ilovefuzz.com

Howdy partners!

I am ordering a little diy kit and I need to order an enclosure. I have not had to drill one so I am kind of curious how people get their stuff set up so perfect. I mean... I don't really mind if mine is a little off or whatever but I still wonder. Printing templates or something?

Next! Bit sizes? All standard stuff. I need to know the size for pots/ footswitch/led/jacks/ac

God damn i have to buy a lot of drill bits.

Also I doubt the people who would be most interested will see this - but I am thinking of ordering extra boxes to fancy up for people to buy for their own projects. If you are genuinely interested let me know so I DO get a couple extra.

As always, thanks a bunch guys!

Some good clamps and a Unibit will get you pretty far...

clamps eh? unibit eh?

definitely going to look into that.

I made a drilling jig for 1590bb's, set up for 3 different configurations. It's like a heavy aluminum box with a bunch of holes in it, so I don't have to measure anything, even if all I ever make is 5 pedals. I use a small bit to start the holes, then a crappy unibit knockoff from china to open them to size. Going slow helps, or the aluminum gums up your bits, and then you have to scrape it out.
I'm a welder by trade, and somewhat proficient at machining, so that was the easy part. Now I just have to mAke pedals that actually sound good lol

YES!

A unibit is a great option for DIY things. They tend to wear out pretty quickly, but if it's not your job... one of them may last for years!
I've found that the $35 unibits gum up and die just as quickly as the $6 ones.

I would also STRONGLY suggest using a drill press. Call in favors to get access, if you don't have one.

contraterrene wrote:I made a drilling jig for 1590bb's, set up for 3 different configurations. It's like a heavy aluminum box with a bunch of holes in it, so I don't have to measure anything, even if all I ever make is 5 pedals. I use a small bit to start the holes, then a crappy unibit knockoff from china to open them to size. Going slow helps, or the aluminum gums up your bits, and then you have to scrape it out.
I'm a welder by trade, and somewhat proficient at machining, so that was the easy part. Now I just have to mAke pedals that actually sound good lol

Truth here... I like a spring loaded punch or you could use a awl and a hammer; but a good point and a pilot bit and a unibit will do for most holes... Your goal is a decent drill press but even then you still gotta have the clamps...

I've been using a $50 drill press and various step bits, one nice one and a $12 3 pack for a a good bit and everything is still running strong. Harbor Freight had the press and bits.

..a little light oil, CRC or kerosine on the drill bit will help prevent the aluminium sticking to the bit and making a mess of the hole. If doing a lot of holes, or where precision is important, a center drill is a good idea- they are short and stubby, so less prone to wandering. Of course always center punch first...

..sticking on a printout of hole locations and punching through that saves marking the actual enclosure...

heartben wrote:Howdy partners!

I am ordering a little diy kit and I need to order an enclosure. I have not had to drill one so I am kind of curious how people get their stuff set up so perfect. I mean... I don't really mind if mine is a little off or whatever but I still wonder. Printing templates or something?

Next! Bit sizes? All standard stuff. I need to know the size for pots/ footswitch/led/jacks/ac

God damn i have to buy a lot of drill bits.

Also I doubt the people who would be most interested will see this - but I am thinking of ordering extra boxes to fancy up for people to buy for their own projects. If you are genuinely interested let me know so I DO get a couple extra.

As always, thanks a bunch guys!

To echo a few other answers:

Drill press. The cheap ones are fine, but the cheap one at Harbor Freight is a bit too small to drill the sides of a BB enclosure with standard drill bits (at least the big ones for jacks and such). Fortunately, they sell a step bit that's perfect. But the I've had bad luck with their bigger step bits... they seem to just stop working. But the 1/8"-1/2" one is fine.

I use some cutting fluid I got from Smallbear. It's fantastic, and the step bits never gum up if I use it. If you don't use it, they can gum up with aluminum and you'd have to scrape them out. I've never worn one out, but you'd think they're dead if they gum up enough. Aluminum is just like that. It can happen with regular drill bits too, but they're not as bad about it.

For templates, there's lots of options. You can find (or make) a paper template, or if you're handy you can make a box out of wood or metal that sits over the pedal and has holes in it. Or, just measure and mark the enclosure carefully. A small combination square is pretty swell for getting even marks from the edge of the enclosure, and a spring-loaded center punch (aka "machinists punch") is great for marking making a little hole in the enclosure so the drill bit doesn't walk. Everyone kinda has their own way of doing this stuff, it seems. I'm sure other DIY forums have tons of info as well. Buy an extra enclosure or two just in case.

Drill sizes! (based on the standard step bit, because that's what I use)
3mm LED: 1/8"
5mm LED: 3/15 for a tight fit (where the LED doesn't go all the way through), 7/32 to clear, although I think 13/64 might be better.
Toggle switch: 1/4"
Pot: 9/32"
1/4" Jack: 3/8"
DC jack (the most common one): 1/2"
Footswitch: 1/2" (although some are really 15/32", but who cares?)

Things like switches, pots, and jacks can be drilled slightly larger and be fine. For instance, you could just get a 9/32" drill bit and use it for pots and toggles.

I never use clamps to hold the enclosure, but apparently you should. You should also wear safety glasses. You coward.

Too slow of a drill speed makes less nice holes, and too fast makes too much heat and increases the chance of snags. I usually drill on the second lowest speed of my drill press, which is 900 RPM. Sometimes I slow it down. For drilling a bunch of small holes (like pilot holes), I speed it up. Usually to the top. Because the sound amuses me.

.... rock? ROCK!

TWSS

One thing I always like to do if I'm drilling holes is mark the center of the holes on the enclosure with pencil and then use a hammer and a punch to make a dent exactly in the center of where I want the hole. The dent helps get the bit started exactly where I want it. Drill presses are ideal when it comes to this sort of thing, but I can get pretty accurate with punches and a hand-drill.

so are we gonna talk brands
harbor freight is always so tempting
has yours been kickin for a while spunk
and i hopeyour dillin tesla 2s on that thing
im saving my power hymen for you

ive got a bigass hitachi floorstand drill. i almost never use it, and just use my hand drill

ryan summit wrote:so are we gonna talk brands
harbor freight is always so tempting
has yours been kickin for a while spunk
and i hopeyour dillin tesla 2s on that thing
im saving my power hymen for you

Mines been going strong for a couple of years. Never a problem. I actually upgraded to a Skil one because I wanted something a little bigger, and if you can swing the price/space of a bigger one it's pretty swell. I wouldn't say the Skil is higher quality, though. Just a bit more polished. But mostly, it's bigger.

I also have a big floor drill. It's way more powerful and smoother, but it's sort of uncomfortable to use.

3mm LED Bezel - 15/64
5mm LED Bezel - 21/64

5mm LED 13/64
3mm 1/8

In/Out Jack 3/8
3PDT 15/32
DC Jack 1/2

Pot 9/32

I use a hand drill since it's quick, easy, portable, and saves on sapce that takes up to 1/2" bits. I do use a unibit sometimes but it hasn't seen much use and is already showing deterioration, it also needs to have a lot of depth, which can be a problem.

I've found placing a washer on the enclosure marking with a XACTO knife and using a center-punch followed by a small pilot drill bit and then opened up with the actual size bit or the unibit to be my method. I used to measure everything but found that eyeballing it is actually more accurate for me as where you make the center-punch and rounded corners can throw you off.

punch:
http://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-6580-Autom ... nter+punch

bits:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EB ... UTF8&psc=1

drill:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002RL ... UTF8&psc=1

unibit:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004 ... UTF8&psc=1