Eyett fiberboard vs turret boards - BYO vs. Weber

[chuckulaa]

Hey guys,

I recently received my weber 5E3 tweed deluxe amp kit. The cabinet looks amazing with tweed/oxblood, and the 12F150 speaker in green is also very classy looking. The other parts look meh, but they are still a good deal.

I don't like the fiber eyett board that weber includes in their kits. I'm sure they are fine, but I would prefer a turret board so that I may experiment with different coupling capacitors. My concern with the fiber/eyett board is that it may be difficult to remove and replace coupling capacitors. Is this a valid concern?

I would like to make a turret board, but I would have to buy the tools and stuff to do so. It would be about an additional 20$, so I'm not sure if its worth it.

I was also thinking if I build a turret board, I would use the Hoffman 5E3 layout. This layout looks neater, and has a nearly ideal layout for the best lead dress with short runs and minimal wire crossing. Here is a nice pic of a Hoffman style turret board.

[img768]http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/uploads/ ... ffman1.jpg[/img]

Here is an image of the weber fiber board that came with my kit.

[img1936]http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/uploads/ ... hoto10.jpg[/img]

As you can see, it follows a traditional 5E3 type layout. You can see some sprague vitamin Q, black beauty, and 716P caps in the image. I want to experiment with swaping out these caps, but am concerned that it will prove difficult with the eyett board.

I am curious as to your experience with eyett vs turret board. I would assume it is easier to change out components with a turret board.

[cbass]

Looks to me look it would be difficult to fit them spragues on the Hoffman board

[Phil_S]

It is only easier to make a change on a turret board if you installed the part correctly only a 180 degree bend. If you make the mistake of wrapping it too much, it's a PITA. I'd say eyelets and turrets are about equal for service.

Just go with what you got. After you build it, you don't look at it much. It will work fine.

[chuckulaa]

Thanks cbass. I agree, those spragues don't look like they would fit on the hoffman layout unless I retweaked it a little bit.

I'll just go ahead and wire it up as is. Thanks for the advise Phil.

[labb]

Some folks that have built the 5E3 using turrets have had problems with the input jacks hitting the turrets if using a chassis that has been predrilled for the fiber board. I don't much care for the sandwiched fiber boards which is the original Fender design. I would build an eyelet board using G-10.

[randalp3000]

Some folks that have built the 5E3 using turrets have had problems with the input jacks hitting the turrets if using a chassis that has been predrilled for the fiber board. I don't much care for the sandwiched fiber boards which is the original Fender design. I would build an eyelet board using G-10.

same here and I don't bend the leads under the board so swapping components is very easy.

[DonMoose]

The one inescapable drawback to a fiber board is that they can absorb moisture and become just conductive enough to cause some weird, hard to diagnose issues. They go away if you bake the board, but if you live somewhere humid, give some thought to a G-10 or FR-4 eyelet board. That way you don't have the moisture-related stuff, but keep the low profile to fit the pre-drilled chassis.

Hope this helps!

[xtian]

I like Hoffman's integrated layouts a lot. I used his 18-watt layout. Very cool.

[Firestorm]

I started cutting and drilling my own because I like to use eyelets and turrets together and I just can't find 'em in the same diameter. Kind of a pain until you get the system down.

[Lindz]

my 5f6a build where I used a turret board definitely has problems with the input jack height vs the turrets -

I used very short standoffs for the board (to the point where I worried any bottom soldered wires might short on the chassis if they dropped a bit while soldering top wires) and had to very carefully twist the jacks so they would not touch the turrets.

Because I worried that if the jacks work loose it could result in problems, I also put a thin rubber insulating layer on top of a few of the turrets just in case the jacks do work loose and twist a bit so the tip connector touches.

I would suggest either using the eyelet board or drilling your own board taking into consideration the above - taking the Hoffman layout and just spacing differently would work and allow the big fat caps if you like

[xtian]

Here is a photo of my turret board, based on Hoffman's layout:

https://tubeamparchive.com/download/file.php?id=29529

[Structo]

You can make an eyelet board without special tools.

You just need to maybe alter a center punch to flare the backside of the eyelet.

Eyelet boards are much more friendly for exchanging parts during the tuning/ tweak stage.

I agree with DonMoose, those fiber boards have been thoroughly documented as being prone to moisture absorption/ conduction and causing all sorts of problems.

I think some of the best deals in G-10 board material is Watts.

You can get them pre-cut to different dimensions.

http://www.turretboards.com/circuit_board_material.htm

He also sells the eyelets and tools if you don't want to have to fabricate them.

http://www.turretboards.com/guitar_ampl ... _tools.htm

[xtian]

And if you're going to build a few boards over the years, you can get G10 in bulk from McMaster:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#grade-g-10-phenolic/=p1e5yx

[Prairie Dawg]

I too have heard the stories about conductive vulcanized fiberboard eyelet boards but have never run across one yet. That includes a 1953 Fender Super that lived in a basement for a long time.

I'm sure my day is coming though.

I like eyelet boards myself because they're very easy to fabricate and assemble. Once you master the process you can build boards for nearly any purpose. Of course when completed they're not quite as pretty as turret boards but are a lot easier to work with. But as one poster remarked once installed you'll rarely look at it again.

The biggest problem I found was creating drilling masks and I figured that out pretty easily.

http://judyboxamp.blogspot.com/2012/03/ ... board.html

[Milkmansound]

The solution for you may be a G10 eyelet board from Watts - best of both worlds