.125" Chassis Faceplates [UPDATE: PICS]

[benoit]

I gave a friend who works in a metal shop a drawing to bend and weld a 19" x 8" x 2.5" chassis in .09" aluminum. I found out from him yesterday that it's done but he didn't have any .09 in the scrap bin he did it with .125". I'm told this leaves no room for a faceplate with the usual pots. Does anyone know of a good solution? I know I could do the powdercoat/screenprint thing but I'd rather not spend the money on that, as I'm trying to keep my costs down.

Any ideas? I thought about a sticker of some sort but it seems like that would look pretty cheesy. I suppose I could do decal lettering right on the aluminum.

[jaysg]

Since it's bent, he can't use an end mill on the inside to counterbore it. He could do it from the outside, but it'll show for the jacks.

RV4 pots cost more, but do work for thicker metal. It seems like there might be some Switchcraft jacks that are longer too. hth

[odourboy]

What were you going to use for faceplate material? I've had faceplates laser etched on .025 anodized aluminum which worked fine with .125 chassis material.

[Funkalicousgroove]

You can use long frame Jacks, pots and switches.

[Tonegeek]

What were you going to use for faceplate material? I've had faceplates laser etched on .025 anodized aluminum which worked fine with .125 chassis material.

Does the place that etches the faceplate supply the material and cut it to size also, or you doing that? I ask because I have access to a 60 watt etching laser. A friend bought it for his machine shop and said I can use it if I can figure it out. All I need is some material. Anyone got ideas on getting the raw material and getting it cut and anodized? The laser may be able to cut it too, I won't know until we start playing with it.

[Tonegeek]

I gave a friend who works in a metal shop a drawing to bend and weld a 19" x 8" x 2.5" chassis in .09" aluminum. I found out from him yesterday that it's done but he didn't have any .09 in the scrap bin he did it with .125". I'm told this leaves no room for a faceplate with the usual pots. Does anyone know of a good solution? I know I could do the powdercoat/screenprint thing but I'd rather not spend the money on that, as I'm trying to keep my costs down.

Any ideas? I thought about a sticker of some sort but it seems like that would look pretty cheesy. I suppose I could do decal lettering right on the aluminum.

You might try the Kinkos vinyl printing that has been discussed elsewhere on this forum. It looks great (at least my laminated one did, but others say it works fine without laminating it) and if you don't laminate it, the alpha pots should work fine. It is a bit fragile. I believe it is peel and stick. I just talked with Kinkos about the process recently and they said it has a 2-5 year life span outdoors. It should last way longer on an amp with careful handling.

[benoit]

What were you going to use for faceplate material? I've had faceplates laser etched on .025 anodized aluminum which worked fine with .125 chassis material.

That's a possibility. I hadn't decided. I have a friend who is interested in the amp and will buy it if he likes it so I probably won't do more than mock up a design until it's all wired up. He's not picky so I don't want to spend too much.

What did your faceplates run and where'd you get them?

[odourboy]

What did your faceplates run and where'd you get them?

Does the place that etches the faceplate supply the material and cut it to size also, or you doing that?

I've had a few done from this place:

http://www.bnplasers.com/AMPBUILDERS.HTM

When I last had one done, it was cut to size, but I had to cut out the holes myself. I just had a look at their site and I don't recall there being an artwork setup charge in the past, so it may be not as cost effective (about $30 for an 18X2.5" panel when i last ordered) as it used to be for one-offs.

[skyboltone]

What were you going to use for faceplate material? I've had faceplates laser etched on .025 anodized aluminum which worked fine with .125 chassis material.

I think the comment about .125 chassis had more to do with trainwreck wood faceplates. If you have amplates make a brass .025-040 faceplate you'll be ok.

Hmmmm. Thinking aloud here. Could a guy do his own counter bores with a \_/ router bit with the shank stuck through the hole, chucked up to a drill and pull back? Have to check out the Eagle catalog.....

[benoit]

You can use long frame Jacks, pots and switches.

I just looked through the mouser catalog. I found the long frame jacks no problem but its hard to tell on the switches and pots. I can't seem to find any alpha pots with the longer frame. Any recommendations?

I think if nothing else i'll probably call mouser and tell them exactly what I need and let them find the part for me.

[sst4270]

After seeing a thread about this on another forum
I just built this amp and used labels created by Kinkos. https://tubeamparchive.com/viewtopic.php?t=4854
I'm very pleased with the results. It's white foil printing on black vinyl. Though I don't have a rear photo shown I also did a rear "sticker" as well. The vinyl material they use is equivalent to bumper sticker material. And we all know how well those last out in the elements day in and day out. So you can believe that it'll last well on your amp. Also the foil printing is just as robust as pad printed chassis that others make. Again... think bumper sticker. It cost about $25 total to have both front and back labels made which I think is pretty reasonable. Not all Kinkos offer this service so you'll have to call. They have a pretty wide variety of base colors as well as foil colors. It's important that you use a very accurate program to create your "artwork" I used Visio for mine because I have it and it works, but any decent drawing package will work. Also they prefer EPS files but a PDF will suffice. That's it... Hope this was helpful and good luck.
Steve

[benoit]

After seeing a thread about this on another forum
I just built this amp and used labels created by Kinkos.

This is probably the way to go for this build. Decent look for very cheap. Even if it didn't look decent neither I nor my friend are very picky in that dept. as long as the thing sounds alright. How did you make holes in it? That's the only thing I'm worried about. It seems like if you tried to drill it you'd get nasty tears.

[Tonegeek]

After seeing a thread about this on another forum
I just built this amp and used labels created by Kinkos.

This is probably the way to go for this build. Decent look for very cheap. Even if it didn't look decent neither I nor my friend are very picky in that dept. as long as the thing sounds alright. How did you make holes in it? That's the only thing I'm worried about. It seems like if you tried to drill it you'd get nasty tears.

Heres what worked for me:
Using the same artwork that you will send to Kinkos, print out the faceplates on paper (might have to break them in 2, print it and tape the pieces together). Use a glue stick to glue the paper one on the chassis. Use a punch and punch where every hole needs to be drilled. Then drill all your chassis holes. AFter drilling, soaking the chassis in water should release the paper. Get the chassis really clean and wipe down with a solvent to remove any grease/oil. Now very carefully apply the real vinyl faceplates being sure to line up the edges of the vinyl properly to the edges of the chassis. Now just use a new exacto blade and cut out the vinyl. The blade should be punched through at each hole and just rotated around the edge of the hole till the vinyl is removed.

[sst4270]

Benoit,

What I ordered was adhesive backed so you won't need to soak in water and you won't have to paste two pieces together. Kinko's prints off of a roll of vinyl. So the Width should not be an issue. Regarding holes.... If you were accurate with your design (it should match the dimensions of the holes that are already in the faceplate.) Do your best to match the label up to the chassis. (I purposefully added little circles in my artwork to match up to the holes in my faceplate for alignment purposes. Even better would be to add little cross marks that indicate the center of each hole) As I mentioned earlier it really pays to verify that your design is dimensionally accurate. You may want to print out a couple of test pieces before you submit the file to Kinkos. Be prepared that even your final product will be slightly off due to tolerances in printing. It takes a steady hand and even then a few tries to get the label to align close to your panel holes. Apply the label and press it onto the faceplate. (Note: Because the label is sooooo thin you will need to prep the surface properly because it will show the slightest imperfections in your aluminum.) Sand with consequetively finer paper until you are sure the panel is smooth. i.e. NO little pieces of aluminum protruding from the surface. Once you are sure the surface is smooth apply the label. Carefully work out the air tiny air bubbles. BE patient. Then with a razor blade carefully cut the vinyl circles out using the holes in the panel as a guide for the edge of the blade. You have a little room for error because the size of the knobs, switches, and pilot light will, hopefully, cover up any minor mistakes. That's it! The adhesive bond will grow stronger over time. If you did it right and successfully applied the label within a few days you won't be able to tell it's a label. It'll look like it was painted on. Again...
Good Luck,

Steve

[sst4270]

Sorry Tonegeek,

Didn't read your whole message...

I agree... Test your artwork out first and then use your artwork to create your holes. In my case the holes were already present so I had to match my faceplate artwork up to them... I used a dial caliper to accurately measure the distance between the center of each hole to design the artwork for my faceplate. In the future I will build/bend/weld my own chassis from scratch to be able to create a consistant link between the label and the holes in the chassis.

ST