Hi Everyone

I have now finished working with these small plastic covers, they really are quite fiddly considering the equipment that I have to work with.  However, at least I now have something to show for my efforts and the cover doesn’t look too bad on the BM4000

In the following posts, I’ll show how it was made.

Regards

Geoff

Having tried to cut thin slivers of 1.5mm plastic, I quickly gave up on that route and opted for the CD cover approach that Chris talked about.  Use a thin CD case which has a 15mm ridge down the middle and make sure that you find a brand new case where the plastic is scratch-free. It makes all the difference to the final product.  Thereafter, all you have to do is make sure that you don’t scratch it during the manufacturing process.

I used insulation tape to protect both surfaces.  First cut off the excess plastic as close to the ridge as possible.

Then comes the slow part, milling and filing the edges to the final size.  Fortunately, the height of the ridge on the cover is 2.8mm which is very close to the size of the B&O cover.  First mill the roughcut edge of the ridge to get a smooth surface.  The edge on the other side is around 5mm long and this has to be milled back to 2.8mm.  Take it in small bites otherwise the plastic cracks very easily.  The final section is shown below:

Measure the distance between the outside of the slots on the beomaster.  In the case of my BM4000, this distance was 69.7mm.  Select the best part of the profiled section, mark out square edges for the correct distance, cut to size and file to a clean edge.  Since the edge made from the ridge is slightly thinner than the other edge, I use the thicker edge for the top side of the cover.

From the remainder of the CD cover, cut a piece about 14mm wide and mill it so that it fits neatly into the profiles section.  The closer the fit the better.  This piece of plastic will be used for the sides.

Working at both ends of the length of plastic, mark out the tongues, 5mm long and 3mm from each side.  This can be roughcut and then filed so that it fits into the Beomaster slots.  The shoulders need to be square and the fit has to be comfortably tight.

When both ends are finished, mark to identify the left and right sides.  Scribe a 2mm line, cut and file to size.  If done carefully, the ends will have a reasonably snug fit inside the cover.

Use some insulation tape to cover the position next to the gluing area.  This stops glue running onto the surface of the cover and ruining the finish.  After the glue has dried, use a Stanley knife to cut the glue and peel off the tape.  More tape can be used to help support the edges during the gluing process.

Final stage is to glue the parts together, I used a quick set epoxy and to help adhesion, touched up the contact surfaces very lightly with a Dremel point.  After 30 minutes while the glue is only semi hard, I put the cover very carefully into the slots to help perfect the alignment.  Then leave it to set for a day. 

The final result is a fairly good cover which looks the part on the B&O, even though it is an ex CD cover.  Just don’t tell anyone and they will never know.

Regards

Geoff

He did it...

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Wonderful work !

Martin

Fantastic, well done.

How about a turntable lid now?

What a cracking job!

Excellent work geoff!

Geoff,

That's a real nice job.

You're a man after my own heart - if the part doesn't exist, make it.

This is a keeper, for when I have one of these in for restoration - I will be copying you!

Menahem

Can I ask what you used for cutting the case?

jgunzelman:

Can I ask what you used for cutting the case?

Hi

After scribing the case in the appropriate places, I just used a mini hacksaw with a sharp fine blade to make the preliminary rough cuts.  Provided that the case is held and supported securely, it doesn't usually crack or split.  Thereafter, I use the Dremel router table to cut the various sections to size and finally a fine file for the smaller, more fiddly bits. 

Hope that helps

Regards

Geoff

Great work there Geoff. You would never know the difference.

Craig

Awesome - I love these threads.

Chris.

It sure does!  Looks as good as the original!