Custom enclosures interest check

[Andi]

Wotcher everyone.

I'm currently looking into getting some custom enclosures made for me. They'll be a touch larger than the Phase90 size hammonds (sorry; I can never remember which is which), probably around 7cm by 15cm by 3.5cm. Predrilled 9v DC jack hole, predrilled Alpha pot holes (two at the far end), predrilled jack, LED and 3PDT holes too.

Most interestingly (I hope) they'll have an internal divider and a two-part lid so that the battery can be kept separate from the rest of the enclosure, with a single screw securing the battery cover.

I'm looking at this primarily for my own use, but was wondering if anyone would be interested. Price is likely to be somewhere around the $10 each mark, which I appreciate is a fair whack more than a plain hammond or knock-off, but all you'd have to do is prime, paint and label, and the hole alignment would be totally consistent.

Is this the sort of thing anyone would be interested in? I'd likely shift them at cost, just to get the order bulk up and therefore reduce the prices... I'm also looking at some sort of wah enclosure, though obviously that'll run a bit more expensive.

[JimRayden]

Just do the wah enclosure and you'll get filthy rich.

-----------
Jimbo

[Hal]

there's a chance I might want in for 5-10.  Not sure yet.

Would the jacks be on the front or side?

[Garrett]

I would do the hole drilling, the whole divider thing.  I would need dimensions on where the holes need to be with a ruff sketch.  But the painting thing is not my gig(yet).

         rock and roll ain't noise polution, Garrock

                   

[Andi]

I currently put the jacks on the side of the pedal, but I think there'd be room for them on the end with a different pot placement. I'll have a think and see - is there any strong preference? The jack holes will be set for those box-type jacks, so if you wanted to put Neutrik or Switchcraft style ones they'd need to be reamed out - this seems easier to me than making them the larger size and expecting people to fill and redrill them.

I should probably mention that these will be die-cast enclosures, not folded sheet. Tapped screw holes, snug fitting lid and so on, and they'll be of a very good quality or I'd not bother at all.

[soggybag]

Imight be interested depending on the dimmensions. I would prefer the size tot match the 1590 sized box exactly. And I would want to drill my own holes.

I'm curious about the bottom and the battery lid is there a picture of this somewhere?

[TELEFUNKON]

we are amused...

[Andi]

Imight be interested depending on the dimmensions. I would prefer the size tot match the 1590 sized box exactly. And I would want to drill my own holes.

I'm curious about the bottom and the battery lid is there a picture of this somewhere?

So that's a no? 

I personally can't see the point in making them the same size as a 1590 and without the holes. At that point I might as well buy 1590s and drill them - especially as that'd be cheaper. From my point of view the entire point is to get a bit more room to work in and no need to drill for most of what I make. It certainly seems a bit odd to pay 3 times as much as a 1590 costs just to get a battery compartment.

I have CAD drawings of the main body of the enclosure, but not of the lid yet; that's the  next part to work on. But the bulk of the enclosure will be covered by the main lid; the battery compartment lid will have lugs on one side and a single screw on the other, so that it's secure
but quicker and easier to open than a normal 1590.

[soggybag]

Hey Andi I sent you a PM about the boxes.

[Hal]

where do you get 1590s for $3.33 each? 

I was planning on paying almost $8 shipped (in ones) as teh cheapest I could find...

[MartyMart]

I'm very interested, that size plus a battery "door" sounds great !!
Keep me informed or PM me
Here's how I drill mine :
Switch 3cm from box bottom with jack sockets exactly left/right of it
Pot holes 1.5cm from top edge and 2cm from sides
9v socket middle of top edge ( if there's room ) or next to output jack socket.
I often dont use an LED, but that needs to be a "floating" choise depending on
how much room is around the circuit !!
I couldn't have that particular hole "pre-drilled"

Marty.

[Andi]

I buy 1590 sized enclosures 50 or 100 at a time and tend to go for the knock-offs - they're better made and better finished.

I'm getting the impression that my requirements don't match anyone else's; there's no real gain for me if I leave holes out because I then have to drill them myself and any time saving is lost. Thanks for the comments chaps.

[MartyMart]

Andi, I have not given up !
If you can just confirm the layout of "holes" and if the LED hole is say, centre top between
the pots, it shouldn't be a problem
My only concern is ending up with 25 boxes that will only take a small board, due to
the layout !
Just need some details.
Regards,
Marty.

[nelson]

I would be interested in the boxes, with battery compartments, undrilled. Barring that, just the battery compartments themselves.

[Andi]

Okey; the basic layout at the mo is:

7.2cm by 15cm.

Battery compartment at near end.
3PDT hole just past battery compartment (enough room to route wiring behind the 3PDT if necessary).
LED 16mm to left of 3PDT
DC socket on side directly right of 3PDT
Jack socket holes on sides, centres 2cm forward of DC socket centre
Pots in end corners 2cm from end and 1.5cm from each edge (so room to drill a third hole between)

I'll probably tweak the hole position a bit, but doing them undrilled isn't going to happen; the enclosures are primarily for my own use, and I was just wondering if they'd be of any use to anyone else. That extra bit of space over the Hammond could be very useful indeed.

[Peter Snowberg]

I definitely have interest Andi!

Are you doing these for selling your own pedals? I wondering if this is a box you're willing to sell to others for re-sale with circuits as finished product, or if the look would constitute the "trade dress" of your line of pedals?

Thanks!

I would love to see a rendering.

As others have said, a wah housing is an item in demand, but I wonder if you can get them manufactured for any less than the wholesale cost of a Dunlop volume pedal which includes the whole mechanism + pot and wiring harness too I assume. It's hard to beat volume makers unless the offering is unique.

Mouser's 250 quantity price for a Hammond 1590B is $6.56 which makes a roughly estimated price of around $10 quite a bargain.

Are you thinking of a one time thing or more than that? If you can make a little off each one to make it worth it for you, and another forum member here did custom powdercoating, that would be quite a mover I'll bet. Hammond sells lots of boxes and the lack of cool enclosures has limited the DIY world I'm sure.

[A.S.P.]

i see shipping-cost-problems...

[Andi]

Ta Peter.

Let's see; I'd be using them for my own pedals, but I wouldn't have any problem with selling them to others to use for commercial stuff; the bulk of my "business" (MonkeyFX is much more a paying hobby than a serious business in terms of turnover) is in the custom stuff anyway; the effect pedals are a nice sideline to the bespoke units. These enclosures are going to be fairly generic looking - literally like a predrilled Hammond but a different size. Hang on, I'll chuck up a render of the top and bottom...




As you can see there's plenty of room for a nice sized PCB, two pots (I've made a cardboard mockup and there's room for another Alpha between those two - remember that this enclosure is about half an inch wider than a normal 1590), the jacks, switch and you can see the divider for the battery at the back. The lid is taking a bit more work than I'd expected - got to leave a bit of clearance or it'll bind against the walls - but is coming along nicely. I need to change the screw points and there are some other tweaks to go too, so don't take these as a literal final product render. I'm thinking of making the screw columns be on the outside of the enclosure so there's a "clean" rectangle to play with, and it'd look a bit funky too.

As for shipping, after the first run (which would probably go to me and any UKers interested) I can have future shipments sent to anywhere in the world - the maker is in the US, though I'd rather not reveal who it is for the moment. Adding a small margin makes sense - I don't have much risk with these, but it'd help fund things. Future shipments could also be powdercoated, anodised, brushed... the list goes on. The place that'd be doing them has a very comprehensive finishing service, right up to chameleon chroming (though that'd more than double the price!).

[Andi]

Doh, forgot to mention...

I've tried some initial work on a wah/rocker enclosure and I'm not sure my CAD skills are up to it - the pot mounting is particularly hairy, then there's the rack and tension bit. Leave that one for a rainy month or two, I think; secondhand Crybabys are going to remain the best route for a while.

[Hal]

the holes sound perfect.  The only thing I would change is move the 9v jack to the front.

Now, the question is, if you can buy 3pdt switches, 9v jacks, and input/output jacks in bulk as well (and maybe even LED Bezels that would fit your hole), and turn them over with the boxes for something like $15-$20 for the whole package...