Gary Lewis Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 I'm not sure I'm ready to say that the bead-to-bead difference should be .230". I say that because I just measured four different bezels to get the height of the wiper/headlight switch bead so we can adjust the height of the fog lamp bezel to match. And, I got 2.310 to 2.350". Yep, a .040" difference on what I thought would be less than .010". So, if there's that much difference between bead heights might there be that much or more in its length? And, by the way, these were different, with one being Rosewood, one burlwood, and two being different meshes. Further, the burlwood is enough different that getting my calipers down in it to measure was much harder than on all the others. So, there are some differences in the instrument bezels in spite of them all fitting in the same spot. We will need to figure this out before we give definitive measurements on where to cut the slot and drill the holes. And, by the way, given the shape of the fog lamp bezel with the studs sticking out of the back, I'm also not sure if a bead/bead dimension is much help. They'll need to measure and cut/drill the openings first, and then they can use the bead/bead measurement to align it properly. Perhaps lay the right sized drill bit in between and then tighten the nuts down? Well, I got the 2nd bezel in from Shapeways. And, the lettering is much better, as is the surface texture. But, there's a pattern in it that is visible, albeit much better than the 1st pass. Perhaps it will not be noticed when painted? Anyway, here's a side-by-side with the 1st one, and it was taken in harsh sunlight from the side to show all the warts. And, by the way, they are exactly the same size - it is just a parallax issue. Also, there are nibs on the back and on a couple of sides, like this one. But they can be sanded or filed off pretty easily. And, the threads are slightly too large on the studs. A 1/4-28 nut gets tight and I'm afraid the stud will twist off. So I gently ran a die down it - with the die reversed, meaning with the Start From This Side showing on the backside. That way the sharp edge of the die cuts the plastic instead of just riding up on top of it and eventually binding. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reamer Posted February 2, 2018 Author Share Posted February 2, 2018 Well, I got the 2nd bezel in from Shapeways. And, the lettering is much better, as is the surface texture. But, there's a pattern in it that is visible, albeit much better than the 1st pass. Perhaps it will not be noticed when painted? Anyway, here's a side-by-side with the 1st one, and it was taken in harsh sunlight from the side to show all the warts. And, by the way, they are exactly the same size - it is just a parallax issue. Also, there are nibs on the back and on a couple of sides, like this one. But they can be sanded or filed off pretty easily. And, the threads are slightly too large on the studs. A 1/4-28 nut gets tight and I'm afraid the stud will twist off. So I gently ran a die down it - with the die reversed, meaning with the Start From This Side showing on the backside. That way the sharp edge of the die cuts the plastic instead of just riding up on top of it and eventually binding. Thoughts? Looks Better Gary, But they done messed with the "FOG LAMPS" font, spacing and position..... NOS one for comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 Looks Better Gary, But they done messed with the "FOG LAMPS" font, spacing and position..... NOS one for comparison. Ron - I don't think "they" did anything. It was printed w/o any changes to it. And, it looks pretty close. Here is your NOS one, cropped from an earlier pic, followed by my #2 after some cleaning on it - and it cleaned up well. I'd like to paint it with the black Jonathan suggested to see how it turns out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford F834 Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 Well, I got the 2nd bezel in from Shapeways. And, the lettering is much better, as is the surface texture. But, there's a pattern in it that is visible, albeit much better than the 1st pass. Perhaps it will not be noticed when painted? Anyway, here's a side-by-side with the 1st one, and it was taken in harsh sunlight from the side to show all the warts. And, by the way, they are exactly the same size - it is just a parallax issue. Also, there are nibs on the back and on a couple of sides, like this one. But they can be sanded or filed off pretty easily. And, the threads are slightly too large on the studs. A 1/4-28 nut gets tight and I'm afraid the stud will twist off. So I gently ran a die down it - with the die reversed, meaning with the Start From This Side showing on the backside. That way the sharp edge of the die cuts the plastic instead of just riding up on top of it and eventually binding. Thoughts? Gary that is an excellent result, much better than before. I suspect that with some very fine grit sanding and paint, the texture will disappear. Ron, I am not quite seeing the errors in the font and position with one exception: the space between fog and lamps is too tight making it look like one word. I think it would look better with some space added there. Did chasing the threads with a reversed die fix the tightness issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 Gary that is an excellent result, much better than before. I suspect that with some very fine grit sanding and paint, the texture will disappear. Ron, I am not quite seeing the errors in the font and position with one exception: the space between fog and lamps is too tight making it look like one word. I think it would look better with some space added there. Did chasing the threads with a reversed die fix the tightness issue? Jonathan - Thanks. It is much better and the sanding I've done has it in pretty good shape. And if the black paint fills a bit, then it'll be great. As for the letters, I can add a space between FOG and LAMPS, although to be consistent then I'd need to squeeze the whole string into the same space it is in now. And that would reduce the space between the other letters even more. Do you think that needs to be done or just add the space and let the whole string get longer? Or, leave it alone? As for the the threads, using the die backwards did the trick. But you want to start it the correct way first to ensure the threads are formed enough that you can get the die to start correctly backwards. Then turn it around and work it gently as it peels off material from the bottom of the threads, and stop frequently to get rid of that material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reamer Posted February 3, 2018 Author Share Posted February 3, 2018 Gary that is an excellent result, much better than before. I suspect that with some very fine grit sanding and paint, the texture will disappear. Ron, I am not quite seeing the errors in the font and position with one exception: the space between fog and lamps is too tight making it look like one word. I think it would look better with some space added there. Did chasing the threads with a reversed die fix the tightness issue? The spacing is slightly off, but my 30+ years in the printing industry is "tainting" my opinion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford F834 Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 Jonathan - Thanks. It is much better and the sanding I've done has it in pretty good shape. And if the black paint fills a bit, then it'll be great. As for the letters, I can add a space between FOG and LAMPS, although to be consistent then I'd need to squeeze the whole string into the same space it is in now. And that would reduce the space between the other letters even more. Do you think that needs to be done or just add the space and let the whole string get longer? Or, leave it alone? As for the the threads, using the die backwards did the trick. But you want to start it the correct way first to ensure the threads are formed enough that you can get the die to start correctly backwards. Then turn it around and work it gently as it peels off material from the bottom of the threads, and stop frequently to get rid of that material. Gary, now that I see a larger picture of it I say let's paint it and add the white, then see how the general appearance is. I would not crowd the letters any further. If a space needs to be added I would say let the chain grow and get slightly closer to the edges. You would be very hard pressed to notice that. I think we need to see it properly painted. That will change the look and that is how it will be viewed. I have to say it is looking really good just the way it is. I know we want it as close as possible, but when in use there won't be a nos example sitting next to it to compare fonts 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 Gary, now that I see a larger picture of it I say let's paint it and add the white, then see how the general appearance is. I would not crowd the letters any further. If a space needs to be added I would say let the chain grow and get slightly closer to the edges. You would be very hard pressed to notice that. I think we need to see it properly painted. That will change the look and that is how it will be viewed. I have to say it is looking really good just the way it is. I know we want it as close as possible, but when in use there won't be a nos example sitting next to it to compare fonts 🙂 Ron - I don't think we are going to achieve an exact match. Jonathan - I agree. Let me get some of that paint and see what it looks like. Unless you want to paint it if I send it to you? As for the "when in use there won't be a nos example sitting next to it to compare fonts" statement, you do realize what is exposed if you are checking the bezel out don't you? Seriously though, I think we are "there" if the paint goes on well. If so, I propose that I reduce the size to match the headlight/washer switch bead, move the studs, and print another one. But, if we find other things to resolve I'd like to get them fixed before the next print. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reamer Posted February 3, 2018 Author Share Posted February 3, 2018 Ron - I don't think we are going to achieve an exact match. Jonathan - I agree. Let me get some of that paint and see what it looks like. Unless you want to paint it if I send it to you? As for the "when in use there won't be a nos example sitting next to it to compare fonts" statement, you do realize what is exposed if you are checking the bezel out don't you? Seriously though, I think we are "there" if the paint goes on well. If so, I propose that I reduce the size to match the headlight/washer switch bead, move the studs, and print another one. But, if we find other things to resolve I'd like to get them fixed before the next print. I agree we have come up with great results:nabble_anim_claps: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford F834 Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 As for the "when in use there won't be a nos example sitting next to it to compare fonts" statement, you do realize what is exposed if you are checking the bezel out don't you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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