W1SFR Blackstone Paddle Dust Cover

Overview

A dust cover for the W1SFR "Blackstone" Cootie/Paddle. It sits on the top face of the soapstone base and covers the torsion tower, contacts and side adjustment knobs. An arched opening at the front lets the levers and fingerpieces stick out, so the key stays usable with the cover on. KE4WLE and "W1SFR / Blackstone" on top are flush two-color inlays, so the top stays flat and easy to wipe.

On the Air

The Blackstone is a handsome key, and a waxed stone base and brass parts collect dust fast in a shack. This cover lets it stay on the desk, ready to go: lift it off to adjust, or leave it on and send. It rests on the stone rather than the desk, and the skirt stops level with the bottom of the stone, so it never touches the rubber feet or lifts the key.

Print Settings

- Printer: Bambu Lab, 0.4 mm nozzle

- Body: PETG-CF, chosen to hide layer lines on the large flat faces. Use a hardened nozzle for CF filaments.

- Inlays: gold PETG for both KE4WLE and W1SFR / Blackstone, each a separate modifier part which can be modified/removed.

- Layer height: 0.2 mm

- Infill: 15%

- Supports: none required

- Orientation: upside down, top face on the plate. The inlays print in the first 5 layers, and the rim gussets and front arch are self-supporting.

The 3MF opens in Bambu Studio with the cover on filament 1, KE4WLE on filament 2 and W1SFR / Blackstone on filament 3. Put both inlays on the same spool, or give the brand text its own color. If the modifiers come in as normal parts, load the cover STL, then right-click > Add modifier > Load for each modifier STL. All three STLs share the same coordinates.

Hardware and Assembly

No hardware required. Set it over the paddle from above, with the arch at the front.

## Design Notes

- Fits a base measured at 73.6 W x 125.9 D x 19.8 mm on 6.5 mm rubber feet, with near-square corners. W1SFR lists the stone as 3 x 5 x 3/4 in, and natural stone varies, so measure yours. If yours is larger, raise base_w and base_d in the OpenSCAD file.

- 1.5 mm clearance per side, 2.0 mm walls, 2.5 mm roof, 3 mm of air above the 32 mm torsion tower. Outside size is 80.6 x 132.9 x 57.3 mm.

- The inner rim sits 3.5 mm on the stone along the back and the full length of both sides. The side adjustment knobs are 5 mm in from the edge, so the rim stops 1.5 mm short of them. No rear slot is needed: the back of the tower is 12 mm from the rear edge, well inside the rim.

- The front arch is 30 mm wide and centered. Its apex is 31 mm above the stone, 3 mm over the 28 mm the levers need, and it narrows to 18 mm wide at the 28 mm line.

- The rim rests directly on the waxed soapstone. PETG-CF is mildly abrasive, so if you're protective of the finish, print the body in plain PETG or add felt dots to the rim.

- Derived from my W1SFR Fat Boy cover, using the same rim, skirt, arch and inlay approach with Blackstone dimensions.

Files included:

- Cover 3MF (Bambu Studio, both inlays as modifiers)

- STLs: cover body, KE4WLE modifier, W1SFR / Blackstone modifier, fit ring

- OpenSCAD source: change the callsign (call_txt), brand lines (brand_txt1, brand_txt2), base size and clearance. Set part = "ring" for a fit-test slice.

Makes, remixes and fit reports from other Blackstone owners are welcome.