Birth of a Wah Enclosure... (Tons of Pics... 56K Warning!!!)

[MicFarlow77]

Hi All,

This post and a few that will follow is a build report (with tons of pics) of a bunch of 12 wah casings I started over the weekend! (9 are available for sale)

This first post will detail the build segment for the sides of the enclosures.

First things first.... Every enclosure starts as a side profile. The Wah Casing side profile is a bit over 30" long.



Now, Got to bend them corners. To do the corners consistently, I devised and built a Uni-tasker for just that purpose. Basically, it's a car jack, some pipe, some wood and some acetal plastic.



Another view.. bit closer up....



Basically, I put in the side profile, crank the jack a couple of times and presto, a perfect 1" corner is created.



This is the left rear corner...



This is the left front corner...



Halfway there....



Right rear corner...



Right front corner...



All bent up....



Next I need to weld it up... Here you see my spool gun welder... for a size reference, the enclosure is 10 inches long...



All welded up.. one drawback to the MIG welding process is the spatter... but it cleans up easy enough...



Repeat this process 11 more times and you have....



Later I will post the process for doing the bottoms!

Thanks,

Mick

[foxfire]

i love your simple press idea. i need to remember that one.
rylan

[nelson]

Put me down for two!

[Boogdish]

I have a really good feeling about this thread.   

[MicFarlow77]

Put me down for two!

Hey Paul,

I got ya.... I'll post in the For Sale section a little later today. For all those that want one, I'll need additional info before I can do the paddle. Keep an eye out in the For Sale section....

Thanks,

Mick

[Auke Haarsma]

Really cool to see the process!

Keep it up Mick, I'm sure they (including my 2 ones!) are gonna be awesome!

[Auke Haarsma]

They also look very 'shiny'. More shiny than the ones in the previous pics. Is that part of the process? Can you keep them that shiny (if possible, I'd love that!)

[MicFarlow77]

They also look very 'shiny'. More shiny than the ones in the previous pics. Is that part of the process? Can you keep them that shiny (if possible, I'd love that!)

Hey Auke,

I wish I could keep them that shiny but it is not possible. What you are seeing in these pics is the raw aluminium. As this post progresses more, you'll see why I am not able to keep them that way.

Thanks,

Mick

[MicFarlow77]

i love your simple press idea. i need to remember that one.
rylan

Hey Rylan,

I like simple too.... this is about the 3rd or 4th incarnation of bending rigs or presses... this one is by far the most consistent. I have some additional improvements planned for this one as well, but probably won't have time to get to them until much later in the year....

Thanks,

Mick

[foxfire]

i love your simple press idea. i need to remember that one.
rylan

Hey Rylan,

I like simple too.... this is about the 3rd or 4th incarnation of bending rigs or presses... this one is by far the most consistent. I have some additional improvements planned for this one as well, but probably won't have time to get to them until much later in the year....

Thanks,

Mick

i'm a cabinet maker and one of my most favorite thing to do is make jigs/forms/tools. my most favorite thing to do is make a better jig/form/tool than i did the time before.
rylan

[John Lyons]

Very neat!
Thanks or the process pics.

john

[Auke Haarsma]

Just bumping it in the hope that there's more pics coming!

[petemoore]

  thanks cause I missed this thread somehow the first time it went down the list.
  Great thread starter BTW.
  The process and the product are both really cool and seem kinda new here to me.
  Welder really helps that '5th step'...a hurdle that could be overcome in a less elegant fashion I suppose.

[MicFarlow77]

Hi All and Many Thanks for the comments!

Here are some more pics of the next major phase of any of my enclosures.. the bottom. Due to the way the bottom is recessed up into the enclosure, I actually do the bottom and get it all finished before I do the top. It is also a little easier since I can trace out the bottom easy enough, since my enclosures will have a small amount of variance from one to the other.

So, oversized bottom plates are cut out, have a piece of plain paper glued onto it and they are also numbered and matched to each of the side profiles so that they all match up in the end.



Once this is done, then between the bandsaw and the belt sander, they are cut to size and have thier corners rounded. I also sand them up to make sure that all the burs are all gone.



All 12 of them...



With the bottom plates done, I have to cut out the cleats that end up getting welded into the inside corners to hold the bottom.



I use a simple little gig to hold them cleats just right... This jig holds the cleat exactly .080 above the bottom edge of the side profile..



Ready for a pop from the welder to fasten it to the side....



All done... now to do the other 3 corners... Once all corner cleats are in, I tape in each respective bottom to get ready for drilling and countersinking



Here, you see number 12 getting drilled for the bottom screws... I drill from the upright side... pretty easy this way since the top is out of the way...



With it drilled, I now use a special ZErO Flute countersink to countersink each corner....



All countersunk and ready for the bottom plate.



Now, with the bottom in, I take it back over to the belt sander to get rid of the extra weld material from the front side of the side profile.



All 12 bottoms in....



At this stage, I am roughly half way through in terms of process steps, but a little less than half way through in terms of time spent per enclosure. Getting the tops bent, welded on, trimmed up, brazed in and sanded will take a bit of time.

More to come later!

Thanks,

Mick

[John Lyons]

Go Mick go!
Thanks for taking the pics as you go along. Love it.

john

[Auke Haarsma]

What John says!

Keep it up Mick!

[MicFarlow77]

Go Mick go!
Thanks for taking the pics as you go along. Love it.

john

Thanks John,

What's neat about this whole process is that no matter what size or type of enclosure I build, it has to go through the steps shown here. There are some variations depending on the tops, but at a minimum, it will have to go through the steps shown here.

I have some pics of the top process that I will try to post later tonight or tomorrow. If I don't, I think Auke is going to come get me....  

Thanks,

Mick

[letsgocoyote]

hurray!  these ar4 lookinh sooo good.  i cant wait

[mike_a]

Wow Mick! 

That is mechanical workmanship at its best! I'm in awe...
I'd love to see the rest of the project.

Keep those pictures coming 

[Auke Haarsma]

I have some pics of the top process that I will try to post later tonight or tomorrow. If I don't, I think Auke is going to come get me....  

Uhm, *ugh ugh*, I am sure I do not have to remind you that I do happen to know where you live...



Any chance you could make us happy with some more pics?

Much appreciated!