I'm over punching my own chassis.

[LeftyStrat]

I used to enjoy drilling and punching my own chassis. I have a set of Greenlee punches, as well as a small milling machine (unfortunately about 6 inches short of travel to do a chassis without remounting).

But now that I am facing five amp builds, I realize it just doesn't scale. Does anyone know what the minimum order is for a custom laser cut chassis.

Or does anyone know of another solution?

I thought about trying to come up with a generic chassis with enough holes for extra features and different amps, that I could just cover up with a custom faceplate and tube hole covers. Say something with holes for five octals and five novals, and 3/8 holes every 1 & 1/8 inch across the front and back, along with that damn rectangular cutout for the IEC socket (no I don't have that particular Greenlee punch, it's like $300).

Any suggestions?

[Prairie Dawg]

The most direct course would seem to be adapting an already existing commercial product, if you can find one that conforms to your needs and your cabinet dimensions and layout. Maybe time to have a talk with a good local sheetmetal shop?

[Luthierwnc]

min order: 1

I only ever get one at a time. The last one ran me $132 using .125 stock.

[Diablo1]

The most direct course would seem to be adapting an already existing commercial product, if you can find one that conforms to your needs and your cabinet dimensions and layout. Maybe time to have a talk with a good local sheetmetal shop?

Yes, seems like the best idea. If you select a chassis with extra holes for the controls and switches, you could always cover them up with the faceplate and rear plate. You can also use cover plates for any extra tube holes etc.

[Bob S]

Instead of laser, you could get them water jetted.
Accurate enough & less expensive.
I haven't gone that route yet, but I am going to get some pricing.
Bob

[ChrisM]

min order: 1

I only ever get one at a time. The last one ran me $132 using .125 stock.

Can you give us some info on how you came up with this? Design, software, materials, places used?
I'm really interested in getting my own chassis made but don't know where to begin.

[tubesinside]

Machine shops require Autocad .dxf files for their CNC machines (laser, or water jet).
Here is an example of a combo chassis build. I had a machine shop build 5 for me. Only cost €40 ($50) each...but he is a friend.
You really need to design the layout accurately and print full size for placement before committing to the machine shop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRpkb0pU ... AAAAAAAAAA

[Gaz]

It'd be really cool if anyone with experience would be willing to share common dimensions of parts such as IEC socket, tubes sockets, pots, toggles, etc. I know my big fear is that I get a chassis where things are just a hair off, and I have to spend just as much time opening them up, or even worse, having the chassis redone.

[Luthierwnc]

It is all here:

https://tubeamparchive.com/viewtopic.ph ... ht=chassis

There is something of a learning curve but it isn't that steep. As I said in the thread, the hard part is getting the dimensions on the bends. You need to notch the corners to keep the bends from deflecting out and messing-up the smooth faces. Once you have that done (and checked with the 3D modeling), you can put the holes anywhere you want.

I'll also repeat that you need to leapfrog your saved versions. If you make progress, save it as something new because the program will want to correct minor mistakes when you check it in 3D and can completely wreck the work you have done.

If anybody wants, I can send the DXF or the EMachineShop files so you don't have to mess with the big stuff. I make mine a little longer and wider than stock so you'll have to mod them if you are trying to fit a specific cab. Still, you can see what one looks like as a basis for moving the lines around. email me at hjhelms%$&charter.net

sh

[randalp3000]

I just got one of these for about the price of an hour of my labor. Pretty impressed with the quality, quite a few to choose from. Super nice guy to deal with.
http://www.rjguitars.net/Medium.html