wider enclosure for 4 effects

[acehobojoe]

I know the 1590DD will work, but I was wondering if there was one a little bigger that would be less of a stretch.

[Quackzed]

theres the 1441 series, but they're folded steel, so a little harder to drill but not too bad if you step up the holes...
http://www.hammondmfg.com/dwg20.htm

[R.G.]

How wide do you want?

You can get rectangular aluminum tubing that's, say 5" by 2" by up to 24 FEET. Just checked Metals Depot and 5" by 2" by 24" with 1/8" thick walls is $33.00. That's probably not the cheapest you could find it, but it's only about $1.40 an inch even there.

NB
Just checked Online Metals (http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?pid=7040&step=4&showunits=inches&id=1269&top_cat=60) and they sell it cheaper, about $1 an inch. 12" is $12+ and they sell their random off-cuts cheaper.

[davent]

1550g gives you more.

http://www.hammondmfg.com/pdf/1550G.pdf

[Quackzed]

that aluminum tubing looks pretty cool... they're thick!!!  i looked around a few times for steel framing members  but couldnt find anywhere that had 'em. i know they're out there, just not sure where... but you might try that route as well... theres an article at geofex 'steelstud' .

[acehobojoe]

Or, how about this material?

http://www.geofex.com/article_folders/steelstud/steelstud.htm

[alanp]

Hammond's 1456 series goes up to 508mm wide. Fifty centimeters should do you right. Plus it's aluminium/steel, and so a bit easier to drill (and they look dead sharp.)

[Mark Hammer]

Keep an eye open for amplifier footswitches.  One can often find "orphan" footswitch units in music stores or pawnshops that have 4 and even 6 stompswitches, and associated LEDs, with space for installing circuit boards underneath.  You could make yourself an ersatz version of the Tech 21 Flyrig5 ( http://www.tech21nyc.com/products/sansamp/flyrig.html ).

For example, here's a 5-switch unit from a Vox amp.  Pop some more holes in it, give it a paint job, and Bob's yer uncle.

[acehobojoe]

Hammond's 1456 series goes up to 508mm wide. Fifty centimeters should do you right. Plus it's aluminium/steel, and so a bit easier to drill (and they look dead sharp.)

wow, that looks cool. it looks like it may have holes in it though.

[TG Flatline]

Hammond 1550G or 1550J are both good for this. I've used both for four footswitches and have a couple on at the minute for five switches in 1550J boxes - plenty of room if you can find the boxes cheap enough, I get mine from Rapid in the UK - http://www.rapidonline.com/Mechanical-Fastenings-Fixings/1550-Series-Die-Cast-Aluminium-Enclosures-518661

Example of a 1550J - www.cogeffects.co.uk/red-five
Example of a 1550G - www.cogeffects.co.uk/colonel-richter

[blackieNYC]

I've started recycling discarded rack gear chassis.  Found a couple just 1u high and 5inches deep.  Rack ears often come off. Mine from from a discarded Gefen KVM computer extender. "Cat5 7500 HDR".  In any of them there will be holes in the rear panel. I might cover that with a cut 1u rack panel blank. It's an old model and becoming obsolete. More of a 6 pedal kind of form.  Lotta obsolete rack mount equipment with worthless circuits inside. 

[acehobojoe]

Anyone got any pics?

[alanp]

Hammond 1456KL3. They do come in smaller sizes (and bigger), the stomp and knobs should give you an idea of scale. (The pedal is an Prophecysound Infinitphase clone.)

[amptramp]

Go to your local wrecking yard (breakers for the British here) and get a cast aluminum cam cover like this:



or this:



Clean it up and polish or paint it.  Stick a meter (VU or voltage) in the oil filler cap and an aluminum plate on the bottom and you will have the most badass enclosure to ever hit the pictures threads.  The ones shown are about 22 inches long.

Normal painting or polishing will get the job done but this Miata cover gets a lot of attention:

[bluebunny]

 

[acehobojoe]

Alan, is that material thick enough?

[Quackzed]

that is......

GENIUS!!!!!

[amptramp]

Come on you guys, this is easy.  The cam cover has four spark plug holes.  You have four effects that need indicator lights.  Looks like a match, so knock the ceramic insulator out of the plugs and replace them with clear plastic cylinders that can be roughed up internally or externally to diffuse the LED light.  There is always a breather / PCV hole.  It can hold the connector from the power supply.  You can drill the cover for the stomp switches and pots.  And like I said, it would be nice to put a meter on the oil filler cap.  You should be able to find aluminum sheet for the bottom plate.  There may be some semicircular holes for the cams or cam plugs, so you could cut and bend the sheet to fit or have lights streaming out the side or use it for the input / output cables.  You will never have trouble with inadequate thickness causing noise when the switches actuate.

The local pick-and-pull should not charge much (~$25 maybe) and it is its own pedalboard.  If you don't want to polish it, you can paint it.  Canadian Tire now carries black wrinkle and red wrinkle paint:



if a normal paint isn't spectacular enough.