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PostPosted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 12:14 pm 
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Cocobolo
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Location: muncie IN
First name: shad
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i have used the copper shielding tape from stewmac, but i was wondering would aluminum foil tape do the same thing? has anyone ever tried it? they are both conductive, copper a little more so, but the effect should be mostly the same right? it would be a whole lot cheaper than the stewmac stuff for sure.

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 4:37 pm 
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Walnut
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stew mac copper tape has conductive adhesive so you don't have to solder the pieces together, I don't think you can solder aluminum foil, not sure though


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PostPosted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 5:14 pm 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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First name: Stuart
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Foil would work....as long as it conducts well (aluminum is pretty good) and you have a reliable way to attach a ground wire.

The easist way to do this is to use either carbon or silver based paint and simply brush it inside the cavity. In the electronics cavity the paint will be automatically grounded as the pots, switches, and jack are tightened into place. Then you run a small ground wire from there to the bridge and pickup cavities.

Use an eyelet and just screw them down into the wood with a tiny wood screw.

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 5:25 pm 
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Cocobolo
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Most pickguards are shielded with self adhesive aluminum not copper, it does work well.
The problem comes with closing the box so to speak. You can't solder to aluminum so the pieces must be large enough to do the job,not multiple passes with aluminum tape (I have tried this way, it works but is not good in the long term).
Go to a stained glass supply, ask for copper sheet. Self adhesive copper sheets are usually sold in 1 SF units.
Have fun.

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 6:06 pm 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 10:35 pm
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I would definitely NOT use aluminum, you can't solder to it, so grounding it would be a problem. I don't trust simply mounting the pot to the aluminum surface through the pot-hole. You'd have to screw a wire to it, to ground it. Same thing with shielding paint, which is what fender does. They screw a metal tab to their paint-shielded surfaces.
Also the copper shielding is thicker than the paint, and can intercept stronger RF signals more effectively.

gaah

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