new idea for shielding ?

[troubledtom]

a friend of mine does industrial duct work and he uses this 3 1/2 inch
metal tape. i got about 50 ft of it. i checked it w/ my multi meter and it looks like it'll work just fine for shielding plastic,,wood, or other encolsures.
he told me thay waste just about as much as they use on job sites,
for you dumster divers out their.
  it's also sold at lowes and home depot.
i'll test it more when i have time .
     gotta run :wink:  :idea:
       -tom

[Arn C.]

Hey Tom!
 I have used it before, I have always known it as aluminum tape.  You can solder to it also, a bit tricky, but can be donw and it does shield!

Peace!
Arn C.

[The Tone God]

I have used it before, I have always known it as aluminum tape.  You can solder to it also, a bit tricky, but can be donw and it does shield!

You cannot properly solder aluminum with the standard soldering tools we use.

Andrew

[Mark Hammer]

I'm very fortunate to have a surplus place near me that has stacks of sheets of copper shim material for peanuts (maybe $2 for an 18" x 18" square).  The stuff is a breeze to cut to form with standard scissors, and responds nicely to paper hole punches if you need to pop a hole into it.  Yu caneven bend it to form and make an inner "cage" for a board that retrofits inside a plastic chassis.  Naturally, a wee bit of steel wool abrasion and solder takes to it wonderfully.  You can see a photo of it in action in this file: http://ampage.org/hammer/files/Woody.zip (the Woody3.jpg image)

[troubledtom]

cool, gents, this stuff is the right price and it works!!!
i can't wait to make some sick[er] boxes. :twisted:
           peace brothers,
                   - tom

[NaBo]

I have used it before, I have always known it as aluminum tape.  You can solder to it also, a bit tricky, but can be donw and it does shield!

You cannot properly solder aluminum with the standard soldering tools we use.

Andrew

True, but why would you need to solder anything directly to the shield?  :?  Just make sure to stick it close enough to a jack's hole to get a good connection between ground & shield.

I'm sure we've all seen and read this, but if anyone a bit green happens upon this thread, here, check this out http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/plasticbox.htm... RG mentions the tape, but doesn't suggest using it for cosmetic reasons... (but on the inside of a box, does it matter?)

The only problem I'd worry about with using the tape is, since you'll likely need multiple strips, that there is continuity between each strip.  Does tape-sticky-stuff conduct?  :wink:  A good way of making absolutely sure your cage is nice and complete without having to attempt soldering or using screws/nuts would be to make each strip joint line up with a hole... that way, you could fold over the edge of a strip and let a jack or pot squish the two pieces together.

I think someday I'll make a wooden box this way.  Perhaps my talkbox when I get around to it.  It's nice to have the freedom of a handmade wooden box instead of working around prefab metal enclosures, as I'm finding with the speaker cab I'm building.

Go for it, and good luck!

[Paul Marossy]

I've used aluminum tape to shield lots of stuff, but mostly guitars. The only thing that is a PITB is ensuring electrical continuity between individual pieces. In a guitar, that's fairly easy to accomplish. Not so easy to accomplish in something like a plastic enclosure...

[The Tone God]

True, but why would you need to solder anything directly to the shield?  :?  Just make sure to stick it close enough to a jack's hole to get a good connection between ground & shield.

Agreed. I just wanted to make it clear for others that if they tried they would have problems. The nearest thing you can get is some kind of mechinal connection with the solder but its still not a solder joint. As pointed out you don't need to solder to it to get a connection though.

The glue in the tape is not conductive. You can still through it though. Copper tape does come in conductive glue types.

Andrew

[NaBo]

I've used aluminum tape to shield lots of stuff, but mostly guitars. The only thing that is a PITB is ensuring electrical continuity between individual pieces. In a guitar, that's fairly easy to accomplish. Not so easy to accomplish in something like a plastic enclosure...

Really Paul???  I had assumed you used aluminum foil or even some kinda conductive paint to get your strat good n shielded.  Looks nice in the pictures, like its one piece.  So how DID you ensure continuity?  I'd like to try doing that sometime... I'm sure a lot of us have had the distinct pleasure of recording stuff in front of a computer monitor... anything that would cut back on pickup hummage in that situation would be a godsend.

Agreed. I just wanted to make it clear for others that if they tried they would have problems. The nearest thing you can get is some kind of mechinal connection with the solder but its still not a solder joint.

Understood!  Say, Andrew, for curiosity's sake... you mentioned it's not solderable with our basic tools...  when is it solderable?  Is it a question of greater heat required, or the composition of solder?  This peaks my interest... mainly cuz a few weeks ago I broke my glasses and almost had to pay triple the price if my frames were titanium, which would need to be sent away to be laser-welded since it's not solderable. *insert "nerd" emoticon*

OH!!!  PS!!!  One of these days when I'm not working, I WILL try out the little proximity-learning-circuit you suggested for me a while back!!!  Been a busier summer than I anticipated, so far  

[troubledtom]

True, but why would you need to solder anything directly to the shield?  :?  Just make sure to stick it close enough to a jack's hole to get a good connection between ground & shield.

Agreed. I just wanted to make it clear for others that if they tried they would have problems. The nearest thing you can get is some kind of mechinal connection with the solder but its still not a solder joint. As pointed out you don't need to solder to it to get a connection though.

The glue in the tape is not conductive. You can still through it though. Copper tape does come in conductive glue types.

Andrew

yep- it will take a nut and a bolt connection to retain shielding , or the like, but
it's still easy to use the stuff.
          -t

[Paul Marossy]

Really Paul??? I had assumed you used aluminum foil or even some kinda conductive paint to get your strat good n shielded. Looks nice in the pictures, like its one piece. So how DID you ensure continuity?

OK, I'll reveal my secret. What I did is cut all of the aluminum tape pieces to size before peeling the backing off. Then I stuck the tape inside all of the cavities so that all the pickup cavity and control area surfaces were covered. Now here's the "secret" part: Where two seperate pieces meet, I use a Dremel Tool with a 1/32" drill bit to drill a series of holes on each side of the "seam", paying attention to the distance between holes. Then, I take a 1/2"x3/8" staple (like a staple gun would use) and with some needle nose pliers, insert one end of a staple in one hole, and then the other end. Then I tap the staple into the body as far as it will go, and also make sure that the staple is making good contact with the aluminum tape. I do this in several places for each seperate piece, and I use a continuity checker to make sure everything has continuity. Finally. I attach the shielding to ground using a wire soldered to ground. I use a screw terminal at the other end and screw that to the body where some shielding is present.

It really isn't that much effort to do the staple thing, it just takes a little patience. The end result is that it makes things pretty quiet! When using the single coil pickups, I will still get some hum when I switch on the preamp, but in the passive mode it's very quiet. I haven't tried sitting in front of the computer to record with this guitar yet, but I'm sure it's a lot better than it would be otherwise...  

[Gabriel Simoes]

Hello..
A friend of mine used the 3m aluminium tape in a plastic box, and after the glue "dried" everything seems to be connected ...
I was thinking about this problem and decided to try cutting and folfing a piece of the tape so it would connect to the other one in its side .... and I would spend only a little more tape doing this way ...
I'm really thinking about using wooden boxes against plastic ones ... maybe they are less strong .... but for sure they are a lot more attractive ... and different ! hehe =)
Lets try and post the results ..
Gabriel

[The Tone God]

Understood!  Say, Andrew, for curiosity's sake... you mentioned it's not solderable with our basic tools...  when is it solderable?  Is it a question of greater heat required, or the composition of solder?  This peaks my interest... mainly cuz a few weeks ago I broke my glasses and almost had to pay triple the price if my frames were titanium, which would need to be sent away to be laser-welded since it's not solderable. *insert "nerd" emoticon*

It is solderable and even braseable but you need a torch, special flux, and special solder to do it. All of which are beyond what tools the normal DIYer has hence my comment. I would even try to feed or TIG weld it. If one need to solder to tape get copper tape otherwise you need to make some kind of mechanical connection.

Titanium is a specialty material with unusually properties to match. I know one guy that has a pair of glasses that he can bend, twist, fold, and even tie a knot with the frame and it will still return to the original form without any problems. He is accident prone so he needs them.

OH!!!  PS!!!  One of these days when I'm not working, I WILL try out the little proximity-learning-circuit you suggested for me a while back!!!  Been a busier summer than I anticipated, so far  

No problem or hurry. I'm usually around somewhere hiding. Just be sure to post your findings here so others can read about it.

Andrew