Hit jackpot for all things enclosures - US guys are lucky!!

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TomWaterman

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 4, 2004
Messages
1,151
Location
The Shire, UK
Right don't think I've seen this company mentioned here before.... :grin:

http://www.lmbheeger.com/about_us.asp

just discovered it after looking for a bunch of different enclosures for things.
These guys seem awesome, they have lots of very cool boxes, anything from small DI / G7 PSU things, to desktop consoles and modular rack packs.

Seems that you can order whatever from the store and they ship UPS. Its an all American company which should make some of you happy (NYD?)!

Why is it that all the good companies with great selections are only in the frickin' US?? Been looking at building my own studio furniture and found an awesome site with a wonderful selection of desk legs - tubular steel etc, with good prices - nothing to be found in the UK at all. :evil: :evil:

Anyways - check these out:

Adjusta Series - Nice box for meterbridge VU's, might get a pair of small Sifams in there or a bargraph....
adjusta_meter_cases.jpg


B-Series - Nice box for a tube DI or NYD's Onebottle pre
Bseries.jpg


Modular Desktop Console - goes from about 4-12" wide, could squeeze a small mixer into this...
modular_desktop_consoles_3.jpg


SQ-Series - this would be awesome for G7 PSU!
sq_series.jpg


007-Series - DIY Sherman Filterbank??
the_007_series.jpg


Keyboarder - this one goes upto 20" wide / 10" deep and would surely fit a nice Ucapps Midibox controller....I want to get one for an Avocet style remote.
the_keyboarder_2.jpg


Uni-Pac System - this can make any rack I think, handles, ears / no ears, sizes other than 19" wide.
uni_pac.jpg


Prices seem reasonable but the more flashy enclosures get pretty expensive.

Hope this helps someone. Thought I'd show what they've got so this post could be added to the META for parts etc. I'd suggest having a look around their website as there is soo much on offer. :thumb:

-Tom
 
Yeah, I think you can get their stuff through Mouser too.

There was this electronics store in Pasadena (about 5 min away) that used to cary a ton of LMB chassis. It was great cause you could actually see and touch them and build the project in your mind before you bought it.

I used their "Jiffy boxes" for my LA-2a and my Pultecs. I also used one of their Blue & Grey boxes for my "Royer mod" MXL 2001 power supply. Good stuff!
 
Oh cool. Well at least they should be in regular supply then.

I might try and get some stuff over to the UK at some point. The internet can never replace being able to touch an object and really get a feel for how it will work out for a project.

I'd love to open a small store for all this DIY stuff, importing all the good stuff from the globe - nothin' like it in the UK.

Tom
 
Hey rf, hows that hand comin' along?

Thanks for the feedback - I was concerned about them possibly being lightweight - its the sort of thing you can only really tell when you get one in your hands.

I actually found some nice plastic boxs from OKW which should do what I'm looking for and cheaper too.

-Tom
 
Actually, I used to have a fantastic source for cases in High Wycombe, Bucks.

http://www.morgansmith.f9.co.uk/

Mister Morgan Smith used to have an 'off the shelf' range of cases modeled on (but significantly less expensive then) the RS flat-pack series.

The quality was excellent. -If you could give them a call and ask if they are still made, them post your findings back here, I'd be obliged. I had him do all the mic panels for Parr Street Studios in Liverpool about 15 years ago, I doubt if he remembers me... he might dustily recall getting some orders from Liverpool from myself and aslo from another chap named Tony Perkins, who referred me to him...

Anyhow, if they're still available I might like to order a few. I know he won't be keen on taking orders from out of the country, but I can act as a center point for a group buy if necessary. I can also have my mum handle the Uk end of the transaction so that he's getting Pounds Sterling and shipping to a UK address also.

If you can give him a call, (I can't easily call from work in the USA...) we might all benefit from another affordable -and I can personally confirm excellent quality- source of 19" cases for DIY.

Keith
 
Nice one Keef,

I can ring 'em tomorrow and ask if they still make them, are they just standard flat-pack 19" rack enclosures?

Looks like they do one-offs as well which might be interesting to remember for the future.

I can also play a part in any group buy on the UK end at some point. They are based in High Wycobe which will be about 20mins away from my GFs new job and possible new home, so I can be there to pick stuff up if needed in the long run.

-Tom
 
Just called had a very nice chat with the guy there - seems like a stellar guy who realises he makes probably only some of the good enclosures here in the UK.

He could not remember any of your stuff though Keef - said he had trouble remembering jobs he did last year! But he did remember doing work for Parr St so there you go!

Apparently he hasn't made any flatpack rack enclosures for some time (maybe 5-10 years) but he may or may not have some 1U racks left.

Someone in Leicester brought up all of his 2U and 3U stock last year.

He had some very interesting things to say about the enclosure market (believe it or not :green: ), apparently he reckons there aren't many companies making chassis of his quality anywhere in the UK/US anymore. Some American client of his has been trying to convince him to ship boxes to the states for a while but he doesn't seem keen.

He said he offered his enclosures to Farnell but they said his price was too high (according to him he was extremely reasonable) so they said no.

Seems like there is a little market to be tapped into - I wouldn't mind seeing if I could muster a little capital to order a number of each rack size (1-4U maybe) and start a little webshop....hmmmm.

Anyway he said he would help us if he could and asked for a letter detailing what it is we are looking for and how many.

Racks are aproximately 17" wide enclosures (430mm) with the standard front panel of 19". He said he places mounting lips only in the centre of the case on the front panel so that all panel mounting space is maximised.

He mentioned that they used to be approx 240mm deep but of course can be any size.

I mentioned that we might be able to muster up 20-50 pieces at a couple of different sizes and he said that was fine, although obviously the prices get much more reasonable the higher we go. His best price may come at about 1000 units (yeah right like we'll get that many!! :shock: :grin: ) but its fine to order smaller amounts and he mentioned they would be better priced than similar stuff marked up @ Farnell.

I said I'd find out how much interest there would be in these and then put something together on paper. So if there anything people can think of and want in a rack enclosure and there's enough interest, something could be worked out.

Seems like a good guy to deal with, and obviously believes in his quality and pricing.

Thanks for the heads up Keith - hope this is good news for you?

-Tom :thumb:
 
I "could" be interested in up to 40(yes) 2U cases if the price is right.
A picture of the actual enclosures would help also.

Are they steel, or alu, painted ?
do they also engrave the things ?

OPTIONAL My units need to have (for all 40 same )2 punched square holes
 
Roger - glad to hear the hands progressing and you can at least complete important priorities like playing geetar!!!

Andre - 40 cases is a mighty amount.

I have no idea what the cases look like as SSLTech pointed me towards the company and they have limited info on the primitive website and they haven't actually manufactured any rack cases for while (flat pack that is). I assume they are plain steel as they do not mention anodizing and power coating as a service. No engraving either as far as I can see. What do you want engraved?

They say they can punch and cut holes so its possible. What type of holes are you talking about? Front panel mounting for meters or sumthing?

So anybody else interested in this? Keith any thoughts over there in sunny FL?

I've been thinking - as these are flat packs would there be any interest in me trying to start a small webshop and have the following modular stock:

Top and bottom panels, one set size/depth - used for any height rack. With vent holes / slits at the rear

Side panels in 1-4U height.

Rear panels in 1-4U with 4 punched 24mm holes for XLRs. Enough for stereo comp/eq, 2 pres etc. This would be suitable for SSL, G9, PQ1549 etc etc. Oh and could have a 5th hole for power in - either Neutrik 'Powercon' or IEC...Unused holes can be covered with the small blanking plates from Canford etc if doing a mono box.

Plain steel front panels in 1-4U but also a .fpd file on the website for Schaeffer (with the correct hole placement to save time measuring etc) as many get engraved panels and don't use the stock.

I was thinking of www.nineteen-inchers.co.uk!! hehehe

Also if there was enough interest and this could be done properly I am willing to investigate getting all tops/sides/bottoms and rears (oo er!) anodised in black. I've found a load of local anodising facilities that should be affordable in quantity.

What do folks reckon? The nice thing is flat pack design allows for overlap in parts to bring the cost down. Also I expect shipping would be a bit less, although that goes on weight innit?!

Cheers Tom
 
The great thing with the LMB "Jiffy" chassis is that they are not as deep as the Par-Metal chassis.

http://www.lmbheeger.com/products.asp?catid=6

They make one that is 17" wide 5" tall and 4" deep This is perfect for LA-2A and other projects where you want to mount the tubes and transformers on the back, but still have them relatively close to the front panel. The only problem is that there are no rack ears, but all you do is slap a plain old 3 space rack panel on the front or have front panel express make you one.

The 17" x 5"x 4" chassis I bought was about $35, and you can get blank 3 space aluminum panels for about $15, so you end up with a LA-2A chassis for around $50.
 
Unfortunately I only have a picture of the front.

la2a1.jpg


But here's the back of one of my Pultecs that I used a smaller 17" x 3" x 2.5" Jiffy chassis on, with a Front Panel Express panel on the front.

pultecSmallRear.jpg
 
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