How I Got a New Bezel for a HP15C Message #1 Posted by Giancarlo (Italy) on 29 June 2005, 8:10 a.m.
Some weeks ago I bought a 15C at a reasonable price,
mostly due to its missing screen bezel
(as well as the back label...).
The "starting point" was the following:
http://www.hpmuseum.org/guest/mattioni/giancar1.jpg
I thought I could reconstruct the lost bezel, so I took
some dimensions (using a vernier digital slide gauge),
trying to be as accurate as possible (even though it was
not always easy, both because of the plastic material and
the lack of fixed reference points on the chassis).
Anyway I was able to get the technical drawing of the bezel
(anyone interested in it, please drop me an e-mail and I'll
send you a PDF file - about 233 kB).
At this point, as I work in an household appliances company,
I could take advantage of a "special tooling department"
of my company (specially skilled in stainless steel workings)
which could make laser cutting, trimming and bending.
So I got this piece:
http://www.hpmuseum.org/guest/mattioni/giancar2.jpg
The final result that I got is represented in this picture:
http://www.hpmuseum.org/guest/mattioni/giancar3.jpg
Now, only the final step is missing: I still have to decide
the best way to glue the steel bezel on the plastic chassis of the 15C.
I was thinking to use a both sides adhesive tape,
the thinnest that I can get (by 3M, like the VHB Series,
going down to a 0,38 mm thickness - please see
http://www.3m.com/us/mfg_industrial/adhesives/vhb/),
but on this point any suggestion or advise from the Forum
contributors will be more than welcome (I excluded using
cyanoacrylate-basis adhesives, as they would severely spoil
the plastic chassis, and any kind of hot-melt glue).
I hope my two-cent contribution will be interesting or
useful for someone.
Best regards.
Giancarlo (Italy)
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