Masking extra holes on a case

[matmosphere]

Just built a boost from a few spare parts I had. The case I used had been drilled for four pots but the boost only has two. Anyone have any creative ideas for how to cover up the extra holes? I'm happy with the paint job I did on it so I didn't want to fill them with bondo.

[tranceracer]

Homedepot and Lowles have these hole covers in various sizes.  I've picket up 3/8 inch mini metal covers similar to these at Lowels.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/DANCO-1-1-2-in-Faucet-Hole-Cover-in-Chrome-80247/204386231

A dab of super glue holds these in place nicely.

or one of these may suit your needs:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/DANCO-1-2-in-Shank-Faucet-Hole-Cover-89344/100546332

[electrosonic]

Put a piece of masking tape over the hole on the outside of the enclosure.
Fill the the hole from the inside of the enclosure with 5 minute epoxy.
It will harden flush with the surface and be clear.
Put your status LED underneath the hole and let it shine through the cured epoxy.

Andrew.

[amptramp]

Check out the indicators a little more than halfway down this page:

http://www.a1parts.com/lamps/index.htm

You could also add a rotary switch to change frequency response or gain or input impedance (to simulate tone sucking).

[anchovie]

Googly eyes.

[davent]

Black nylon hole plugs.

Dome plugs .13- .25¢ each depending on size. Not the only brand they stock.

http://ca.mouser.com/catalog/catalogusd/647/2159.pdf

[matmosphere]

Wow, these are some great ideas! I might try the masking tape/ epoxy thing and see how it works. Those indicators are really sweet looking though.

I almost did goggly eyes already.

I was also considering putting a few of these on there and writing Very Metal on it:
http://www.amazon.com/AutoM-Leathercraft-Silver-Spikes-Pyramid/dp/B009YO5QJ8/ref=pd_sim_hg_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=0GC9P7ZBV9NYRQR4KVF0

[Mustachio]

What about using a blank piece of copper clad (pcb material) or steel, or aluminum plate. You could etch or paint or print the labels for the controls your using now. And the current pots could hold down this plate.

[vigilante397]

All the ideas already listed are significantly better, but I usually throw in an extra SPDT, not connected to anything, and pretend I have complex mods on my pedal

[PRR]

I like the goggly eyes idea.

But you could also grab two defective pots, two more same/contrasting knobs, and make up two do-nothing function names. You know they don't do anything, but others won't.

[merlinb]

What about using a blank piece of copper clad (pcb material) or steel, or aluminum plate. You could etch or paint or print the labels for the controls your using now. And the current pots could hold down this plate.

+1  I had a self-adhesive gold-coloured plate engraved with "Made in England" to cover up some holes recently (they're normally intended for trophies).

[deadastronaut]

^ yep ive seen those in trophy shops...they do some great brass dog tags too

+1 on the googly eyes as well..using bezels

[J M Fahey]

FWIW I have not had good results filling holes with epoxy, even less with Bondo

Adhesion is not that great (at least for the aluminum I use), it contracts/expands different with temperature (which makes cracking or separation easier), zero impact resistance, etc.

So I guess the idea of plugging them with very visible nylon plugs is the least bad one in the long run.   

Oh well.

[davent]

Nylon plugs look fine but for the top Jim's copper plate or Paul's dead pots would look best. I too have had mixed results with Bondo and JB Weld.

[LucifersTrip]

I reuse many vintage enclosures with way too many useless holes of all sizes. I usually just screw a piece of sheet metal or plywood over it.

On this one from the contest, I used plywood...you can see it in the top view on both sides:
http://www.luciferstrip.com/fuzz/demonmojo1/demonmojo-bottom-before2.jpg
http://www.luciferstrip.com/fuzz/demonmojo1/demonmojo-front.jpg

[merlinb]

I reuse many vintage enclosures with way too many useless holes of all sizes. I usually just screw a piece of sheet metal or plywood over it.

I did the same thing with this power supply the other day. The silver strip is a piece of aluminium to cover some old holes.

[tubegeek]

JB Weld over a piece of tape seems to be a little sturdier than plain epoxy. (JB Weld is a two-part epoxy impregnated with metal. Good stuff.)

[Guitarboy2828]

I recently drilled a hole too big (thought it was for DC jack, but was actually the slot for the input jack. So, I used metal epoxy to fill the hole. Filled, dried, redrilled. It worked perfectly. Am actually surprised at how sturdy and strong it turned out.

This thread gave me the idea, so cheers to whoever suggested that!

[davent]

Small Bear used to have a tutorial on isolating the metal power jacks from the enclosure by drilling an oversized hole, fill with i think it was Bondo, set/level, then redrill with the proper size for the jack.

[pickdropper]

On a simpler level, you could just make a sticker with a graphic that covers the entire top.  You would just cut out the holes that you needed for the new layout.  If you wanted, you coat it in envirotex for greater strength.

I like the copper clad (or laser cut acrylic) ideas the best, but a sticker would be simple and work OK, too.