CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[cmjohnson]

My new milling machine will be in my workshop on Monday, if all goes well.

I'll be able to duplicate the Marquee mounting plates that the LC assemblies mount to on an LC Marquee,
and sell them for a fair amount less than VDC does.

If anyone needs some, let me know.

I've got this nice big milling machine to work with and I want to get some projects lined up so I can spend some
enjoyable time with the mill. Machining is fun!

Oh..this is definite. I have sample plates, I have the machine and the tools, and I have the skills. And I can
get the aluminum stock very easily.

VDC's charging about 200 bucks for a set if they'll sell them to you. I can do it for about half that,
depending on what the aluminum plates end up costing me.


CJ

[Ohmess]

Damn -- I got what I needed about six months ago. Missed out.

[AnalogRocks]

[AnalogRocks]

[Nashou66]

Chris, this would be perfect timing to get people into an LC machine from the AC's For an 8"LC conversion you would need only C-elements which are hard to find as well, But i think we might be able to find a maker for those two! I think Chip asked this question as to what C-Elements are made from.
there is a company in California I sent an e-mail to asking if they could re coat the AR layer on Lenses but they said it be hard but they can make new lenses with the AR coating on them if I sent them a sample, once again I have no idea of cost. But i assume we could find a company to make C-elements as well. once again cost, unless you know some one who has those C-elements.
Another place to get them from is any old used Barco 9 inch set or sony 1292 tubes. these have all the correct colored C-elements we need, I think Green is a bit different in color.

Arnoif you read this, Did 3M say if they had any clear elements left? maybe we could find someone to color them some how, but these are acrylic and will melt if it has to be put on with heat.

Another thing, The LC housings has three main pieces and the two smaller ones that are used for pivot points top and bottom. The actual plate that the Tube is adhered to can be milled and anodized, but the outer piece that the face plate is glued to and screwed to can not be modified from an 8 inch to the 9 inch housing. they are two different animals, the 8 inch is shaped different where if you went to mill it to the 9 inch housing you'd have no metal to mill. I think also these were poured into a mold. So if you have metal mold making skills as well then that outer housing can be made via a mold, and machined to the correct finish needed.
I found this out when I wanted to go from an 8 inch LC tubes I bought to the 9 inch thomas tubes, the housings are much much smaller and even if i wanted to take it to a machinist to mill it down you cant, there is no material where you need it to hold the silicone seal around the tube, it be milled away leaving an empty space. I ended up getting used 9 inch LC housings, the only part that is the same between the two are the final outer mount to the PJ top and bottom plates. thats it, and that is made from a mold as well.

For 9 inch Tubes, Aferg still has those thomas used tubes for free, some are great!! others are not, its a crap shoot but for 10 bucks shipping you can order 9 tubes for 90 bucks delivered and maybe get a great set for 90 bucks.
Also I have a lead on less expensive LUG's, about the cost of tubular outlets, maybe less. have not answered my contact yet.

then you have to also mill the top and bottom mounting plates as well.

if we can get C-elements Chris we could put people into LC marquees for less than the cost of a single tube from VDC(1650 for new AC 9" tube) !!!

You make the housings, I get the bellows, we source out some C-elements, and If i get more of those thomas tubes that are in great shape i mod the VNB's and test each tube, mount them and send the complete package out.


Oh boy what am I saying!!!

Athanasios

[draganm]

I think Chris is making the mounting plates, not LC housings. The housings are made from investment castings.

[Heywood Jablome]

[Nashou66]

[Tim in Phoenix]

Guys!

I have several sets of nine inch housings with worn tubes, ready to be fitted with new tubes, pm for costs.


.

[Robert A. Hill]

I saw a video on television that showed how photographic filters are made by dying plastic Maybe clear c-elements could be dyed? The technicians were hand dipping the clear filters into hot dye vats as described below. Videos on Youtube show RIT dyes being used to dye plastic for toys and R/C cars:

_____
Deep-dyed color filters, like Roscolux, begin with a roll of clear polyester. The film is passed through a bath of heated solvent suffused with dye. The solvent causes the film to swell expanding the polymer structure and allowing the dye molecules to penetrate the surface. The film is then washed and the polymer contracts to its normal form, trapping the dye molecules below the surface. Compared to surface coating, more extreme temperatures are required to cause the dye particles to sublimate through the surface. Deepdyed filters are, therefore, more resistant to fading than surface coated.

[cmjohnson]

Yeah, I'm only offering to make the mounting plate for 9500s. I can do it right including the arc cuts for pointing the red and blue tubes.

The plates will be new, not remachined, anyway.

I'm not about to start making the LC assemblies themselves. That'd be a job! I can only guess what the investment would be to make
those investment castings.

I realize that this is not the optimal time to offer this product, but I'm guessing that there are at least a few people who
got the LC assemblies for an upgrade but didn't get the mounting plate due to a lack of knowledge about that part change.


CJ

[jantje112]

I have a few clear c-elements for sale.

20 dollar a piece.