Hi everyone!
So this have been a longtime coming. This will act as a build report and as my submission to
@Paradox916 contest. Im super late but hear me out....Ever since
@Paradox916 made that contest about supporting autism i knew what i wanted to do. The challenge was to push yourself to do something you've never done before at least thats how i read it and took it. I knew i wanted to do an all handmade build from scratch. What did that mean to me? Well it meant alot of things. First of all i had figure out how to make an enclosure. Looking up Temols sheet metal thread was a where i started. Luckily I raised my hand and asked the right questions and that led me to which programs to use. Another learning curve....Fusion 360. It works and other times it can be hard to figure out workarounds for the personal version. Another thing is the program doesnt like to output your files at the correct scale. So after fiddling with settings and doing countless hours of research i figured it out. Once I had a design i liked it was a matter of printing it out and doing 3D models with paper. I found my original dimensions were a little too small for what i wanted to do. It went on like this for awhile until i got the right dimensions for the top and bottom plates. It was time to execute.
Did my research and found out that 5052 grade aluminum was a great candidate for bending. I had read in the same sheet metal thread that
@temol was using 16 gauge aluminum so i didnt hesitate on what thickness to go with. Now ill be the first to say bending metal is not as easy as bending metal. Come to find out that every sheet of metal has a minimum bend radius. The minimum bend radius is the radius at which you can bend the metal without compromising the integrity of the aluminum. Meaning if i bend with a bend radius below what is recommended you end up tearing our shearing the aluminum at which point its useless. The minimum bend radius is determined by the grade of the metal, type, and thickness amongst other things. I ended up finding out that for 16 gauge 5052 aluminum my minimum bend radius of 1t. Which is 1 x the thickness of the material. My bend radius cannot be below .063" as 1 x .063 = .063
Trust me when i say there are more factors and the formula for finding your K factor can be mind melting. Im not suitable or knowledgeable enough to go through that!
Btw did i mention none of that matters if you dont have a metal brake that is able to bend the material and do it at the radius you need it done just something to consider. Which leads me to the next thing. The metal brake in which youll be bending is important. I highly suggest in getting one with and adjustable head. This way you can choose your bend radius. I actually made my purchase without knowing that and dodged a bullet there. I have a 24" Woodward fab metal brake. Its great and it does the job. Although a box brake would be a better choice for making these enclosures. When designing your enclosure make sure to take your brakes limitations into consideration something
@temol pointed out to me. Thankfully my design was able to clear the brake. Heres a tip. Cut out a strip 1" wide and the same length as your design and get to bending. Not only the limitations you have to worry about but even the order in which you make your bends.
Once i had the enclosure out of the way it was time to build an already verified Fuzz Face that i designed. I worked on the circuit for the better part of a month with
@Chuck D. Bones. Although im sure i drove him crazy he helped me so much! I cant give enough thanks to him for helping me tweak the fuzz face into something a little more unique and great sounding. The circuit is a Fuzz Face at heart. It uses PNP GE transistors with no charge pump. This means the entire circuit was flipped upside down and the necessary changes to make it happen were done as well. I wanted to use high quality components for this build. The resistors are all Vishays. The caps were gotten from Amplifies parts and Ebay. The vero board is from SBP. No im not going to say because i used these components it sounds better than if i didnt use them. The board sounds amazing and thats all there is too it.
So the wiring is where i could use a little help. I thought that by using connectors for all the off board components it would make it easy to install. The problem here is i cut the wires a little too short and i shouldve mounted the board to the top plate instead. But it still works. I used epoxy to glue plastic standoffs to the bottom plate and they have a thread that allows you to screw a nut on. This system is what holds the board to the plate without it bouncing around. This is where i put the least amount of time and thought. So anyone having better ideas in this area im all ears!
As for the design...this was supposed to have a powder coat and have the labels screen printed. Now i have all the equipment for that stuff but the learning curve is much much greater than anticipated. I settled for a simple design using no film decals. This brought me back to when i first started making pedals and it felt brand new and fun all over again. Before this though i ran an orbital sander over the entirety of the enclosure to give it a brushed finish. In the future when i have perfected screen printing and powder coating trust you will see these done a little more professionally.
There you have it. Im proud of it. I love it. Im going to continue making these and different styles. As a matter of fact im already designing my next one to house the Blue sheep that
@szukalski has designed. All in all i loved every bit of this process and cant wait to get back at it.
@Paradox916 thank you so much for making that contest and making those rules. I would've never pushed myself to enter a completely different realm of building. You sir are the man! I want to thank everyone for sharing your knowledge and info on this great forum! Look at what i was able to accomplish will all of your guys help!
Anyone with any tips or help is greatly appreciated!
Thank you for reading!
- Steve
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