Cutting down enclosures to create a slant

[antiuser]

I saw a few posts on the Pictures forum where a few members were able to cut enclosures such as the 1590C at an angle to create a slanted enclosure. I love that look and happen to have a couple of 1590Cs around so I'd like to have a go at it. What is the best way to go about it, keeping in mind that I live in a small apartment and don't have a proper workbench even. I saw that one of the posts mentioned doing it with a hacksaw, but from my experience, every time I tried to make a straight cut with a hacksaw, it ended up more like a parabola... so I'm wondering if there's a trick to making it perfectly straight and at exactly the same angle on both sides of the box...

[mistahead]

Mitre box.

[joegagan]

hand sawing technique is practice and steady hand. getting the angle of cut right helps. a good saw with a tight blade helps - a lot of times a twisting blade is a big part of going crooked.

i like to use  little thin cutoff wheels on dremels to cut alum enclosures, but that also takes a very steady hand( and pressure) to keep from breaking wheels all the time. i usually use the non-fibre thin ones.

[John Lyons]

You'll need a solid work bench, a decent hacksaw and a nice readable line to cut to. If you get off of the line
just correct yourself and keep going. I used a belt sander to smooth out the cuts. IA file wirk work fine, just takes a lot longer.
You'll also need to grind down the lid depending on the angle you use AND also re drill and tap the screw holes if the angle is  steep.
The saw I use looks like this.  Works A LOT better than the cheap ones.
There is no reason  cheap saw will not work but it comes down to skill and practice.
Great things have been built with the most basic tools. (Not that I include myself in this category)

[davent]

When i'm cutting a block of wood with a small Japanese pull saw i run a squared line all the way 'round the piece then cut a shallow kerf all the way around before attempting to make the severing cut. The kerf cut works well to help me keep the cut square, i think it mostly just makes it easier to see the line the saw should be following.  Do you guys think a similar approach with an enclosure with ease/help the process any?

dave

[haveyouseenhim]

I use my calipers to measure the front depth and back depth. Then a strait edge to connect the marks. After that I use a reinforced cutter wheel on my dremel to cut about a mm below the line. And finally, I use a large metal file to smooth and level it out.    If it's a deep slant I have to re-tap the screw holes.

[armdnrdy]

The only way I know to make a clean, accurate, angled cut on an enclosure is with a horizontal band saw.





Best bet is to mark the cuts and find a local metal working shop and see if they'll cut a few enclosures for you. Chances are, if you find the right shop they'll charge you next to nothing for the service.

[seedlings]

And the bottom plate and screws fit just fine after?  I was helping my daughter last night with freshman high-school geometry.  After the cut, the bottom moves from A to C (the bottom of a right angle triangle to the hypotenuse).  Which means it will need to be stretched out just a bit in order to fit.  Yes, I am a geek (it's not all bad).

But, the pics I've seen seem to suggest the original bottom plate 'fits'.

CHAD

[induction]

Assuming a 1590B:
length L = 4.39"
height H = 1"

So the maximum length of the opening, assuming you cut all the way up to the lip is r = sqrt(L^2+H^2) = 4.5", which gives 0.11" discrepancy.

But of course you'd never cut that much off. Assuming you cut halfway up you get r = 4.42", which is only 0.03" discrepancy.

So it should fit ok, but the screws will be at an angle (about 6.5 degrees in the second case).

[armdnrdy]

Chad,

The enclosures we are referring to are not square...which is to say that they are smaller on the top surface and larger on the bottom.

Unless one were to cut the enclosure at a radical angle leaving mere millimeters at the front, (which would be useless to accommodate a footswitch) the bottom plate will either fit or need to be filed/sanded to match the "new" bottom enclosure dimensions.

As mentioned above, the angle of the bottom plate has changed and does not match the slope of the enclosure and will have to be sanded/filed to match.

[induction]

That's true. I assumed that the edges were straight up and down, which isn't quite true. According to this the top length of a 1590B is 4.365" and the bottom length is 4.409" (for an average of 4.387", which is the value I used). This reduces the discrepancy a bit, making it fit better. Assuming you cut halfway up, that reduction in the discrepancy is about 0.01" giving a total discrepancy of about 0.02".  Not enough to bother with (or even measure without some pretty good calipers). In fact, we're probably well below the tolerances of the box dimensions at this point.

I'm a geek too.

[seedlings]

It seems I fell prey to the exact same mental block we worked through in homework last night.  Check the givens and do the math.  I see how the angle is shallow enough to have but a rounding error's effect on fit.

Thanks!
CHAD

[Mark Hammer]

The bottom plate will not align with the threaded bolt holes when you are done.  That is not a reason to refrain from attempting to cut down the box.  Just be aware that you will have to fabricate a bottom plate as well; presumably from 12 gauge aluminum or similar.  All do-able, just more work.

[armdnrdy]

Mark is correct but,

I threw in four 2" 6/32 machine screws and held one side of the bottom plate on the enclosure while elevating the other end approximately 5/8" to simulate the angle....it looks as if you can enlarge the bottom plate holes a bit and re countersink them for the correct angle.

Or....how about an angled Plexiglas light plate?

[Paul Marossy]

It's a lot easier to take this style of enclosure and cut it down:

[Mark Hammer]

Mark is correct but,

I threw in four 2" 6/32 machine screws and held one side of the bottom plate on the enclosure while elevating the other end approximately 5/8" to simulate the angle....it looks as if you can enlarge the bottom plate holes a bit and re countersink them for the correct angle.

Or....how about an angled Plexiglas light plate?

I'm not sure if it was mentioned already or deeply hidden in a post, but do we know what the angle will be, and what the resulting footprint is?

[armdnrdy]

In reply #9 I explained that there are limitations for a "usable" slope. (unless the idea in mind is a replica of a cheese cake slice)

When I set the enclosure down on my work bench and thought of an angled light plate, I also had another thought.

So many individuals are using commercially available or DIY sloped pedal boards these days that it really doesn't make much sense to add a slope other than for aesthetic reasons. Why add a slope to a slope?

Now if it were a larger effect that because of size would be better utilized "off" board than it would make more sense.

That's just my two sense!