MOTM

Hi all,

Since Paul S. just posted an update, I thought I might do the same.

Today I started work on the new Stooge website.  The new website 
will include an e-store with a shopping cart to make ordering 
easier.  

You will be able to visit the site by either going to 
www.stoogeindustries.com or www.synthsystems.com.  Please note there 
is nothing there yet.  In addition you will be able to order by fax 
anytime or by phone during our regular business hours.  The new 
website will have lots of pictures and info.

We presently have in stock all of the bracket products with the 
exception of the 3 hole short brackets.  We have a new metal vendor 
who is making up several hundred of these and should have them soon.

We also have some flat rail stock, but not a lot.  We will be 
ordering more of those soon.

We are completely out of endcaps.  We will be making more of these 
when we do the next panel run.

We are going to stock a number of stooge cables.  You will be able 
to order custom sizes and colors as in the past, but you may have to 
wait several months until we have enough orders to meet certain 
pricing breaks.  Or you will be able to order from stock.  We still 
have to make the decision as to which sizes and colors we will keep 
on hand.  The idea is that if you are willing to take stock cables 
you won't have to wait to get them.

That brings us to panels.  We will be doing a panel run sometime 
soon.  We ask you to be patient.  As we have posted before, we 
intend to find a better way of doing this.  At this point it looks 
like we will build two dies and punch all 1U and 2U panels out in 
house.  That does not mean that all 1U and 2U panels will come with 
all the holes punched out.  What it means is that we will have the 
option of doing that as long as the layout of the panel falls within 
certain standards.  Otherwise we will still offer a drilling or 
milling service.  Please note that we cannot stock blank panels with 
the holes punched.  But we will stock blank unmarked panels to speed 
up the process. 

Panels will still be available with the Synth Tech standard Polan 
finish.  We may also offer anodized panels.  That has yet to be 
decided.

We are going to run tests to see if we can make 100% Synth Tech 
compatible panels using a laser engraver and some kind of wiping 
process to fill the letters.  If this works out we will be able to 
offer 100% SynthTech compatible panels at a lower price than 
previously possible and with much faster turnaround.  If it doesn't 
work out we will still offer SynthTech compatible panels but the 
price will remain relatively high because we will still have to use 
silkscreening.

We also do intend to offer some sort of custom panel service for 
those who are willing to try something different.  We will keep you 
posted on what the options will be as we further develop this idea.  

Several of you have asked about SKB backs.  We have not yet decided 
whether to continue with this as a stooge product.  We need to 
certify our new metal vendor in terms of quality and reliability.  
If that happens we will examine the issue of SKB products.

Dave and I have a lot of ideas for expanding the stooge product 
line.  We will start looking further ahead once we are no longer 
looking back.

We are still trying to tie up some loose ends from the passing of 
our friend Larry.  For those people who were having Larry do custom 
work, please be assured that Dave and I will see to your 
satisfaction at the earliest possible time.  

Finally, I want to say a little about doing order fulfillment for 
Paul S.

It has been a little over a year since my company started doing this 
and we are still working some bugs out.  We still run out of parts 
occasionally, and as I think everyone knows we especially have 
problems getting sheet metal work in a timely fashion.  Paul and I 
are pretty much in daily communication.  We are still improving how 
we do this.  In the last few months we have been able to ship over 
95% of the module kits we handle from stock.  We hope to improve on 
that in 2006.

I want to thank Paul for giving me the opportunity to help.  It has 
given me a great deal of personal satisfaction to be able to 
contribute.

I also want to thank Dave Bradley and Jim and Marcus Hendry for the 
opportunity to get more involved in the DIY community and for 
allowing me to become a stooge.

And lastly thank you for your continuing patience.  I promise it 
will be worth it.

Paul Haneberg

What the heck, let's make it a triple header.

The MUUB design contest is over and the response was underwhelming. 
The number of entries was nearly... one. Was it bad advertising or no 
interest? I'm not certain. As a result, the top three designs go to: 
me, me, and me. I will be posting some MUUB designs beginning this 
month and continuing throughout the winter (mostly utility modules). 
I'll email the list again when I get some designs posted to my 
website. I'm looking forward to getting Stooge panels made for these.

BTW, apart from the MUUBs, I'm nearly out of all other PCBs. More 
info about what's available can be found here: 
www.tellun.com/motm/diy/diy.html.

On 7-Dec-05, at 12:07 AM, paulhaneberg wrote:

>
>
> I also want to thank ... for allowing me to become a stooge.
>

That's not something I hear everyday.  ;-)

Hi all, 

Here's an update on what's been happening at Stooge Industries:

Brackets:

All brackets are now in stock, although we continue to have problems 
with sheet metal suppliers.  The latest 3 hole short brackets have a 
lot of burrs and rough edges.  We are hand picking through these and 
filing and grinding them where necessary.

Cables:

Dave is still trying to finish sorting out the last of the Stooge 
Cables.  Later this month we will place a large order for stock.  
You will then be able to buy them all the time without waiting 6 
months, although there will still be a wait for custom work.

Flat Rails:

We have flat rails in stock, but are getting low.  We will be 
ordering more soon.

Stooge Panels and End Caps:

This is the big news.  My company has purchased a CNC turret punch 
press.  This machine is capable of punching out a complete panel 
including all the holes in about 15 seconds.  Although there is some 
setup involved, mostly programming, we should be able to put and end 
to any need to drill Stooge Panels in the future.  We have also 
investigated the concept of wiping engraved panels with paint to 
simulate the silk screen process currently in use.  Using this 
process we should be able to eliminate silk-screening and still 
produce panels which match the MOTM standard.  Next we will work on 
finishes and engraving.  Once that is done we hope to be able to 
produce Stooge Panels to order with a lead time of 2 weeks or less.  
We will run a large stock of End Caps once we have this machine in 
operation as well.

We still have to get the machine moved in and set up.  This is not 
trivial.  The machine and all the tooling weighs roughly 40,000 lbs!

Using this machine we will also be able to produce brackets in house 
including special brackets made to order.

SKB stuff:

Also using this machine we will be able to punch out SKB backs 
without facing the minimum order problems of the past.

Website and E-Store:

Presently under construction.  Should be done soon.



Thanks to everyone for their patience and understanding.

Stooge Paul

That's great news about the CNC punch press.  While I have a drill press for
drilling Stooge panels, it has always been my least favorite part of the
prcoess.

John Loffink
The Microtonal Synthesis Web Site
http://www.microtonal-synthesis.com
The Wavemakers Synthesizer Web Site
http://www.wavemakers-synth.com

> -----Original Message-----
> From: motm@yahoogroups.com [mailto:motm@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
> paulhaneberg
> Stooge Panels and End Caps:
> 
> This is the big news.  My company has purchased a CNC turret punch
> press.  This machine is capable of punching out a complete panel
> including all the holes in about 15 seconds.  Although there is some
> setup involved, mostly programming, we should be able to put and end
> to any need to drill Stooge Panels in the future.  We have also
> investigated the concept of wiping engraved panels with paint to
> simulate the silk screen process currently in use.  Using this
> process we should be able to eliminate silk-screening and still
> produce panels which match the MOTM standard.  Next we will work on
> finishes and engraving.  Once that is done we hope to be able to
> produce Stooge Panels to order with a lead time of 2 weeks or less.
> We will run a large stock of End Caps once we have this machine in
> operation as well.
> 
> We still have to get the machine moved in and set up.  This is not
> trivial.  The machine and all the tooling weighs roughly 40,000 lbs!
> 
> Using this machine we will also be able to produce brackets in house
> including special brackets made to order.
>

will the 2U power supply / mult panel be available again?

thanks!

>Hi all,
>
>Here's an update on what's been happening at Stooge Industries:

Hi Everybody,

First of all, thanks to everyone who has purchased from our new e-
store at www.stoogeindustries.com.  The response to our new site has 
been great.  We will be adding items to the store on a regular 
basis, so check back often.

Anyway, here's an update on your favorite stooge items:

Flat Rails - You have run us out of stock, but more are on the way.  
These will be the first ones we have made in house.  We have built a 
jig for doing the cutting and drilling.  We have a powder coater 
lined up, and we just received enough steel to make close to 1000.  
So they will be back in stock soon.  We will also start stocking the 
wood screws to mount these to your cabinets as well as the machine 
screws.

Brackets - We are out of stock of the flat plate bracket.  We still 
have everything else in stock.  Once we get the turret press set up 
later this month we will run brackets first.  We will also be adding 
a couple of new bracket styles.

Cables - We have received about 300 cables so far out of our order 
of 2000.  I will start adding these to the e-store this coming 
week.  We will have a very large variety of colors and lengths in 
stock.  We will also be set up soon to take orders for custom cables 
through the e-store.

Panels & End Caps - Coming Soon!  -  We have managed to move all the 
tooling from Chicago: - Over 25,000 lbs!  The press itself will be 
moved on the 15th.  We are having tests done this week with laser 
engravers to determine the feasability of replacing the silkscreen 
process while retaining the exact look of the MOTM standard panels. 
We hope to be ready to start panels by the end of the month.

Modules - Once we have the panels up and running, we will be 
announcing the first of the Stooge Modules under our Synth Systems 
brand.  We have received Paul Schreiber's kind permission, as we are 
not going into the business of competing with him.  We expect the 
initial announcement to include 5 modules, mostly utility type 
modules.  We will not announce any module until we have an actual 
working prototype, with sound files and the plans in place for 
production.  We do expect to include Larry's JLH-822 Octave Interval 
Switcher.  These will be full kits, similar to the Synth Tech kits.  
We may also offered assembled versions.  We are also working on a 
couple of mods for existing MOTM modules.  More on that later.

Website - We will be adding to this very soon, including pictures of 
Stooge Products being manufactured.

Thanks again for your business and your patience.

Paul Haneberg (Stooge Paul)

Hi Everyone,

The Stooge E-Store now includes solid color cables, which we are 
carrying in stock.  Translucent cables are also ordered, but are 
about 10 days overdue.  Translucent cables will be added to the 
store as soon as they arrive.  We also will begin a continuous 
process of accepting orders for custom cables very soon.  We intend 
to order custom cables every 8 or 10 weeks, (sooner if we have 
enough orders.)

We have also added some informational pages on cables to the 
Products/Patch Cable Page.  Just go to the bottom of the page and 
click on the links.

The first few pictures of our facility have been added to the 
Virtual Visit page.

Our CNC Turret Punch for punching out Stooge Panels has finally 
arrived!  There is a picture gallery of this beast being moved into 
place.  Click on the link at the bottom of the Virtual Visit page.

Thanks for your interest!

Stooge Paul