I am mainly interested in the electronics. Are you buying a kit? Regards.
Max. K 4 O D S. Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Transistor site http://www.funwithtransistors.net Vacuum tube site: http://www.funwithtubes.net Music site: http://www.maxsmusicplace.com To subscribe to the fun with tubes group send an email to, [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- Original Message ----- From: "Geoff Eden" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 12:24 AM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] Project: Theremin unit > Good morning Lew, the theremin has always fascinated me, and you may have > inspired me to build one for myself. > > A terrific post, thank you. > > Geoff > ----- Original Message ----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To: [email protected] > Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2006 8:22 PM > Subject: [BlindHandyMan] Project: Theremin unit > > > Hi guys > > well here's a rather unusual project. nothing new there with me. this is > something I'm going to be working on through christmas and new year. > > The theremin is an instrument designed in the late 1920's by a chap called > Leon theremin. it is a radio based synthesizer relying on the electro > magnetic > pulses of the body to play the two antennai as the hands control pitch and > volume. > > Components needed for this job are listed below: > > Moog etherwave circuit board, antennai and components, > 1 of 12 inch by 6 ft spruce, pine or suitable wood and 1 of 18 inch by 6 > ft > both of which at least 3/4 inch thick.(read cutting list in next section) > finnishing nails, > blocks (1/2 inch x 1/2 inch x 3 inch) a good load of those made of wooden > squared dowel. > 4 of 2 ft x 2.5 inch squared matching timber. if pine or spruce etc. > either > would suit. > 4 small rubber feet. > 2 of 12 inch x 1 inch x 3 inch > 2 of 18 inch x 1 inch x 3 inch > 4 of 3 inch x 1 inch x 3 inch blocks angled both sides at 45 degree. > 1 sheet of partical board 1/8 inch thick or more depending on choice > spanned size of 18 inch x 24 inch > > main board cuttings > > this is i n reference to the two boards needed for the carcas of the > instrument. > 2 of 12 inch x 24 inch boards, > 1 of 12 inch x 18 inch board (underside of box, > 1 of 18 inch x 4 inch (top panel board) > 1 x 18 inch by8 inch front straight panel > 1 x 18 inch by 19 inch at first (angle board for front.) > > the back is made of partical board and needs to be accessible so will be > held in by small screws. > > tools needed for this job will be a decent quality saw (table or circular > with a reliable blade) talking tape measure or an assistant, belt sander, > finishing sander with 8 grades of sand paper 40 grit to 400 grit. a pilot > drill, > bag of small screws 3/4 inch or inch long recommended. countersink, > cordless > drill or power screw driver., router or precission miller for routing the > vent > on the partical board and routing the seems for the board to fit.) 16 mm > drill bit (spade is fine for this) and a suitable finish. in my case I am > ebonising it to give that sexy piano black look. > > now we get to work on this. > > first thing is to deal with the main boards for cutting. the worst are the > side panels as there's some calculative measuring to be done and marking. > from the list I stated 2 of 12 inch by 24 inch boards. with these cut > square > then go to one side of the board along the 24 inch line and mark 8 inches > from > the bottom. and along the top, come from the back and measure in 4 inches > and lark those points. now with a rule or straight edge either mark with a > pen > or scribe or knife. as long as both boards match up perfectly then you can > lay the first board on top of the other and feed the material into the saw > to > remove the timber. > > the rest is fairly simple. though here's a trick I came across in the > initial design process. > > the measurements I've given are general and will need slight lessening as > the point or edges will need trimming, moulding or routing for dove or > quartering > > don't be concerned as to the front angled board's two ends to meet the > front > lower board and top board. . I usually cheat and set my table saw to do an > angle cut at 15 degree on the top board and 45 degree on the top and > bottom > sides of the front angled board (the controller board). in saying this the > top > board must have the cut as internal and not external so that the cut is > not > seen.. > > it is a simple thing of creating a series of blocks for the internal > structures. make at least 20 just in case. 1/2 inch squared dowel for > this. and > make them between 2 inch and 3 inch length. these are for holding the > internal > sides together without showing the screws or anything like that. the > surfaces > need to be well set. > > the base: > > take the 4 beams ( 2 x 12 inch x 3 inch x 1 inch and 18 inch x 3 inch x 1 > inch and take the edges to 45 degree at both ends for all parts. for this > the > finishing nails are needed. so this is now the frame. now take your 4 3 > inch > by 3 inch by 1 inch blocks and take the edges off to 45 degree. this is > the > stability. > > the legs now need a bit of attention for stability. bearing in mind this > unit is not going to be as heavy as the original unit from the early 30s > it > won't need as much weight. set each leg up on your workbench and have the > tops facing you. and mark 1 inch from edge and measure and mark 3 inches > down.. rotate the leg 90 degrees and then do the same. with either a > bandsaw, jig > saw or careful work with a table saw, take the 2 areas marked up so all > you > have is a 1 and a half inch squared block in the corner to take the > weight. > repeat this with all 4 legs. do remember that you set each leg so that you > have the blocks front left and right and back left and right. therefore > the > working position differs. > > now when these legs are cut, place the legs into the corners of the frame > and screw them in. this is now the footing and legs complete. > > build the unit with all the timbers cut and using the blocks as internal > fittings. leaving the back open as there is a last piece of the project to > do. > > with the back exposed, with a router use a small square guiding bit and > set > it to 1/4 inch depth, use a guide rail with this machine as the cutting > may > be a bit difficult. if you feel you can't tackle that then its ok. just > secure the back particle board on. this is the case built. > > > you will now need to place in a small shelf in the theremin case at least > 4 > inches from the top by 5 inches width. this shelf is for the circuit > board. > which of course will need a degree of technical knowhow to solder the kit. > now > you get the electronics kit from moog music inc. they supply their > standard > instrument, the kit for enthusiasts or techies or weird people like me > lol. > > with the shelf set in and secured with two blocks. please repeat the > process > of either nailing or screwing in the blocks to the boards internally and > on > this shelf secure it so it doesnt move and cause damage. please be aware > that you will need access to the top of the theremin case so don't screw > in the > top. this is the top board which will need to be accessed so screw and > countersink from the top. > > on the right hand side of the unit you will need to drill a 16 mm hole for > the antenna block to lock in. do this about 3 inches from the top going > down and about 4 inches from the back. > > left hand side requires two holes of the same diameter. the antenna is > bent > round to form the circuit. so use the ends for a reasonable position for > drilling to allign the blocks and antenna. when these are installedm you > can > solder in the blocks for the antennai to the board with the supplied core > wire. > . the front angled board which is the controller surface will need a panel > cutting out of it. so take measurement of the plate housing the dials. and > make sure you have some clearance and cable length for this. bring the > controller inline with where you want to cut. then clear it safely away to > use either > a router or jigsaw being careful not to swerve or bugger it up.. sand the > edges and then bring in the bracket with the controllers. screw it in or > use > some kind of high strength bonding adhesive. > > this is done. > > with the back particle board, go to the center of the board and . from > there use the centre to cut vertical lines. 7 in fact going down > illustrating a > circular effect for ventilation. so left and right sides are small getting > bigger then to the central line. > > at the bottom either centre or right or left, use the router to cut a > small > channel out so a cable can exit.. > > now that the theremin is installed, power it up as soon as all the > connections are soldered and tested. see with a pair of headphones or > something if the > instrument works. preferabley a guitar amp or something powered like a > hifi. > make sure the volume is down and slowly raise it. > > if this works great, close it up and away you go. a nice 19 40's theremin. > > oops I buggered up. I forgot to mention that before installing the > theremin > and constructing. please sand down all boards to a fine finish even after > cutting edges to specified degrees. as this will be critical for > finishing. and > saves the damage. > > now you can finish the wood with piano black wax, clear bees wax, pine oil > or something nice and sweet. then polish it well. there you go. I will be > french polishing this new unit to piano black. if not then wallnut. > > enjoy > > yours with a laugh > > lew > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > To listen to the show archives go to link > http://acbradio.org/handyman.html > or > ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ > > The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. > http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday > > The Pod Cast address for the Cooking In The Dark Show is. > http://www.gcast.com/u/cookingindark/main.xml > > Visit the new archives page at the following address > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man > list just send a blank message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > To listen to the show archives go to link http://acbradio.org/handyman.html or ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday The Pod Cast address for the Cooking In The Dark Show is. http://www.gcast.com/u/cookingindark/main.xml Visit the new archives page at the following address http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man list just send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blindhandyman/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blindhandyman/join (Yahoo! 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