Cracked enclosure - suggestions?

[youngstownguitar]

I have a prepainted white 1590bb from small bear that I plan on putting a fuzzfactory and a SHO into.  I drilled most of the holes on the top no problem but when I got to the holes for the inputs on the sides I cracked the whole damn thing.

Do you guys have any suggestions on how I can salvage this enclosure?  I would love to be able to use it still.

[John Lyons]

Wow! Never seen anything like that before. Were you using the ole impact wrench to drill? 

[youngstownguitar]

Yea I dont know what happened.  I've drilled enclosures several times before with no problems. 

[petemoore]

  Strap patch it on the side with metal plate, screws and rivets, name it Franken's axed head.
 Check out harbour freight for a varibit, stepped drilling technique.
 That old bit was a powerful substrate wedge.

[youngstownguitar]

ah varibit.  I had never heard of that before- looks like it would have saved me some grief here.

Maybe I can get some metal plate as you suggest- were would one get that from?

I could get some tin snips perhaps and cut the broken parts off and then screw the metal plate to it- might even look cool in the end

[ralley]

I had a near identical chunk torn out of the side of one of my pedals where I drilled for the 6.35mm audio in, I repaired it with "knead it" epoxy putty.  Seems to be holding up well, because of the key hole shape the jack/washer actually holds it in place pretty well.  It's the metallic blue wah-antiwah in the pictures thread: http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=36392.msg753195#msg753195
Rob.

[deadastronaut]

yep i had exactly the same thing...i was drilling on my kitchen floor.. not holding the box firm enough ,when the drill snagged the box and flipped it around and tore the side out  the same as yours....

pretty dangerous!...i use it just as a template now...for assembling on top and then transfer to proper box....its handy for that!..

no more drilling on the kitchen floor for me btw......

[Ice-9]

Looking at the pictures, the holes that you have drilled look very rough around the edges, this suggests to me that your drill bit is very blunt and you are having to apply to much pressure on the drill to get it through which is causing the damage.
Also are you drilling a small pilot hole first ?

Aluminium is so soft that a decent drill bit should cut its way through with very little pressure.

As for fixing the enclosure, you could try to flatten the edges and then glue or screw a thin plate to the side.

[edvard]

J-B Weld.
Once it's dry, it's sand- and paint-able.
I used it a few times fixing knurled pot shafts that had one side broken off.
Slipped a drinking straw over what was left of the shaft and filled it with the J-B Weld.
48 hours later, I had a straight shaft pot!

For your particular case, I'd get a sharp bit and finish the un-finished hole, then bend it back to flat (it looks bent...).
Then, use some folded 3x5 card stock to make a form along the damaged edges, fill the gaps with J-B and tape the form on.

[MikeH]

BONDO!!!




Or just eat the 7 bucks.  Both sound awful to me....

[twabelljr]

Sorry about your enclosure. Heartbreaking    Not sure how to fix that other than cutting a piece of sheet aluminum or metal from an old electronics case or such and attaching as suggested earlier. The JB Weld idea is feasable too. Most hardware stores sell strips of aluminum or alloy in different lengths and thicknesses. Like an aluminum yardstick, but that could cost as much as a new enclosure. I will also highly recommend a uni-bit for future builds. You can drill a pilot hole if you want but not necessary. They cut smooth, perfect holes one step at a time, and a little touch of the next step up nicely chamfers the edges. Example since you say you weren't aware of them: http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/22-10094&green=11120406515&utm_campaign=MyBuys&utm_medium=Recommendation&utm_source=prod&utm_term=22-10094 Some can be costly but worth it. I think there is an old thread debating uni-bits over standard style twist bits. Good luck buddy!
Edit:

BONDO!!!

Cars are fixed with it all the time. Good idea. Got any friends that work in a body shop??

[juansolo]

This one suffered a similar (not as extreme) fate.  Repair by epoxing a piece of ali on the inside, and car body filler on the outside.

[petemoore]

  Consider 1 lost box, unscathed hands and gained experience
as a positive net result.
  What it did to the box demonstrates the wild force drilling larger holes can make, stepped drilling increases cutting speed and reduces gouging torque.
  BTW you had the box looking very nice up to that point.
  You're going to notice a big difference when using a varibit, sometimes I needed my smallish favorite starter bit hole or punch set to get the bit to start at starting point [use solid backing that supports the substrate to be punched..like a bench mounted 2x4'' upright].
   

[twabelljr]

Nice work Pete. Using the metal on the inside and body filler on the outside and blocksanding before paint will make it look like it was never broken.

[davent]

I've had similar fun.  JBWeld and back with aluminum on the inside.

[youngstownguitar]

Wow - lots of cool stories so far.  I thought I was the only guy that could crack an enclosure like that- good to see im not alone tho.

I think I will JB Weld the cracked side and then try drilling again with a better bit and a pilot hole.

The side that is all smashed I will simply hack saw off and JB Weld a piece of metal on there that I got from lowes for $0.30

I'll post some pics when Im done but it might be awhile as the drill press is not mine

[jable1066]

I did this too although mine was from a heavy hand with a shitty center punch! I used my broken box to finally make a breakout box/beavis audio type affair. I worked out really well because I attached the pcb header strip where the whole thing was cracked and ran my wires through the crack/hole itself. However, mine was a £4 unpainted 1590b so my losses weren't as great as what yours may be!

[petemoore]

  It won't be easy to finish that hole on the crack line, a fresh part of substrate will be easier to drill a hole into, the bit will try to pry apart...anything it can get a get a tooth in/leverage on.