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crgaston
Senior Member
Username: crgaston

Post Number: 517
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Tuesday, January 27, 2009 - 7:39 pm:   Edit Post

I dropped my Starfire and busted the jack out.

(DOH!!!)

I am going to fabricate a plate since it's a pretty large broken area, and I am wondering if I should use brass, aluminum, or mild steel. Should it be conductive, not conductive, or does it matter?

Any suggestions appreciated...
edwin
Advanced Member
Username: edwin

Post Number: 396
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Tuesday, January 27, 2009 - 9:12 pm:   Edit Post

I'd probably go with brass, but that's just because I like brass. I love a Starfire with all kinds of brass on it! Good luck with it!

Edwin
terryc
Senior Member
Username: terryc

Post Number: 684
Registered: 11-2004
Posted on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 - 3:26 am:   Edit Post

I would go with Edwin, aluminium dulls and mild steel will rust if not coated. Brass can be polished to a high lustre and coated with laquer to prevent tarnishing.
Mind you..how about gold plating??
crgaston
Senior Member
Username: crgaston

Post Number: 518
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 - 12:17 pm:   Edit Post

Well, if it were to match the rest of the hardware it'd have to be chromed. Since the jack is on the side I'll probably just paint it black.

So what I'm getting is that the matierial is non-critical with regard to potential grounding issues?

davehouck
Moderator
Username: davehouck

Post Number: 7422
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 - 2:06 pm:   Edit Post

Nice picture! If the plate isn't attached directly to any wires and if it's not attached to shielding, in other words if the plate itself is not grounded to anything else, then my guess is that it probably doesn't matter.
tbrannon
Senior Member
Username: tbrannon

Post Number: 969
Registered: 11-2004
Posted on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 - 2:23 pm:   Edit Post

I've always liked that picture Charles-

The grass looks like it needs some water though... =)
bsee
Senior Member
Username: bsee

Post Number: 2148
Registered: 3-2004
Posted on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 - 2:25 pm:   Edit Post

Agreed, Dave. Some sort of wood piece might even be an option. Getting the bend right so it matches the side of the instrument could be interesting no matter what you use. Does anyone think it might be appropriate to add some sort of block on the inside of the instrument for the plate to mount to rather than counting on just the thinnish side of the instrument?
crgaston
Senior Member
Username: crgaston

Post Number: 519
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 - 6:37 pm:   Edit Post

Toby, it probably did, or else it was just a "protective" layer of pine straw :-)

Thanks Bob and Dave, that answers my question. Bob, a block would be good, but how would I get it in? I plan on making it relatively large and using a mess of tiny screws to distribute the stress. The curve will be no problem. I'll just find an apropriately shaped log in the woods behind the house and commence to whacking.
bsee
Senior Member
Username: bsee

Post Number: 2149
Registered: 3-2004
Posted on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 - 8:00 pm:   Edit Post

The "block" could even be another piece of drilled/threaded metal. Just something to spread the stress of holding in the jack around a little bit. How big a hole was left when the jack pulled out? If it didn't really grow the hole any, then you might be able to insert something through the F-hole and manage getting it into position. Otherwise, you might just be looking at a small piece of strapping. Maybe a professional repair person could do a better job. My simple concern was that screwing something in to a weakened area on the side of the guitar could result in things pulling apart again down the road. You're in a much better position to determine if that might be an issue than we are.
terryc
Senior Member
Username: terryc

Post Number: 688
Registered: 11-2004
Posted on Thursday, January 29, 2009 - 1:46 am:   Edit Post

very nice bass indeed, as far as grounding, but tell me if I am wrong, the jack socket is grounded to the plate by it's own attachment and then to the grounding circuit of the pu's.
Mind you chrome would look nice too!

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