1968 non-Rallye tach - on the cheap (or near to it, anyway)

[Billccm]

Nah, FedEx is a pain on insurance, and they'd probably want it back. But I can take photos of the damaged fiberboard if you want to give it a try.

If you are persistent, FedEx will cover the damage. It might take 20, maybe even 30 emails, faxes, and phone calls, but they will cover it. I'll spare you the details, but I had a double boxed, triple bubble wrapped antique phonograph that arrived as a crushed box of kindling wood (value was $400, and it was insured for the extra coverage). After a month of back and forth with FedEx, I received $400 AND my shipping refund.

You think FedEx is bad, try a USPS claim. It will NEVER be covered.

 

[cudak888]

If you are persistent, FedEx will cover the damage. It might take 20, maybe even 30 emails, faxes, and phone calls, but they will cover it. I'll spare you the details, but I had a double boxed, triple bubble wrapped antique phonograph that arrived as a crushed box of kindling wood (value was $400, and it was insured for the extra coverage). After a month of back and forth with FedEx, I received $400 AND my shipping refund.

You think FedEx is bad, try a USPS claim. It will NEVER be covered.

That's pretty impressive, as I've had roughly 10 USPS claims over the past 12 months (lots of eBay sales), and with exception to one or two, they were paid out with little fuss; at most, two of the claims required handing over the damaged goods at the local post office.

This included some electronics, including an iPhone damaged in transit and an internal expansion card for a computer.

-Kurt

 

[HT413]

Ok fellas, here's my shot at this. Kurt emailed the updated STL files to me and I printed them out on a Makerbot. As expected, the makerbot isn't a production machine and doesn't have nearly the precision / resolution for the tach face. You can see the result: big ol bugger on the tach face and the numbers are a little fubar'd as well

The mounting cup worked out pretty good though. Looks usable.

 

[HT413]

Kurt, what paint did ya use? Btw, I'll ship the updated cup out by the end of the week...

 

[cudak888]

Ok fellas, here's my shot at this. Kurt emailed the updated STL files to me and I printed them out on a Makerbot. As expected, the makerbot isn't a production machine and doesn't have nearly the precision / resolution for the tach face. You can see the result: big ol bugger on the tach face and the numbers are a little fubar'd as well

The mounting cup worked out pretty good though. Looks usable.

View attachment 491199 View attachment 491200 View attachment 491201 View attachment 491202

Kurt, what paint did ya use? Btw, I'll ship the updated cup out by the end of the week...

The cup looks perfect; just like the Shapeways one with the improvements built in. Rather surprised to see that the Makerbot was able to get that good a result on the face at all.

Question - how many cups did you print? I was able to get the incorrect one to work reasonably by adding some offset studs to the back. If you only printed one, save it for your use when I send you the front part of the tach; just let me know how it all fits together.

I sprayed mine with Mr. Surfacer 1200 primer, followed by Dupli-Color Flat Black engine enamel. The white and orange were done with Sharpie fine point oil paint pens. I used a really fine point artist-style Sharpie to fill in the 0's and edges where I kept bleeding the white over - though the actual dial was done pretty easily.

Let me know if you'd like me to paint yours before it goes out. If so, I'll ship it out on Monday to give it time to dry.

-Kurt

 

[HT413]

The cup looks perfect; just like the Shapeways one with the improvements built in. Rather surprised to see that the Makerbot was able to get that good a result on the face at all.

Question - how many cups did you print? I was able to get the incorrect one to work reasonably by adding some offset studs to the back. If you only printed one, save it for your use when I send you the front part of the tach; just let me know how it all fits together.

I sprayed mine with Mr. Surfacer 1200 primer, followed by Dupli-Color Flat Black engine enamel. The white and orange were done with Sharpie fine point oil paint pens. I used a really fine point artist-style Sharpie to fill in the 0's and edges where I kept bleeding the white over - though the actual dial was done pretty easily.

Let me know if you'd like me to paint yours before it goes out. If so, I'll ship it out on Monday to give it time to dry.

-Kurt

I printed 2 cups, but no worries either way. Maybe I'll just ship it to ya for the heck of it - so you can see how your final design worked out.

As far as the face plate, hey man that's a heck of an offer to paint it. I'll leave it up to you. If it doesn't inconvenience you too much, I'd appreciate it greatly. If it turns out you're too busy, I'd be more than happy to paint it myself... though I definitely plan to practice on my rough face plate first!

 

[cudak888]

I printed 2 cups, but no worries either way. Maybe I'll just ship it to ya for the heck of it - so you can see how your final design worked out.

As far as the face plate, hey man that's a heck of an offer to paint it. I'll leave it up to you. If it doesn't inconvenience you too much, I'd appreciate it greatly. If it turns out you're too busy, I'd be more than happy to paint it myself... though I definitely plan to practice on my rough face plate first!

Sounds good! If I didn't already give you my address, let me know, and I'll send it via our existing conversation.

No problem at all to give it a shot of primer and black. I'll leave it up to you to do the detail work though

-Kurt

 

[HT413]

 

[cudak888]

All decked out in matte black; just need to pack it and ship it to you tomorrow

-Kurt

 

[HT413]

Awesome. I'll have yours in the mail in the next day or so as well.

 

[cudak888]

Not a tach, but another little 3D-printed part for the Satellite - a replacement plastic housing for my cracked dimmer switch. I sure as heck am not paying $150 for a repop when the crack is the only problem I have to overcome.

-Kurt

 

[roadrunnerh]

Interesting work fellas!

 

[cudak888]

Interesting work fellas!

It's fun stuff. Provided it's not really for looks (the detail plastic is a bit expensive and cumbersome), the 3D printed PLA is great for behind-the-dash parts replacement.

Just ordered the dimmer piece. Should be interesting to see how it fits. Old one was pinch-fit; I'm going to grind out the pinch and JB Weld it in for ease of installation.

-Kurt

 

[cudak888]

By the way, I'm about to put the plastic parts up on Shapeways, so anyone here can order one, paint it up, and try it out for themselves.

For the record, these are the completely dirt-cheap tachs that bolt in. They're ALL the same thing, so I went with the first one as it was cheapest and had Prime (but putting the other links in case it disappears someday):

https://www.amazon.com/KKmoon-Tachometer-Gauge-Holder-0-8000RPM/dp/B00GYTZ43O/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1499544208&sr=8-4&keywords=2"+tachometer

https://www.amazon.com/Docooler-Tachometer-Gauge-Holder-0-8000RPM/dp/B00HCB7K26/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1499544253&sr=8-6&keywords=2"+tachometer

https://www.amazon.com/TOOGOO-Tachometer-Gauge-Holder-0-8000RPM/dp/B018S01XLI/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1499544253&sr=8-16&keywords=2%22+tachometer

-Kurt

 

[cudak888]

Ok, fellows - I'm officially putting these guys up on Shapeways. Unfortunately, they don't sell PLA for the back plate, so the production units will have to be nylon plastic. Just as strong, but the 3D printed nylon tends to be fuzzy and gets dirty easily (and doesn't clean well - but who cares? It will be behind the dash anyway). The nylon is rated up to 176 degrees, so it should do OK.

The front remains the same clear "Frosted Ultra Detail" which you'll have to paint yourself. I used Mr. Surfacer 1000 primer followed by good old Dupli-Color Flat Black Engine Enamel. The details were painted (very carefully!) with Sharpie-brand oil-based paint pens, white and orange.

The tach is two parts, and you'll also need to buy one of those el-cheapo tachs on Amazon. That's the only tach I've designed this for to-date. I do not plan on doing any others. If interest is good, I'll go ahead and design a 3D printed needle that imitates the original too.

Part #1 (face): https://www.shapeways.com/product/LEX2KW5T9/quot-road-chicken-quot-muscle-car-dash-tachometer-part-1
Part #2 (housing): https://www.shapeways.com/product/6JBLCEQA5/quot-road-chicken-quot-muscle-car-dash-tachometer-part-2

Mods, if this steps on any vendor's toes, let me know. Not making a killing on any of this, the Shapeways kickback to me is a pittance. Just trying to give a bit back to the community.

-Kurt

 

[cudak888]

A forum member convinced me to do the needle too. Won't be perfect, but it should do. Just need the tach shaft diameter (had to part with the previous tach to keep the funds up for the Satellite project):

-Kurt

 

[cudak888]

Needle is up:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/W4BL5RWES/quot-road-chicken-quot-tachometer-needle-optional-part-3

Though the shaft is sized to 0.03mm for the modern tach, it should be adaptable to an original tach too, given a small drill and pin vise, if you so desire.

-Kurt

 

[HT413]

Great work, Kurt! I think just about anyone with a hotrod has at least a little DIY in them, so I think plenty of people will benefit.

And I have to say, I'm really impressed with your skills! If you ever need another line of work, get certified and TEACH this stuff like I do - and you'll play all day.

 

[cudak888]

Great work, Kurt! I think just about anyone with a hotrod has at least a little DIY in them, so I think plenty of people will benefit.

And I have to say, I'm really impressed with your skills! If you ever need another line of work, get certified and TEACH this stuff like I do - and you'll play all day.

I'm hoping the work with the Sharpie paint pen isn't too difficult - it's a real bear to get right, and I found it beneficial to have a fine point black Sharpie on hand to fix my "oopsies."

Certified? In 3D printing or 3D design? I'm no whiz at Blender, but I do understand 3D work enough to get by. Got any links?

P.S.: On the note of 3D design to physical reality, here's one of my latest works. I had to design the entire thing in Blender first (as it's supposed to be a dead-on replica to the custom-built model used on the original kids' show back in 1994), while the saddle tank, face, splashers (fenders, for us car guys), domes, and stack on this guy are all 3D printed. The remainder is acrylic plastic, but it was laser cut based on 2D renderings of the 3D parts from Blender. The siderods were also laser-cut from stainless:



-Kurt

 

[HT413]

Awesome! My 8 year old son slept ate and breathed Thomas for about 4 years. I'm gonna show him that later.

Sure! Go get certified in SolidWorks - CSWA (certified SW associate) is super easy and there are real jobs out there needing that cert. there are other more advanced certs as well. Then maybe get with a company that teaches professional development, maybe your town / county / local community college. Or... do like I did and get certified as a high school teacher ... it's F U N.