boxes?

[AndrewH]

Ok so having now completed my first pedal, i am wondering about how to case it.

Ribbed plastic boxes seem a nice way, as they are easily modified to fit pots/input/output and such (ie it's easy to make holes in the plastic boxes) and the ribbs are nice as the perfectly fit a sheet of vero board.

However, are metal boxes better? for grounding easily? what is the general consensus?

How do you guys create the necessary holes in metal boxes? I'm sure there is some where online that sells boxes for a set number of pots and such, but I wanna know how you guys do them.

sorry guys, I'm pretty bad at this stuff.

many thanks

Andrew

[Anchorman]

I have used Eddystone and Hammond 1950 enclosures, to drill I used a hand drill with HSS drills, which works but the holes was just okay and off-center (might have to do with me lacking skills), you need to drill small holes first, then use larger and larger drills until you have the size you want. I've heard lots of recommendations for Irwin Unibits, it's supposed to be great for aluminum enclosures.

[jefe]

Hi Andrew - Yes, generally speaking, metal boxes are better. Stronger than plastic, and provides shielding for your circuit (less chance of "hum" from outside sources).

However, plenty of people use plastic boxes lined with aluminum foil, and some people even build their boxes out of wood.

For drilling in metal, any metal drill bit will work, but a lot of people swear by the "uni-bit" type of stepped bit - it's capable of making the larger holes for jacks and stomp switches.

Hope that helps, and good luck!

edit: oh, btw, there are ribbed aluminum boxes out there if you look around a bit.

[Processaurus]

Check out pedalpartsplus.com if you feel like it, they have all kinds of boxes that they'll drill in different standard-ish pedal configurations (if you don't have access to a drillpress, hand drilling big holes in metal is a bummer), plus they powdercoat them in any color.  Really wonderful resource for pedalcraft.

Good luck!

[frokost]

sorry guys, I'm pretty bad at this stuff.

Not for long!  http://www.diystompboxes.com/wiki/index.php?title=AllAboutEnclosures

[Ripthorn]

I'm one of the guys that makes boxes out of wood.  I can pump out 4 boxes for about 6 bucks (depending on the wood).  Of course, there is time involved, but I love woodworking, so for me spending the time making boxes is a win-win situation.  I am going to try making some metal boxes soon, however, just to see how it works.

[bipedal]

I've had great success drilling holes in aluminum boxes (I've always bought enclosures from Small Bear), starting with a 1/8" pilot hole, followed by a Unibit (bought at my local hardware store -- $25-ish I think) to bring hole to correct size, using a standard hand drill.  Easy, quick.  Wear eye protection, as sometimes little metal filings fly off while drilling.

I keep the jacks/pots close by so I can test fit to make sure I don't drill out the holes too large for the part.

When marking center points for each hole to be drilled, don't forget to measure twice, cut (or in this case, drill) once. 

- Jay