Hi folks,

after a year of absence from the board i'm back again.
A lot of work and some health-problems prevented me from visiting one of my favourite places to be... here.
Things get sorted out, and i did my best to come to Amersfoort, which was again a marvellous meet with very much fun. Thanks to Rob S. for believing in this community and organizing this great happening again and again.

Well, a year ago i told you that i had bought Tim's newface stuff and want to do it now. Except from his first newface-prototype and some buttons i didn't get anything else from him concerning the newface. CAD-files never existed and the CNC-Program which he promised me never came along.
So i decided to make a newface 2nd edition from scratch with changing the things i didn't liked so much on Tim's design. A good friend of mine, who did the real work, told me, whats easy and whats not. So we developed the thing you can see on the pic.
It was very important to me to offer a matching handle. But this is in fact what it makes really tricky. The handle involves a lot of hand-work and isn't easy to machine. A handle made from aluminium has to be thicker than the original, so it won't bend pulling or carrying the player. So the whole fascia is now thicker than the original or Tim's design. But i like it. It looks powerful and strong that way. The only thing, i'll have to get some of the longer Farnell-buttons, cause the middle length is a little to short.

Those of you who were in Amersfoort have seen the player. The prototype is unfinished, the handle has two mistakes, but those will soon be corrected. I had to push my friend very hard to the limit to provide me with this prototype in time for the meet, so he went to vacation now.
But when he comes back, we have the material for a run of 10 faces, 3 are already gone in Amersfoort.

We will offer anodized in any color, black and clear will be faster cause this is common business, brushed and polished is possible, too. But i want to see examples first.

So what i want now from you is not an order, but a good feeling about quantities. Please reply with the finish you like, so i can do some calculation.
The price will be, hmm, 200 to 220 Euros with handle, buttons (clear and black) and a knob. (either like on the pic or like Tim's version for better grip)

[image]http://empegbbs.com/files/260198-IMGP2329_bbs.JPG[/image]
(thanks, guys)
((no... look at andym's post for the pic...))

More detailed pics are on https://fotoalbum.web.de/gast/thgabel/newface_2nd_edition
Sorry for that weird album, i'll try to get a web-page up soon.

I'd like to get your feedback. But please don't hijack the thread for general CNC-machining discussions. Thanks a lot.

cheers,
Thomas

Man, forgot all about this stuff...

What's the code to show the pic in the post?

just stick the URL in [ image ] [ / image ] tags.....

First, you can't just copy the URL from the "Attachment" link; you actually have to click through and get the final URL.

Then just put that URL inbetween a pair of "[image]", "[/image]" tags.

Edit: Too slow!

Welcome back, Thomas!

Are you aware that Webroach is also (nearly) producing fascias? Not that yours don't look good but I also think 220 Euros is a bit steep. You may find difficulty shifting them. 303's wereb only 100-150 euros anodized. Just a thought - please don't hate me!!!

That price includes *handle* and *buttons* and *knob*.

And nobody else is producing aluminum facias at present. Soon perhaps, but the definition of "soon" has yet to be determined.

Cheers

Fair enough but 303's included buttons and knob. I don't see how a handle is worth 70-120 Euros. I suppose its worth what people will pay though

Nothing against anyone on here BTW. I'll probably get one myself

I *think* the basic ones were 100 Euros. Add anodized or polished and they were 150.

My Paypal history says €160 for my black nodized Newface, with. €10 of that being shipping.

I personally think that Thomas' fascia looks great.

I don't see any reason why there isn't room for more than one version of the aluminum fascia. Thomas' has the Farnell style buttons, while Brandon and I are comitted to doing the orignal style button to work with the new Greenlights sets. This gives people a choice (or better yet, one or more of each).

We should also understand that price is something that we (people like Thomas and myself) only have limited control over. Metal work like this is not cheap, and we all have bills to pay too. I'm sure the price will come down as Thomas gets things sorted. And as Mark so wisely put it, nobody is (at this time) selling aluminum fascias.

Thomas makes a few good points, and some of the difficulties he has had are also holding up Brandon and I: the handle is a difficult piece. We also have the problem of the original buttons and the desire to have as low a price as humanly possible.

Again, beautiful work, Thomas; it looks fantastic. I'm excited to see how close you are. Let's hope that soon we have the choice of NewFace SE, Wooden, and our verion of the aluminum fascia to choose from. More choices is always better!

Phil, i sure will not hate you.
You're right, Tim sold the unfinished fascia for 100, the finished ones for 150.
200 to 220 Euros is just calculating over the thumb, if you can say so in english.
Given 150 for Tim's version, 50 to 70 for the handle isn't too much considering the work it needs. There have been some fascias over the time, but never has been a handle, and i know now just why... It's just a piece of sh** to make. The fascia itself is one half of work, the other half is the handle. You have to fix it 3 times into the machine and there's also a lot of waste of material. The screw-holes have to be drilled from outside and wil be sealed before finishing, so you will not see them anymore. This is made by hand.
Of course i will set the price as low as possible, but i need a feeling for the demand, the finishing and so on. I dont't want to promise a low price and go up then. I prefer the other way...

Thanks for compliments.
And @webroach: i was a little bit scared, when i discovered your project, but i think also, we have two different styles, so more choice for the people.
May this player live for ever...

Hi Thomas. You can put me down for one please.

While I would prefer buttons in the MkII style, that is a very nice piece of work. I like how the handle looks in combination with the rest of the design.

Mark me down for one (brushed)... possibly one black too.

PS: After scrutinizing the pics again, are the buttons recessed? How does that feel?

Thomas,

Depending on my finacial situation at the launch of the new metal fascia, I'm up for one.

Thank you for keeping the empeg spirit up