Problem with boxing effects

[JebemMajke]

I have an issue with boxing my effects, whenever i close the box and my effect stops working. So i thought i could put paper on the bottom to stop grounds from shorting, and that fixed problem for some time. But it started again yesterday. Any thoughts?

[LucifersTrip]

I have an issue with boxing my effects, whenever i close the box and my effect stops working. So i thought i could put paper on the bottom to stop grounds from shorting, and that fixed problem for some time. But it started again yesterday. Any thoughts?

electrical tape

[petemoore]

  Free, thick, clear plastic 'theft prevention' bubble wrap plastic, comes off from many of the items we'd otherwise just buy, though it can be difficult and dangerous to remove so that your precious purchase can be freed from it, it makes great heavy duty insulator material.
   I used paper to make a more perfect template [the second try might be better than the first] so that the shaped piece fits in and covers/insulates most of wherever it's relevant to do so..ie places where there are no or very few wires can be skipped.
  I started doing it as a regular deal, just seems logical...smokey boards, burnt circuits etc. can easily be prevented to a large degree with a few minutes of insulating the 'major parts' [that matter] of the interior, I think it's a board goodness and time saver.
   Electrical tape is 'good', but a ''solder point'' could probably poke it's way through to conduct over time or if pressed in hard enough.

[JebemMajke]

http://shannonmcm.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/bubble-wrap-pic.jpg this thing? Ok, will try it, as soon as i get it. Thnx

[Mark Hammer]

Tape is fine, but the adhesive decomposes over time, leaving a gooey mess.  A piece of nice stiff cardboard (bristol board) cut to fit the space inside the ridge of the bottom plate can work well.

It also helps to:

a)  put a bit of heat shrink tubing over the solder lugs of pots and switches so they don't accidentally short out against neighboring pieces,
b) make sure you don't have too much extra wire length so that things aren't bulked up inside and force compoenents against the walls of the enclosure.

[merlinb]

A piece of plastic cut from a blister pack.

[amptramp]

There used to be a material called "fish paper" which was a dense grey cardboard material that was used for box insulation for decades.  It was generally precut and folded so that critical items were insulated.  The other idea, of course, is to use standoffs so that the circuit board is held off the box.

[boogietone]

Start collecting the hard plastic that you would normally just toss out as mentioned above. Cut to size it works great.

[edvard]

^ +1
I've recycled plastic milk jugs for this very purpose.
Careful use of heat in just the right places makes it an extremely flexible (pardon the pun) material.
I've made battery boxes, insulation grommets, washers, super-light picks, all kinds of stuff besides just insulating a box bottom.

[ayayay!]

Craft foam.  $1 at Walmart.  Adhesive on one side.  Fuggetaboutit.

[iccaros]

hard to clean up, and makes things hard to fix, but would work
http://www.stagemakeuponline.com/02-LL/Liquid-Latex-Ben-Nye.html

[Mark Hammer]

Craft foam.  $1 at Walmart.  Adhesive on one side.  Fuggetaboutit.

+1  Been using it for years.

[phector2004]

If you have "flexible" cd cases, they make a really nice shield when given the scissor treatment... not the old-school jewel cases that crack when dropped, but newer hard plastic ones. I guess DVD cases would work well too

I also tend to coat pots and enclosures in nail polish as a backup, but sharp wire ends and pins sticking out of PCBs will scratch through it and short so it isn't a reliable option

[LucifersTrip]

Craft foam.  $1 at Walmart.  Adhesive on one side.  Fuggetaboutit.

+1  Been using it for years.

how thick do they make em? I can only find the L x W domensions

[edvard]

I have a couple pieces here of different thicknesses I got at the same craft store.
They are 2mm and 6mm, which would be just over 1/16" and just under 1/4" respectively.

You can get the 2mm stuff in big sheets (12"x18") from the stores and rolls (36"x60") online.
The 2mm stuff can be found with sticky-back already applied in 9"x12" sheets.
The 6mm ones I've only seen in 9"x12" sheets, and never pre-stickied (you have to get that separate).