geo fxrack inspired project *99% finished*

[mikey]

Now, are you ready for the "Do you think you could build me one?" requests when you trot it out publically?

Ugh I know what you mean all too well.  It's the bane of DIY'ers.

great work man!just 2 questions
1: how did you bend the aluminium and took the right measures?
2: Why didn't you usa a daisy chain for the pedals?what's that pcb (connected to the dc jack)useful for?

1: I painstakingly bent the chassis by hand using some boards to help get a straighter edge, a method I wouldn't recommend (not the way I did it anyway).  I had 12" of sheetmetal width to work with so I did the math on what lengths between bends would give me about 2" of height and 1/2" of overhang to mount the faces and came up with what you see.  I dont have exact numbers.

2: My original plan was to daisychain the power but I had some interference between pedals coming through the power chain so I made a simple PCB with a filter for each pedal and distributed the +9v from there.

[bdevlin]

I myself am wondering what the PCB connected to the power jack does.   

[jimbob]

Inspiring. I felt good about myself after deciding to do 2 effects in 1 box and realizing I thought I could pull it off. Now this. Just amazing! I wonder how many wish they were your brother.

[Doug_H]

That is really beautiful work... Congratulations!

[Skreddy]

Kudos!  Really beautiful and clean functionally and aesthetically.  Love it!!

[343 Salty Beans]

If I'm seeing it right, that PCB is a power filter.

[Processaurus]

This is so cool.  This may be the definitive solution for diyers wanting to get Cornish-like, but are always trying new stuff.  There are so many good design ideas in here.

[Gilles C]

I found it very inspiring. Very nice project that you did there.

I have some aluminium that I was wondering how to use. You gave me the idea to cut it in panels that I will use as front panels for a console as you did.

Gilles

[joelap]

Wow.  Absolutely amazing.  Inspiring, even!

Those pitctures got my brain working.  Ok, say you've got that black bottomplate thing... does each "module" so to speak slide into place, or are they a pain in the rear to get in there?  If they slide, you could use a detatchable 2 conductor cord coming from the power filter board to each individual board (as it appears you did).  Then, you could slide effects in and out as you needed/wanted them, and all you'd need to detatch from a module would be the 9V and ground cables.

[captntasty]

It's just beautiful man.... 

[mikey]

Wow.  Absolutely amazing.  Inspiring, even!

Those pitctures got my brain working.  Ok, say you've got that black bottomplate thing... does each "module" so to speak slide into place, or are they a pain in the rear to get in there?  If they slide, you could use a detatchable 2 conductor cord coming from the power filter board to each individual board (as it appears you did).  Then, you could slide effects in and out as you needed/wanted them, and all you'd need to detatch from a module would be the 9V and ground cables.

Just remove the 4 screws holding any one plate to the chassis, unplug the power cord and they pop right out.  I only needed a single conductor for the power since the chassis provides the ground which I tap through the faceplates to the sleeve of the input or output jacks.  A person wanting to swap effects could do so in a matter of seconds.  I had even considered using some type of clamping system instead of screws to hold the faceplates on for quick changes but I opted for the simpler screw mounts.

Some other ideas I had and decided against because of my material limitations or otherwise:

• Mounting the footswitch and in/out jacks(rear) to the chassis and using a modular plug with in/out/+9v conductors to connect the effects
• Routing the signal path internally but switching to the external jacks automatically when a plug was inserted
• Installing a transformer inside the chassis and using AC power
• Mounting aluminum plates vertically inside the chassis to separate each effect into it's own compartment for maximum shielding

[/list]

[sfr]

I'm really loving this.  I have some heavy aluminum channel from the scrapyard that I drilled and tapped holes into every 1/2" (or something) with the idea of doing something like this.  Never got around to finishing it, and that was a couple years ago.  Now I'm inspired, and really have to have a go at it!  You did a great job.

The aluminum you used for the top panels - what gauge did you go with?  I've got something like a 4 inch unsupported spread between the "lips" of my channel, and I'm worried about getting too much flex - I guess I'll just have to experiment, but I'd be interested in hearing what you went with.

But, yeah, this is looking great!

[mikey]

The aluminum you used for the top panels - what gauge did you go with?  I've got something like a 4 inch unsupported spread between the "lips" of my channel, and I'm worried about getting too much flex - I guess I'll just have to experiment, but I'd be interested in hearing what you went with.

I measured my plates at 1.8mm.  If my math and the charts I'm looking at are right, that puts it at about 13ga.  It's more than thick enough for the job and you could certainly get away with a lighter gauge.  How much lighter depends on the abuse it's going to take.  I get zero flex when I engage a pedal normally and it takes significantly more weight to cause even slight flex than to activate the footswitch.

I had about that same 4" spread.  My plates were 3"x5" and the lip was 1/4" - 1/2" on each side.

[R.G.]

I've got something like a 4 inch unsupported spread between the "lips" of my channel, and I'm worried about getting too much flex

A couple of simple mechanical details will take care of that.

First - put the footswitch as near the lip of the rack as you can get it and still have everything still fit. The lip then reinforces the faceplate and you'd have to bend both the lip and the rack at the same time - not likely!

Second - if you must put mechanical stress on the center of the faceplate, you can either (a) bend the sides of the faceplate down  to form a reinforcing lip inside the rack on each side if you have access to a sheet metal brake or (b) epoxy, JB Weld, or screw a 1/2" by 1/2" angle on each side of the faceplate from the bottom. This also reinforces the faceplate across the opening.

[sfr]

Thanks!

R.G. - like those re-inforcing ideas as well.  Hadn't thought of those before.

My last DIY box had a little too much flex for me, I ended up cutting a length of plastic piping the height of the interior of the chassis to fit around the 3PDT stomp, with a hole in the middle to feed the outgoing wires through.  R.G.'s ideas sound easier to implement and a little more elegant.

[343 Salty Beans]

Thanks!

R.G. - like those re-inforcing ideas as well.  Hadn't thought of those before.

My last DIY box had a little too much flex for me, I ended up cutting a length of plastic piping the height of the interior of the chassis to fit around the 3PDT stomp, with a hole in the middle to feed the outgoing wires through.  R.G.'s ideas sound easier to implement and a little more elegant.

BAH to elegance! If it's inside, no one will know but you  we'll just call it our dirty little secret.

Of course, inelegance is the reason my wiring never works.

[mikey]

Thanks!

R.G. - like those re-inforcing ideas as well.  Hadn't thought of those before.

My last DIY box had a little too much flex for me, I ended up cutting a length of plastic piping the height of the interior of the chassis to fit around the 3PDT stomp, with a hole in the middle to feed the outgoing wires through.  R.G.'s ideas sound easier to implement and a little more elegant.

If you had enough material you could make the sides big enough to extend all the way to the bottom of the chassis providing additional support and shielding between pedals.

[R.G.]

BAH to elegance! If it's inside, no one will know but you   we'll just call it our dirty little secret.

That's true. Back in my checkered past, I wound up taking an adult beginner ballet class. As one of the instructors explained, in class, you work for perfection, whether you can actually bend that way or not. You try to do it with perfect form. In a performance, no matter whether your leg will go that high with perfect form or not, it goes that high. That's what costumes are for. Elegance is what we try to do in private so we know how close to elegant we can get in public.

If you had enough material you could make the sides big enough to extend all the way to the bottom of the chassis providing additional support and shielding between pedals.

That works. It also works to make either wooden or metal partitions to sit at the joints and hold those onto the bottom rack. These then support the faceplates on the sides and it's not as much work as fabbing fancy faceplates. You drill holes in the partitions to pass wiring.

I personally always had the idea that I'd put an EA-2 relay on each effect board and switch the relays remotely with a footswitch rack, but putting the footswitch with the effects works well too.

In terms of finding materials, I had the need to find som more steel stud material and called a local building supplier. They still stock the stuff. A channel 10' long with a cross section of 1.875" by 5.875 with 1/2" lips (that is, the size of a 2x6 piece of lumber) in 18 gauge steel is $12 and one that's 1.875" x 7.75" is $14, same length. Either of these has enough material for about six footpedal racks if you cut between the perforations, more if you just ignore the perforations on the bottom and cover them up with something.

Of course, that's still more expensive than the first one I got ...free... because it was slightly bent.

[psst]

Great!!!! Congratulations.

[Chuck]

That sure looks good.  Nice detail.
Thanks for sharing it.
Chuck