Pics of my Obsidian, etched enclosure, board mounted goodness

[DavidS]

Here's my Obsidian!

Jacks and footswitch are board mounted, orange status LED, PCB made in EagleCAD.

[Joecool85]

WOW!  Looks great!  How did you engrave the pedal?

[ninoman123]

Damn that is nice! Sweet lookin graphic on that box there and that silver board is cool. Where did u get PCB like that? How did you mount your LED? Nice and tidy. A+++

[Joe]

Looks like a pro-quality job.

[DavidS]

Thanks!

The board is normal PCB, I just dipped it in Liquid Tin to plate it. I'm a big fan of the stuff now.

Etching was done with PnP blue/FeCl. I don't ever want to use this method again, just because I've been having a really hard time getting the PnP to fully adhere to the aluminum (bubbles...Grrr...). I'm going to try coating a box with photoresist and doing it that way.

[trjones1]

Etching was done with PnP blue/FeCl. I don't ever want to use this method again, just because I've been having a really hard time getting the PnP to fully adhere to the aluminum (bubbles...Grrr...).

That's a great looking pedal. 

Try using Staples Picture Paper instead of PnP when you etch the box.  It is much more forgiving during the transfer.  There are a couple of extra steps that don't even take as long as one failed attempt with PnP.

[Connoisseur of Distortion]

absolutely beautiful box. professionally assembled, too! it all looks great!

[DavidS]

Wow, I don't know why I didn't think of the picture paper... I used to use it for doing boards! I much prefer the PnP for boards, but the picture paper just might rock for boxes. Thanks for the idea!

The box is still unfinished, so the aluminum will be dulling over time. I plan on doing a two-part powdercoat finish on it (black and maybe color in the etched areas, thick high-gloss clear on top), but I'm waiting on the mail for the powder.

[smccusker]

i'm a big fan of the etched box look.
this is stellar work.

[Dave_B]

Remarkable.  Is the board suspended inside the box by the switch lugs?  You sanded the LED flat, right?

[RDV]

Could you make some sound samples? I love the way the pedal looks, but have yet to hear the BS250 version of the Obsidian.

Anybody?

RDV

[jeroen_verbeeck]

I don't think he did that.
A few months ago I had a HomeBrew Big-D (boutique pedal) which also had these flat leds.
As far as I could see it existed out of 2 parts, 1 part for the top, and 1 part that sort of clicks into the first one at the bottom.
Don't know if this is the same but it looks similar from the bottom side.

[soggybag]

Great work, bravo! I like the design, very graphic, looks a little cubist or something. I like the board mounted jacks I think they make for a very professional finish and are a great way to mount the PCB inside the enclosure.

[DavidS]

Soggybag, I blatantly stole your board-mounted jacks and footswitch idea   I mean, I know other poeple have done it, but after looking over your work, I totally ripped it off.

Yes, I did sand the LED flat. I wish I could powder coat the LED right in for a nice flush surface...Humm... Have to think about that a little more...

Here's the inside, the gross chewing-gum looking wad on the board is hot glue to reinforce the battery clip leads.

[pi22seven]

Nice job!

[Dave_B]

Nice.  Is there a trick to getting the jackholes ( ) lined up perfectly?  I can see myself attempting this and drilling the holes a 1/16" too high. 

[spudulike]

Now THAT is a very nicely built pedal, certain bouteekers should take note ....

I have tried using Araldite to flush mount LEDs and it looks ok. I drill a2.8mm hole, ram the LED in till it breaks surface by a mill or so then sand it flat. I then use Humbrol Maskol to mask the led when spraying ...

[DavidS]

Um, about the "jackholes" (ugh, why did you have to call them that ), I was pretty nervous about those, but I just quadruple-measured, used a square, took my time, and they turned out right. I used a Unibit, which starts really nicely in aluminum, so that helped. Oh, another nice thing about the etched labelling, I did the layout in AutoCAD, so I had little dots for the drill locate points, which etched into the top right along with the graphics. Like having perfectly aligned center-puches!

[smccusker]

I really like the idea of mounting most of the offboard components.
offboard wiring is my most hated job.

[soggybag]

Oh, it's a comliment to have you say you're stealing "my" ideas. Heck that idea was a big "compliment" to another list member (I'm sorry I forget who).

--M