description of having problems with the fragility of burl is actually what prompted me to start trying to find a way to make wooden fascias that were durable enough to actually be used. According to all of the information I can find, stabilized wood products end up being more akin to plastic, as far as their physical properties. Hopefully that will let this happen.

Yes, stabilization would make the wood behave a lot like plastics!
And of course I stand by my post from last year that I'm still very much interested!

I'm in for a couple. Straight grained teak or walnut would be my personal preference. I can provide pics when I'm back home in a few weeks.

It'd be very interested. Especially if the fascias could be mixed with aluminum handles. Even if that couldn't be done easy, I'm still interested.

Hey Dave,

Please put me down as very very interested in aluminum, and quasi-interested in wood if aluminum is never going to happen. My new car's interior really doesn't lend itself to the stock empeg fascia, so I'm hoping you're still on the case!

At least for the time being, wood is a no-go (at least in the original fascia style). The quote I got from the company I was hoping to work with came to about $2500 for a run of three wooden fascias, with me supplying the material. I'm going to see what they could do, price-wise, with the new style (which is a lot simpler, really, all things considered). I'd love to just tell them "Go for it!", but I've been a student for long enough that $2500 + materials is just too much of an outlay, especially for only three units. So, we'll see...

Aluminum isn't dead at all, just sorta in temporary limbo, in a way. Brandon's shop has been moving into new digs, and he and I have both been busy (he with the shop, me with school since I'm too stupid to take summers off). We're really just waiting for the shop to get their new laser units so we can prototype faster and, more importantly, less expensively.

I'll give him a call later today and see what his status is. I also need to get an order in with Greenlights for buttons, and get a lighting kit installed. That way when we actually get these things right, we can have some metal fascia porn.

Any news on the aluminum?

Lasers are a go for the machine shop, so they should be installed in about a month. I should have more info then.