1u blank panel sturdy enough for mounting?

[Beo]

Take a look at a basic Middle Atlantic 1u blank panel here at amazon. It's 14 gauge steel.

http://www.amazon.com/Middle-Atlantic-FEB-1-Blank-panel/dp/B000Z7BVM4/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1300768035&sr=8-6

Is this thick and strong enough that I can drill mounting holes and bolt an enclosure behind it? I have a broken rackmount unit that I want to use as an enclosure, completely replacing the faceplate. I'm just wondering if this "blank panel" is basically just to keep dust out and isn't actually strong enough to bear any kind of load.

Here's another one that is 16 gauge, but flanged for extra strength. That implies to me these are made for bearing some kind of load.
http://www.amazon.com/Middle-Atlantic-PBL-1-filler-panel/dp/B001N4B9GQ

These all seem to be black powdercoated. Can these be found in bare steel or aluminum, for etching?

Travis

[Beo]

Okay, here's a more interesting question:

For remote switching several rack mounted effects, if the remote switch cable is only going to be 6-8 feet long (basically at the foot of the rack), can I just send the In/Out signals for each rack effect to the foot switch and use 3PDT switches for true bypass. I figure that if I have buffers on my line and I use shielded twisted pair, I shouldn't have any issues with the extra signal path. I don't want to bother with true remote switching using ICs or Relays.

[ayayay!]

Is this thick and strong enough that I can drill mounting holes and bolt an enclosure behind it?

Yes and no.  You're kind of asking two questions without knowing it.  It's definitely strong.  I like MidAtlantics rackmount products.  But the enclosure part of it... is this like a 2 inch deep product or 19 inches deep?  And are there already screw attachments on the front inside of the enclosure so you can just tap and drill the new faceplate on?  If not, will you be using brackets to secure it?  Such things must be known/considered.  The flange might be just to fit as a nice blank in certain racks.  Hope that helps!  

[Beo]

Thanks, it does help. I have two enclosures that I'm using. Neither is very deep (only about 6") and they'll only contain light circuits, so they won't put that much torque on the faceplate. One has screw attachments on the enclosure, so by drilling four mounting holes in the faceplate, I can securely mount the enclosure. For the second enclosure, the original faceplate did not extend 19", instead there are side bolts for rack ears, and I don't have compatible ears. The original faceplate mounted flush in the enclosure using a lip on the top and screws on the bottom. For this enclosure, I think I will install some regular hardware store brackets, and mount a full 19" faceplate to the brackets.