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our house
- in the middle of the street
There are as many variants on effects housing techniques as there are effects builders - some use electrical junction boxes, others use folded sheet metal in various shapes, and only recently I saw an effort that used the steel frames used to erect walls in houses. All these alternatives have one thing in common - they're all relatively cheap. But the more costly alternative is still the one I'd recommend: for DIY effects housing, look no further than the Hammond 1590 series shielding boxes. They are solid, sturdy die-cast aluminium boxes that will last a lifetime. The 1590 series come in a multitude of sizes and variations, but for this purpose we'll concentrate on two of them (click links for pdf spec sheets):
The Hammond 1590B - often referred to as "MXR-size". Quite appropriately, since this is the box most MXR/Dunlop pedals are housed in.
Its bigger brother, the 1590BB, is almost the same, only a bit bigger. This is the box the MXR Phase 100 is built into, along with all Voodoo Lab pedals. For most DIY projects, it's the one to go for. It is slightly roomier, and let's face it - we could use a little extra space. Not all of us have the dexterity of a swiss watch builder...
Click here for a complete list of the 1590 series enclosures. Notice that they can be had in grey or black as well - drill it, slap on your decals, add a coat of clear paint and you're done! The 1590 can also be had with ribs for easy pcb mounting (link here), but don't bother. You would have to be very precise with the pcb size, and that (I've found) can be harder to do than finding a way to get the pcb to stay in place...
Can't find the Hammond 1590? Maybe you live in Europe...
For us Europeans it's a little trickier. The Hammond 1590 series aren't widely available here, but luckily Eddystone boxes are. Actually, Hammond owns that company, so maybe it's no big surprise they don't sell much of their own line over here. Anyway, the model names aren't the same as in the US. But a little (not a lot, actually) detective work reveals that the boxes are more or less the same - the only difference is in the names, that the measurements are in metric and that their corners are less rounded. So for us Euro's...
Hammond 1590B = Eddystone 27134PSLA
Hammond 1590BB = Eddystone 29830PSLAClick here for a pdf file with spec sheets for the entire Eddystone PSLA series (taken from ELFA's site).
Making a drilling template
Before you start drilling the box, you need to know what and where to drill. Too many people have happily drilled away, only to notice that the switch suddenly blocks part of the space needed for the battery, or that the jacks won't fit because the holes are too close to the bottom of the box. As templates go, nothing beats a life-size model. Cardboard or stiff (very stiff) paper can be used, and with it you can try different jack/switch/pot positions. Just keep making new templates until you find the ideal positions. If you use cardboard/paper that is close to the same thickness of the box, you'll have no problem. If your template has thicker or thinner walls, you need to compensate for that. For instance: you want the battery to be held in position by the switch, but not too tight... And you want the pots to fit nicely - almost up against the front wall of the box, but you don't want to drill it and find out that they won't because the template had thinner walls... You get the picture. But whatever you do - make sure the template have the exact same outer dimensions as the box.
When you are happy with the template, you need to transfer it to the box itself. If your template is just about the same thickness as the box, just cut, fold and tape a regular piece of stationary paper over the template, and transfer the hole positions to the paper (and do save the template, in case someone wants you to build the same pedal again). The paper will then slide over the real box, making it real easy to mark the drilling positions.
Drilling
I trust that you wrote down the hole dimensions on the template (while you were at it) - otherwise you'll need to take down new notes. Once you know which holes are to be drilled, and how big the holes should be, you may proceed. The first step is to cover the box in masking tape - this will prevent the drill bit from slipping. Then punch-mark the absolute center of each hole (which you of course have marked with a cross on the paper template). A nail works, and a special puncher that you set in place and then tap with a hammer is even better. The luxury version is a puncher that looks like a pen - you set it in place, press down and the puncher will "click", leaving a neat mark in the box. You can then drill a small pilot hole if you want to - you don't have to drill it all the way, just enough to make sure that the big drill doesn't slip.
The best drill bit for the job is without a doubt a stepped drill like the ones to the right. It does two things for you: It saves you time - just drill, step by step, until the hole is the right size. No more swapping drill bits. And it drills the hole in stages - if you've ever tried to drill a 13mm hole through aluminium in one go, you'll know that the drill often snags, leaving ugly, burred edges behind. If you even find a drill that big. Most drill kits only go up to 10mm, and from there you have to be creative. No more... The stepped drill will give you nice, smooth edges. But... there's always a catch. This type of drill bit can be very expensive. For us Swedes, however, I have good news. The two drill bits in the pic are pretty reasonably priced, and can be bought at Clas Ohlson. The smaller one (part no 30-7119) is the one we need. It drills holes 6-20mm in 8 steps, and will cost you just 169 SEK. And before you say that 169 spänn is a lot for a drill bit, I should mention that I've seen stepped drills cost ten times that amount... Obviously these cheapo bits won't las as long as the more serious bits, but hey - you won't kill it anytime soon.
But do take care of your new drill bit - a little lubrication/cooling is always a good idea when drilling in aluminium. Proper use of the right lubricant can make the drill bit last ten times longer. But what is the right lubricant? Well, I've seen people use anything from fancy special drilling oils to regular milk, and to be perfectly honest they both work fine... The oil is a little better at lubricating, and the milk a little better at cooling. Either way, your drill bits will be better off than without.
In any case: when you're done drilling, clean the box thoroghly. And yes, you can/should use degreaser - washing-up liquid might not be enough. Also check the box for burrs and sharp edges - use a metal file (preferably round) wherever you feel it's needed.
Test assembly
Just what the heading says - check again that everything will fit, and that the jacks and pots don't conflict with each other. Also, check that the board will fit as planned, and that it will be properly supported. When everything checks out ok, remove all components and start working on the...
Finish (the appearance, that is)
There are a million ways to decorate an fx box. The easiest option is probably to just use a permanent felt marker (one you know won't conflict with any clear paint you might add later), and from there you can go to any extremes you like. Check out Zachary Vex's creations if you want to see just how far...
Anyway, the felt marker option will only require you to check two things (apart from what the actual writing should be, of course):
- How much space does the nuts/spacers and control knobs take up? In other words - how close to the hole can I write?
- Which control pot goes where, and subsequently - where should i write what? You've seen the design a million times - but from the inside of the box. I have more than once been confused when I've turned the box over, and had to start thinking from the outside...
Another option is to colour the box before applying any words/logos to it. If you want to paint it, now would be a good time to clean the box again, and then not touching it until the paint has dried. This can be tricky, but you'll get the hang of it. Any fingerprints, however small, will prevent the paint from sticking properly, so be careful. After each coat of paint, you can bake the box in the oven at 40-50° Celcius. This will make the paint harden faster, and make it less prone to chipping, but it will also create the most godawful fumes - make sure you have good ventilation, and don't use the oven for baking in the next few days... If you can, do it outside with a small cooker/oven (the ones with two cooking plates and a small oven that you used to find in the lunchroom at work before the microwaves arrived). A toaster oven will work too, but we don't seem to have those in Sweden. We have toasters, of course, but not big enough to... well, enough about that. Sort of. One last thing - I noticed that too much heat for too much time can turn some clear coats nicotine yellow... Don't bake the box longer than needed.
Anyhow, transfering logos and letters to the box is a whole other issue - if you are creative, you can get it done for next to nothing. If not - expect to spend serious $$$ on decals... I located a model plane dealer - one of those guys with glasses who spend their days and nights at their workbench breathing glue fumes... HEY!!! that sounds just like... (just substitute glue fumes for solder fumes...). Anyway, these guys regularly print ultra-thin, clear decals in very small quanities - perfect for our application. There are water decal sheets that you can print in a laser or ink jet printer - fill the whole page with all the decals you'll ever need. Then print it and use a scalpel to cut out the ones you need for each box (put the rest in a safe place - for future boxes). Then soak the decals in water and the thin part that carries the laser toner will just slide off the backing paper. Place the decal on the box - remember that you can adjust it slightly while it's still wet - and let it dry, making sure there are no bubbles. Presto! Spray lightly with clear paint, let dry and spray another layer once you are sure the clear coat won't damage the decal. [Note: if you used an inkjet printer - colour or b/w - the clear coat might dissolve the ink. When you buy the decal paper, also get some fixative spray.]
If you are in the US, Micro-Mark will happily sell you decal kits. Click here to check it out. In Sweden, Rebell Hobby sells their own decal paper.
For now, that'll be all...
© 2002 - 2007