[EmRR]

I have continued to use the same manual center punch for years, and it keeps going.  The basic Harbor Freight cheapo.   

I tend to work with thicker panel material, and step bits work better for xlr's there.  A Greenlee manual panel punch can only go so thick before it's impossible. 

My drill press is fairly wobbly, but can be finessed.  I think there are a lot of drill presses out there that barely qualify for the job, yet are still better than a manual drill by a long shot. 

Dremel work requires a learning curve.  Anyone starting out should ruin a few pieces of test material trying different techniques before moving on to the real job. 

[Rybow]

Has anyone found an automatic center punch that worked more than a dozen times? I have tried at least 6 different brands, they all fail in no time flat...
Optical center punch? I'll have to research this one.., but for DIY one offs nanometer perfection is surely not required
I have found the Q-max punches I bought for XLR holes were a great investment. Very inexpensive, work great, 100s of holes so far & no problems, beats the hell out of a uni-bit

Were you able to get your Q max punch in North America? I was looking at them, but I could only find them through UK dealers. Using a uni bit for XLR holes sucks.

I have a question for you guys about getting custom cases through par metal. I called them up, but the guy on the other end of the phone didn't seem interested in helping me at all. Has anyone ordered a 1/2 rack case through them? I was hoping to get a 10 series case with a clear alodine or anodize finish, and no rack ears. I also want to customize the depth. Will they do all that for me? At a cost of course.

Why throw away the Dremels? Deburring, light grinding, cutting potentiometer shafts, even centre punching holes can be done with a dremel. I use mine all the time. Its one of those tools where I initially thought why the hell did I buy this? Then I just kept finding uses for it.

I ruined a few stomp boxes when I started learning. I do not have a drill press yet, so its all manual drilling for me. Haven't had any issues with it. Just means I have to be extra careful.

[wmtunate]

I have a question for you guys about getting custom cases through par metal. I called them up, but the guy on the other end of the phone didn't seem interested in helping me at all. Has anyone ordered a 1/2 rack case through them? I was hoping to get a 10 series case with a clear alodine or anodize finish, and no rack ears. I also want to customize the depth. Will they do all that for me? At a cost of course.

I sent them two emails about having them custom manufacture some 1U chassis for my day job.  Maybe 50 - 100 pieces per year.  They had no interest even returning my emails, so I never pursued it any further.  Apparently they don't need the business.

[Rybow]

I have a question for you guys about getting custom cases through par metal. I called them up, but the guy on the other end of the phone didn't seem interested in helping me at all. Has anyone ordered a 1/2 rack case through them? I was hoping to get a 10 series case with a clear alodine or anodize finish, and no rack ears. I also want to customize the depth. Will they do all that for me? At a cost of course.

I sent them two emails about having them custom manufacture some 1U chassis for my day job.  Maybe 50 - 100 pieces per year.  They had no interest even returning my emails, so I never pursued it any further.  Apparently they don't need the business.

That sucks! Especially considering how well regarded they are round these parts. The tone of their website seems to be misleading.

EDIT: I sent them an email this morning, and got a reply back already. Maybe they were super busy when you emailed them? Who knows.

[dandeurloo]

Guys, not sure where to post this but I am in the process of starting to do cases and face plates for folks here in the USA.  I am just fine tuning a few things now.  Hopefully I will have more info in a week or so. 

Do let me know if you have any questions.

[nielsk]

I got my q-max punches from DIY tools in England, even with shipping they were a fraction of the cost of a used Greenly.
Keith's reverse laser print/spray glue front panel labeling technique works pretty damn well, I have used it a bunch.
I have found a manual center punch will bend the panel if you are doing several holes. Drilling a dimple hole with a sharp 1/16" bit has been working well, in aluminum I can get it spot on.

[Rybow]

I got my q-max punches from DIY tools in England, even with shipping they were a fraction of the cost of a used Greenly.
Keith's reverse laser print/spray glue front panel labeling technique works pretty damn well, I have used it a bunch.
I have found a manual center punch will bend the panel if you are doing several holes. Drilling a dimple hole with a sharp 1/16" bit has been working well, in aluminum I can get it spot on.

Thanks for the info on the punches neilsk. I will look into that!

What is keith's reverse laser print/spray glue front panel labeling technique? Is there a link to that one?

[mushy]

It’s called the Super 77 Method. From the man himself:

Avery laser labels backing paper… throw away the labels, print (reversed) onto the ‘slippy’ side of backing sheet, then spray on the super 77 and LET IT DRY FOR 5 MINUTES!!!
Once it’s nice and tacky (do this in a DUST-FREE environment!) align and rub-down the labels with a sharpie lid.

If the labels get out of whack, you have to start over with the panel. -To remove EVERYTHING from the panel, just wipe it with a clioh soaked in naptha (Zippo lighter fluid..same stuff but MUCH cheaper if you buy it from a paint supply place by the quart) then THOROUGHLY dry it off, re-spray with Super-77, let it dry for another 5 minutes, and start again.

Once it’s correct, let it dry IN A DUST-FREE ENVIRONMENT(!!!!!) and after 24 hours, apply a coat or two of Krylon clear. There’s a skill to this where the temperature of the can makes a differnece to the ‘smoothness’ of the final coat, but it’s not too difficult.

Search Super-77 and I think you’ll find another write-up somewhere…

Keith>

Or this description:

http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=27107.msg325175#msg325175

And Here:

http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=26632.msg317542#msg317542

And more hints here:

http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=991.msg12976#msg12976

[pacemaker]

i just had a look at DIY tools prices ,
Punches for 7£ ?!
amazing !!!!!!!!
Thank you very much for this tip Nielsk !
best regards,
Francois

[Rybow]

It’s called the Super 77 Method. From the man himself:

Avery laser labels backing paper… throw away the labels, print (reversed) onto the ‘slippy’ side of backing sheet, then spray on the super 77 and LET IT DRY FOR 5 MINUTES!!!
Once it’s nice and tacky (do this in a DUST-FREE environment!) align and rub-down the labels with a sharpie lid.

If the labels get out of whack, you have to start over with the panel. -To remove EVERYTHING from the panel, just wipe it with a clioh soaked in naptha (Zippo lighter fluid..same stuff but MUCH cheaper if you buy it from a paint supply place by the quart) then THOROUGHLY dry it off, re-spray with Super-77, let it dry for another 5 minutes, and start again.

Once it’s correct, let it dry IN A DUST-FREE ENVIRONMENT(!!!!!) and after 24 hours, apply a coat or two of Krylon clear. There’s a skill to this where the temperature of the can makes a differnece to the ‘smoothness’ of the final coat, but it’s not too difficult.

Search Super-77 and I think you’ll find another write-up somewhere…

Keith>

Or this description:

http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=27107.msg325175#msg325175

And Here:

http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=26632.msg317542#msg317542

And more hints here:

http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=991.msg12976#msg12976

Thanks Mushy! The end result looks great too. I am going to have to give this a try.

[57 aliens]

Guys, not sure where to post this but I am in the process of starting to do cases and face plates for folks here in the USA.  I am just fine tuning a few things now.  Hopefully I will have more info in a week or so. 

Do let me know if you have any questions.

It'd be nice if people like you would do cases for specific projects, just like we have the project specific pcbs. That way, all the dirty work is out of the way. All we'd need is the custom front panels to keep things personalized. I know Dan (ddt) is doing really nice panels/cases, I might get a case from him. A metalworker here in the US would be great though. I can't even get on the par metal site. All the holes done up, like for the pcb standoffs, xfrmr bolts, ect, would be great for people like me with no desire to do metalwork.

[dandeurloo]

yep, I'm close to do just that.  I won't be doing things like 1176's and such because other members are doing that and a good job of it.  But will offer a number of very useful cases!

Let me know if you have anything specific in mind.  Maybe I can work it up.

I will go to the White Market once I actually have some more detailed info!

[Gold]

I got a hold of a height gauge to check out. I can't figure out how to use it for face plates. The base of the height gauge prevents it from laying flat.

Do you remove it from the base? Make a jig to mount the panel vertically. I have a feeling I'm just being stupid and the answer is obvious. Someone please kick me.

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