DrillSleeve, a cheap, quick, accurate way to drill multiple enclosures.

[any]

Hey All,

Thought I make this little tutorial on making a drill template for stompboxes so you can easily
drill 10 or so enclosures for a small run or a preferred layout you frequently use.
In my case a small run of 10 Fuzz Faces for a local 'boutique' guitarshop.

To start off, your milage may vary as some people have less steady hands or have a different
way of "eyeballing", But I've done this with a cordless hand drill on a workbench so it should
prove good in use for most.

First some pictures of what we're making:

DrillSleeve inside


DrillSleeve outside


DrillSleev fitted


Drillsleeve fitted inside


Result with parts fitted


For the DrillSleeve you need the following tools/materials:
-Cardboard (Use the kind used as backing for notepads, about 3 mm thick, or buy it at an art store.)
-Sharpie/Fineliner pen
-Ruler (and preferably also a Gauge)
-Hobby Knife (Preferably a scalpel if you have one –I love scalpels for DIY, just be very sure in your
ability to handle them! A small box-cutter will do as long as the blade is not to thick. It needs to be
enough to cut the cardbox without freying the edges.
-Clear Tape (about 40 mm wide is ideal, packing tape will work as well.)
-Rubberband

Step 1: Put the enclosure upside down on the cardboard and take your sharpie (fine tip) or fineliner
           and using the enclosure as the ruler, draw around the edge. Make sure that what will end
           up being the top side of the enclosure is against the cardboard as the aluminum enclosures
           always taper a bit. The bottom is about 2 to 3 mm bigger then the top. Set the line to the
           'virtual' edge (edges are rounded). You want the DrillSleeve to encase the box tightly.

Step 2: Take the box off, and measure with your ruler whether the lines line up with the box.
            If they are good, use you ruler to draw the sides 'flat' on the cardboard. Measure the
            height of the enclosure (Gauge is best) and draw the sides around the enclosure,
            measured from the lines of the enclosure's top. It should look like a big '+'... 

Step 3: Cut the cardboard 'cross' out with a ruler and knife (scalpels are unmatched for this work)
           Make sure you try to keep the cuts as clean as possible.

Step 4: Turn the Cardboard cross upside down and Apply Tape to the 'folding edges'
           These are the four remaining cuts you will do next, but the tape will reinforce
           the point where the cardboard will be folded around the box.
           Use your nails to rub the tape into the cardboard so it completely sticks.

Step 5: Turn it around again and carefully cut the lines you drew with the enclosres
            top still on. IMPORTANT! Cut the a bit over half way through, and try to
            bend it. If it doesn't go easily, give it a little more until it bends easily with still
            a little bit of cardboard attached.

Step 6: You now have a cardboard box that will fit exactley over your enclosure!
            Use the rubber band to snap fit the sides around the enclosre and keep it
            a snug fit. Measure your desired location and use a sharpie to pinpoint the hole.

Step 7: Use a 1 mm drill  in a hand drill to drill the hole in the cardboard. Use a bit of wood
           underneath it for support and to prevent holes in your benchtop. Clean up the hole
           by sticking the drillbit through it or with a toothpick.

Step 8: You can now use the template by putting your drill sleeve on the box and sticking
           a sharpie through the hole to mark it.

Up next is drilling the hole.               
Some Tools are essential (the drill) and some make the work a lot easier (centerpunch),
I'd recommend to have at least the following:
-Centerpunch (quite important! you need to have something to make a little dent in the box
this saves a lot of frustration caused by wondering drillbits... My new automatic centerpunch
is a joy to use and cost me about 8 bucks. You just press it down and a spring action will
make a nice dent for your drill to stay on.)
-Drill
-Correct drillbit (a 1 or 2 mm drill for steel, get high quality, they are more accurate drill
quicker and last longer. Should cost you only around 3 dollars for a good one.
-Unibit (or similar. This is not a luxury, it is essential for drilling a stompbox.)

Step 1: Use a centre punch to indent your sharpie marks in the aluminum.

Step 2: Use the 1 or 2 mm drillbit to drill the pilot hole, pay attention that the drillbit correctly
           drills in the dent from the centerpunch.

Step 3: Use a ruler (Gauge is better) to check that the hole is in the same place as marked
           on the DrillSleeve. I do this only once to check whether the template is good.

Step 4: Put the Unibit on and drill into the pilot hole, IMPORTANT! only drill half-way so you
           can take the drill off and see whether the pilot hole is nicely in the middle of your
           Unibit hole. If it is, go on, if it's not, make adjustment and check by measuring.

Step 5: Go up to the size you need, possibly check measurements.

After 2 Boxes or so without any errors you can probably leave the measuring and just
mark, dent, drill them with good results. The template should last quite a while with
the intended use. I've do a couple so far, and as you can see they come out great!

Cheers,
ANY

[Gus]

GEOFEX  1999

[alanlan]

GEOFEX  1999

And your point being?

I think it's a great tutorial and the effort you've put in should be appreciated by everyone here!

[Ice-9]

thanks, thats a great tutorial, I will try this next pedal i build

[jacobyjd]

GEOFEX  1999

And your point being?

I think it's a great tutorial and the effort you've put in should be appreciated by everyone here!

I think the point was not to discount the quality of the tutorial (and it is a nice one ), but rather to add the credit for the original concept and design.

[Boogdish]

that's a neat idea.

If you're doing several of a build where most of the components are mounted on the top, an easy way to make a one sided drilling guide is to take your box after your guide holes have been drilled and put it on a copier machine or a scanner and make a 1:1 copy of the image of the top of the box, then cut that out and tape it to the top of an undrilled box.

[Dragonfly]

Nice job on the tutorial. Thats a really nice way of doing things - and it works well. Takes out the "guesswork".

I actually had one made a while back from sheet metal - that way it was fairly impervious, and would last - unfortunately I cant find it after my last move   ...so much for "lasting".

[reverbie]

Gus with all due respect if you think Geofex invented a cardboard drilling template you've never been around a machine shop for the last 50-75 years.

[96ecss]

If you're doing several of a build where most of the components are mounted on the top, an easy way to make a one sided drilling guide is to take your box after your guide holes have been drilled and put it on a copier machine or a scanner and make a 1:1 copy of the image of the top of the box, then cut that out and tape it to the top of an undrilled box.

Great idea. I'll definitely give it a try. Thanks.

Dave

[R.G.]

Gus with all due respect if you think Geofex invented a cardboard drilling template you've never been around a machine shop for the last 50-75 years.

No question - I did not invent drilling templates, nor did I invent making them out of paper. I adapted the thing to effects boxes and posted it on the internet for people who were not familiar with machine shop techniques - and who didn't have a boutique stompbox business, which were uncommon nine years ago.

There is a whole range of templates from paper or similarly fungible stuff up through cardboard, pressboard/MDF, plywood, aluminum and tool steel. What varies is how much mechanical demand you make on them and how long you want them to last. We've had some postings here about a plywood drill template/jig as I remember, but it's been a while.

I originally thought about using cardboard or thin plywood. I decided against it because for me it's easier to get the spacings right on a drawing program, then print one sheet of paper for each box. I was painting first back then, and the paint got less scratches if protected by paper right up to the last moment. Paper's easy to spray with spray pressure sensitive adhesive too, and that's what I did.

But there is value in knowing all kinds of soft, semi-soft, and hard jigging and fixturing techniques. There's always room for another twist on technology.

[Gus]

Just pointing out R.G. had a writeup and template that can be printed out

I have worked with machinists.  Before digital readouts and CNC I had seen steel sleeved holes in metal templates for drilling with locating dowel pins for indexing.
 I am aware it is a very old method.

I posted a word and a year.  I think sometimes people overlook the links at this web site.

[DougH]

I've got a radio shack folded aluminum enclosure that fits a 125b pretty snugly. That's gonna be my drilling jig.

EDIT: Oh, and thanks for the nice writeup. Yes, this kind of stuff has been documented in the past but a picture is worth a thousand words. The photos really help and I appreciate your effort.

[John Lyons]

Yes, thanks for the pics and runthrough text.

I use a template printed on transparency film and a center punch (drywall screw).

john

[snap]

I think sometimes people overlook the links at this web site.

happens a lot!

[aron]

Another problem is that of course we read it... but can't remember where..... :-)

Thanks for the tutorial and Gus, thanks for the reminder!

[any]

GEOFEX  1999

See, I've been on RG's site quite a bit and never stumbled upon it... I know it's not a new thing.
Hope it's an enjoyable read none the less, I tried to incorporate as much of the process as possible.
Also, the 'rubber band' system for wrapping around the cardbox works very nice compared to a paper wrap-around.

Cheers,
ANY

[The Tone God]

Variation on a theme.

Jiggerealla

Andrew

[DougH]

I'll be blatantly honest here:

1. The Jiggerealla looks interesting but I have never been able to understand the drawings for it. I've been over them many times and I still don't get it. Maybe a 3D CAD drawing would help. Maybe it's just my eyes. Whatever the case I've never been able make heads or tails of it.

2. It's not easy finding much of anything at the GEOFEX site unless you pretty much know exactly what you are looking for to begin with. I vaguely remember a 1590bb template there from long ago but when I just went there I couldn't find it from the front page. I mean, maybe a link is buried in the fine print on there somewhere but I don't have time to look for it. Web design has come a long way since 1999 and there are a lot easier ways of finding info now.

Those aren't shots at Andrew or R.G. Every contribution is helpful and I appreciate the effort that everyone makes. But I love these photo essays and for me they are the most effective way of communicating a step by step process in this format. I just read MarkM's essay on etching boxes the other day and it was very impressive. A few years ago there was a guy at AX84 that did a detailed step by step photo essay on building an amp combo cabinet that was fantastic.

When it comes to circuit origins, pointing out who did what first is a good way of establishing context. But for building techniques I don't think it's so important, and I say the more the merrier. More info is good...

[BINGEWOOD]

I usually use the search on Geofex located on the left sidebar to find things.  I threw "template" in there and got:

http://www.geofex.com/article_folders/boxtemplate.htm

The template is linked in the article.

[frank_p]

1. The Jiggerealla looks interesting but I have never been able to understand the drawings for it. I've been over them many times and I still don't get it. Maybe a 3D CAD drawing would help. Maybe it's just my eyes. Whatever the case I've never been able make heads or tails of it.

I think that just a few more photos in angled views would be of some help with not too much efforts (well less than a 3D CAD).  I looked at the jig late at night once, and I was scratching my head too.