Fog Light Bezel, Switch, etc

[Gary Lewis]

Guys - Many of us would like to have the factory fog light bezel, a workable switch (none are available new that we know of), and whatever else it takes in order to have "factory" lights on the front of our trucks.  So, this thread is about trying to 3D print the bezel, find an acceptable switch, and lay out the necessary wiring and relay.

Toward that I found the pictures that Brad Alexander, from FTE, provided me so I could draw up the bezel, and I've put them in this photo gallery.  Hopefully with those pictures and additional measurements from those of you who have the bezel I can draw it up and then someone (Reamer?) can print one.

I'll come back later with info on switch possibilities.

[Gary Lewis]

I spent some time today trying to remember how to CAD.  And I've forgotten a whole bunch of it.  However, I'll persist until I get it drawn.

But, I already know I need some more measurements.  Here's what I'd really like to have to get this thing accurate:

Length, width, and height using calipers.  It'll be so much more accurate if I don't take measurements from pictures as parallax is going to be a problem otherwise.

Radius of the corners

Bead: I need the thickness and height of the bead that runs around the edge, and the radius of the inside corner.  Probably the best way to measure that is with a drill bit.  (I said "inside corner" as it appears to me that the outside corner starts where the inside does, so just measure one and I'll figure out the other.  Also, is the top of the bead flat or is it really just one big curve?

Lettering: Height and width of the letters, again using calipers.

Width and height of the slot, and the radius of the ends.

diameter and length of the studs on the back.  HOWEVER, I don't see a need to make the back of the bezel hollow as the original is, so if you measure the overall length of the stud down to the bottom of the hollow then also give me the depth of the hollow.

Thanks!

[Ford F834]

Hmmm, I vaguely remember doing this back in April 😉...

Okay Gary, here are the measurements on the fog lamp switch bezel. The calipers I had available were the old school dial face type and the readout was in inches, but presumably you can convert to other units if you need to for CAD.


Height: 2 and 3/8

Width: 1 and 41/64

Thickness from instrument bezel face to the top of the bead: 13/64

Height of bead from switch bezel face to the crown of the bead: 3/64

Height of the letter font: 1/8

Letter thickness from switch bezel face to the face of the font: 1/64

Height of lever opening: 1 and 5/16

Width of lever opening: 19/64

Radius of lever opening: 19/64 drill bit shank is snug

Bead radius (inner): 1/8

Bead radius (outer): 3/16

Hopefully my descriptions are clear enough. If you have any questions please ask and I will try to clear up whatever I muddled. Below is another picture that I took. I made every effort to hold the phone in a flat plane with the bezel so it would be rectilinear, but even so I could see obvious barrel distortion and it still looks ever so slightly skewed to me in the frame. Maybe it will be close enough though that you can straighten it up in photoshop and save you some time in CAD. I almost wonder if a more distant shot (cropped) would be better? Again, if I can offer any further help please let me know.



The full resolution image is in the email 4/5/17 but if you need it again I can re-send it. I didn't know to measure the studs on the back. Obviously mine are melted mushrooms so I can't very well measure the diameter or length.

[Gary Lewis]

I had a similarly vague recollection - but couldn't find anything on it.  Sorry.  Now that you've mentioned it and when I did find it.  

But, now we have it in one place that should be easily found.  And I'll put your pic from that email in the gallery as well.  Thank you very much.

And, I do understand all you have written.  It is clear and straightforward..  I'll do some more up-to-speed work this afternoon and see if I can make progress.

[Ford F834]

Sounds good Gary! I will try and get some comparison pictures and measurements posted up regarding the fog light switch vs. fuel tank selector switch. I can't promise how far I will get with mocking up the tank switch but I should at least be able to supply the pictures and keep the momentum going with that part.

[Gary Lewis]

Here's my first attempt at creating the base bezel.  And, while it is really hard to see in the picture, I may not have the bead correct.  I don't think we have a measurement on its width, but I have it drawn at 1/16".  

Also, I don't know if the "filet" on it correct, and by that I mean the curve that rounds the corner at the top of the bead.  I have the radius as 1/64", but I can't tell from the pictures if the bead has a flat top or if it is round.  If so I need to set the radius to 1/32", and as I look more closely at your photo that's what it looks like.

Also, if it is easy when you are measuring the width of the bead, could you measure the centerline of the lettering?  I can also interpolate, but it would be nice to have something to check my measurements against.  And, what about the distance the lever opening is from the bottom - or top?

[Gary Lewis]

Also, Jonathan, I've found a font that closely resembles whatever Ford used.  However, when I use a 1/8" tall font the resulting FOG LAMPS is too short end to end.  So, could you re-measure the height of the characters?  And, maybe measure the length of those two words, together?  😎

[PetesPonies]

Couple things . . . Ford should/would have the same profile on the "bead" as they have only other pieces on the dash. I can't see any reason it would be different. That would mean the top is more flat. And again, the bead height should also be the same as other beaded pieces. Again, it should match the others.
CAD reflection: I prefer to show 2D graphics with no perspective . . thought?
Are you using Solid Works ?

[Gary Lewis]

Pete - Good point on the bead.  I'll check out the bezels I have to see what theirs are like.  But confirmation from people who have the fog lamp bezel would still be helpful as I'd like it as close to original as is possible.

As for CAD, I'm using TurboCAD, which I've used for a long time but am growing very tired of.  However, in things like this I don't find a 2D projection to be helpful.  For instance the shape of the bead is almost impossible for me to grasp w/o some angle to the view.  

[reamer]

Does anyone have an original switch? need to see if we can "match" one from what is available today.....

[Gary Lewis]

I'm pretty sure that Jonathan does, and he said he will get pics of it ASAP and post here.  And I have an early and a late tank selector switch, which have the right arm on them so we could have the right knob.  The hope is that we can figure out how to use the selector switch as the fog lamp switch, although it will take some adaptation for mounting.

But, if someone can find a switch that attaches via a nut on the barrel and has a flat arm to take the knob, maybe that would work.

[Ford F834]

Gary, what is the year break for the early and late tank selector switch? I do indeed have a NOS fog light switch and was going to make comparisons to the tank switch, but maybe I need to compare it with both?

I will try to get you those measurements on the lettering as soon as I can but probably won't be today.

The bead on the switch bezel is flattish but with rounded edges. It is dangerous to say it matches the bead around the instrument bezel because those beads are not all the same. Black weave and 1984 grey weave have very flat square edged beads that are more like the frame around the indicator lights and clock holes. Rosewood and XLS have beads that have a flattened face but with rounded edges (~not a half circle in cross section). The fog lamp beads are closest to this type. The 85/86 grey weave and burl wood have much more slender beads with no flatness to the face (half circle cross section). For those wondering how I know all this about bezel beads, I have spent a bit of time painting them with the tricky mirror chrome paint and each shape and width of bead takes the paint differently... so you figure out quickly to recognize the difference. The fog lamp bead does not exactly match the other bezel beads, but part of it may just be that one side is the whole thickness of the part. Here is another photo that shows the fog lamp bead along side the bead around the headlight and wiper switch area. Notice the radii of the corners are tighter than those of the headlight/wiper switch panel, and the bead seems slightly more slender. I believe this is an optical illusion as the instrument bezel beads flare where they blend with the bezel face making them look wider. That is, where it joins is a slight cove, not a sharp right angle.

[Gary Lewis]

Did a little more playing.  Ran the font through a service on-line that said that Kasse FLF is the best font, so downloaded and installed it.  And it is pretty close.  However, as you'll see, the distance from the left of the F to the right of the P in FOG LAMP isn't as much as on the bezel - even though the height of the letters is what Jonathan measured.

I can probably stretch the lettering to make it longer, but I think that will make it look odd, so am wondering if the letters really need to be different.  Anyway, the letters are randomly placed on the bezel, so don't read anything into their position.




And, for Pete, here's a head-on shot.  Much easier to compare to Jonathan's pic.

[Ford F834]

Gary, the letters look the right size, but the spacing between them is too tight. I think that is the kernel(?) size in type setting lingo? I don't know if there is any way to adjust that but it might help. Also if it could be bolded or similar, as the width of the line needs to be more. The shape of the letters does look really close to the Ford font though! 👍

[Gary Lewis]

 

[Gary Lewis]

Jonathan - I'll play with spacing.  Like maybe a space between each letter.  I already have two spaces between the words.

[Ford F834]

That will probably help Gary, but now that you put the two side by side you may also need to stretch the font if you can. Flicker your eyes back and forth and focus on the "O" in fog. It becomes quite obvious the script you are using is more squeezed.

[Gary Lewis]

I agree that it is more "squeezed".  Unfortunately there are no controls on width, but I did try to stretch it - and it was such a mess I had to close the app.  

I'm going to play with it today to try to get it where I think it needs to be and is ready for some dimensions later.  Then I can adjust it and, hopefully, make it correct.

[PetesPonies]

Unless you can spec the distance between the letters, I believe a different font is needed.

[Gary Lewis]

Pete - You may be right, but we can tweak the font pretty easily once I get the rest of it sorted out.

And, I think I'm about there.  Here's the latest, but I still need measurements to confirm a number of things, like the placement of the lever opening and lettering since I took them off of pictures and parallax may be a problem.  And, on the lettering height and length.  But, those things are easy to change.

However, I don't yet have the studs drawn on the back that go through the instrument bezel.  Turns out that the holes in the instrument bezel I have are not lined up at right angles to the bottom of the instrument bezel.  And, since I don't really know where the fog lamp bezel sits on the instrument bezel I don't know where to put those studs.  So, you'uns with fog lamp bezels please give me some direction.

Also, we need to come up with a way to attach the fog lamp bezel to the instrument bezel.  The factory used studs, which were in strange locations, that protruded through the instrument bezel and were melted over.  I'm not sure how easy that is to do with the material used in 3D printers, but obviously it can be melted so maybe that will work.

Anyway, here's the angle-shot which shows more detail of the 3D:




And, here's a side-by-side.  A couple of things stand out to me.  First, the radius on the corners needs to be smaller.  Second, the letters need to be taller.  What do you see?