Thinner enclosures for easier drilling

S

SpikeVelvet

New member
I have noticed that some sellers like Stompbox Parts and Love My Switches sell an enclosure that is thinner for easier drilling.

Does anyone have any experience with these? I make pedals for my own use and to give to friends. I'm not selling anything and if I did it would only be to recoup some cash to build more pedals. Are there any drawbacks to using these thinner pedals? Will they hold up to being stomped on at gigs every weekend?

I know Tayda sells pre-drilled coated enclosures but I would rather buy from stateside companies and I appreciate the fact that Cusack resurrected Mammoth when they went out of business. Love My Switches ships same day. So, the long wait from China is not an issue.

Thanks,

Kevin
 
I've used the powder coated SBP "pro" enclosures a lot but typically have them drop shipped to Amplifyfun for drilling and printing anyway. The enclosures are still plenty robust, IME. And SBP are pretty quick on shipping as well. For me LMS is fairly often next day delivery though, for stuff I ship to home, as I'm only about an hour away from their shop.
 
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Personally, I haven't ever even noticed the thickness of enclosure when drilling, I just drill. I use step bits, so I am more focused on hitting the number of steps I need for a given hole, so I think that means the total thickness doesn't come into play for me. I use a hand drill as well.

But, I will say I'm on board with ordering from SBP and LMS. I especially like the LMS Hammond clone one, it seems a bit more rectangular to me, or to have sharper edges or something, and I like the look of it.
 
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The walls on these SBP pro boxes are a smidge thicker than the standard version. I use the pro boxes for all builds and find them easy to drill using a template, center punch, pilot hole, then step bit counting the steps as @iamjackslackof mentions. I use a hand drill and am happy with the results.

stompboxparts.com

125B Enclosure - Pro

Top Quality Parts for Guitar Effects Pedals and DIY Music Devices. Knobs, Pots, Switches, Kits, LEDs, Enclosures, Jacks, Wire, Resistors, Capacitors, Semiconductors
stompboxparts.com stompboxparts.com
 
There are PCBs that will fit in a SBP 1590B Pro that will not fit into a regular 1590B. There’s a mm or two of extra space because of the thinner walls. I put a PPCB Spirit Box in one.
 
Tried various enclosures of Taiwanese, Chinese, and other countries' origins, various brands of enclosures from assorted vendors.

So far, for me, nothing beats a genuine HAMMOND enclosure.




Real Stinker Award goes to BYOC — drilling extra holes for mods — the overall enclosure quality is deplorable, really.
 
SpikeVelvet said:
I have noticed that some sellers like Stompbox Parts and Love My Switches sell an enclosure that is thinner for easier drilling.

Does anyone have any experience with these? I make pedals for my own use and to give to friends. I'm not selling anything and if I did it would only be to recoup some cash to build more pedals. Are there any drawbacks to using these thinner pedals? Will they hold up to being stomped on at gigs every weekend?

I know Tayda sells pre-drilled coated enclosures but I would rather buy from stateside companies and I appreciate the fact that Cusack resurrected Mammoth when they went out of business. Love My Switches ships same day. So, the long wait from China is not an issue.

Thanks,

Kevin
Click to expand...
2mm aluminium is already very easy to drill - why would you need thinner than that?
 
Hammond enclosures really are the premium standard. They feel nice in the hand, they're light, super easy to drill. I haven't used them, but I imagine Gorva is at the same standard.
 
To answer the original question, there is no drawback to using the Cusack enclosures. They are no less durable.

As far as hand drilling, it is easier than a hammond, despite a hammond enclosure being already very easy to drill.
 
"Thinner enclosures for easier drilling" is just marketing speak for "buy my product instead of the other guys." If you apply critical thinking you realize it makes no difference.
 
I'm gonna be honest, I've used both the "regular" and the "easy drilling" (or whatever they call it) and never noticed a lick of difference

Maybe for folks who are dealing with a ton of enclosures in volume would notice, or perhaps a direct side-by-side comparison would reveal the differences, but for me on a one-off basis it's pretty much all the same. Hammond, LMS, Tayda, "easy drill," random fly-by-night seller on Amazon.... when it comes to raw aluminum enclosures I just don't notice that much that distinguishes any from the others...
 
Yeah, they just spinning a thinner enclosure to not be automatically thought of as "cheap".

I mean, both are *fine*. Aluminum is remarkably strong. You don't need super heavy duty enclosures for most stuff. It's fine.

Step bits and modern drills will make short work of any enclosure. If you're having trouble, your bit is probably dull, or your drill is ancient and awful.

CNC is another matter. If you have a cheap CNC setup, it can be really nice to not have to mill through an extra mm if you're doing 0.05-0.1mm a pass. Saves a bit of time, even if you're maxing out your speeds cause your spindle spins too goddamned fast.

If you've got a better CNC? Well, you're tearing through that shit in one pass. So it don't matter.
 
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