Hi,

First post:) Anyways, I build audio equipment, just as a hobby right now, but i'm finding i'm selling alot of it to friends and familly etc. Problem is it sounds good but doesn't look so good;) As i'm just using off the shelf enclosures by hammond par-metal etc, so I want to make my creations look a little better aesthetically. To cut a long story short i'm looking to get into metal working but am unsure of what kind of tools/machinery I would need to do the job. Here's a few links to what i'd like to do(in a some kind of fantasy world where I can also fly and turn invisible:D )

http://www.passlabs.com/amplifiers/xa200.htm

http://simaudio.com/moontitan.htm

http://www.lexicon.com/image_library/MC12BHD_Front_lo.jpg

There's just a few that I like the look of, i'm not saying i'll be able to do that right off the bat, but i'd like to have to machinery necessary to be able to do that at some point down the line. But for now, just being able to work with 1/2" thick aluminum for the faceplates, and being able to recess vfd's and drill drill holes for buttons, knobs etc within reasonable tolerances would be nice :)

Sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance for any advice:)
Tristan

Can I hear about what audio gear you're making?

I designed a Tube amp years ago (95+/-) and always wanted to build it in a nice buryl (sp?) wood front (ala mercedes dashboards).

Anyway,
Usually with things like that start as extrusions. You can tell the Lexicon started that way. They just machine it and anodize it. If you wanted to build something basic you could get a standard mill and bandsaw and pretty much be able to make anything. You can give it a brushed finish with a wirewheel (or polish it) and anodize it or powder coat it.

I'm assuming you're just making face plates.

Another feature to consider...adjustable green, blue & amber back-lights so you can make the lights match your other equipment. I always wanted to add that feature.

Hi,
There's just a few that I like the look of, i'm not saying i'll be able to do that right off the bat, but i'd like to have to machinery necessary to be able to do that at some point down the line. But for now, just being able to work with 1/2" thick aluminum for the faceplates, and being able to recess vfd's and drill drill holes for buttons, knobs etc within reasonable tolerances would be nice :)

Sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance for any advice:)
Tristan

I looked at the urls you provided. It looks like it could be easily done with a conventional mill as Chris65 said. To locate your holes for the buttons etc you could always build a jig and get very good tolerances. With a well thought out jig, also built using the mill, you could place your work under it using locating pins, clamp it all down and then have a pattern to easily repeat your holes. Several companies online supply hardened bushings with various ODs/IDs that would help guide your drills and by using the index dial on the knee you set the depth of cut for endmills that can be guided to the extents of your recesses for a flat floor. This should make the process much faster.

Best of luck
Scott

Can I hear about what audio gear you're making?


I've built a few amps, a pass labs aleph 30 clone, and a few iterations of a gainclone, it's pretty cool how small these amps are getting, I get 60 watts out of an amp that fits in the palm of my hand... The aleph's are a different story, big class A amps. Built some speakers and a bunch of subwoofers aswell, just polishing off a dac at the moment... How'd your tube amp work out? You're a braver man than me to deal with those voltages:) I was thinking a tube pre-amp of some kind would be my next project, the burl face would look nice i'd think...I know a good place to get veneer like that for cheap too..hmmmm....

Anyways thanks for the tips so far guys, very helpful:) It's good to know that casework like that isn't unobtainable.

Shotout, I don't know why I didn't think of a jig....I amaze myself sometimes.. .Thanks for the tip, that would make things a lot easier. I keep assuming that metalworking is a completely different animal than woodworking, while it is different it doesn't mean that certain techniques won't still work I suppose.

Any recomendations for a mill? I've been looking through some grizzly machines, as i've had good luck with their woodworking tools before, but is there anyone else I should consider? I've got about $1500 to spend to get me into this, I could maybe push that to $2000 if it's worth it right now, or should I save up and grab something more elaborate?

Thanks!
Tristan

This mill has got to be the most popular entry level mill in existence. I've never used it but it seems like an OK machine. Plus the "X" travel seems sufficient for a face plate (usually around 18").
http://www.grizzly.com/products/G3358

Just a suggestion from one entry level metalworker to another...once you get this, then what? Cutting metal into workable sizes is half the battle some times. I'd recommend getting a bandsaw, and even a drill press on top of the mill. Not to mention that if you're wanting to make the whole case you'll need a sheet metal sheer and press brake.
(I just got this and it works great: http://www.grizzly.com/products/G1010)

My tube amp was never alive. I got my hands on some old amp schematics (mcintosh & misc guitar amps). Interestingly enough, they are all almost identical...and even better they are such simple circuits that they don't even bother with circuit boards :eek: (literally just a about 5 or 6 inline components...that's it!) Tube amps really have a great sound compared to today's harsh digital everything. The main problem with the old tube amps were the rectifiers, which was done with tubes also at the time...they couldn't keep up with the load and didn't offer any benefit to the audio so these could be replaced with modern equipment for even better audio. And yes...I did a couple tests at 600 volts (what they require to run) and it was a little sketchy. It's really cool to see the tubes get a little glow to them though. [geek noise of suppressed excitement]

Anyway - I got the tubes (still have them - Groove Tubes if I remember correctly) - sockets and all. The actual transformers I needed are really specific and I couldn't find them anywhere. I would have had to have them custom made at only around $50 each (not bad), but I need to order at least 200...ouch. Well, that was beyond my budget at the time (and now for that matter).

Keep us posted with your progress.

Chris,

Yeah, nothing like having to buy $10,000 worth of transformers to ruin a project eh? If you're interested you should head over to diyaudio.com if you haven't already, lots of tube talk over there.

Thanks for the reply. I have a drill press right now that should be sufficient for the time being, it's not specifically for metalworking but i've used it to drill through heatsinks about an 1" thick without problems so that should work for now. Good call on the bandsaw aswell, that's a decent price for that one too! That's part of the reason I never looked at them, i'd assumed they'd cost a bloody fortune but that's pretty reasonable. I can grab both the mill and that and still come in on budget, which is always a good thing:) Still a ways off from buying anything, i'm going to check a few of the places around town see if I can grab a deal, and if not grizzly it is. Seems like a decent mill to get started with for my purposes.

If i'm looking around at older mills is there anything I should look for? or avoid? I'm slowly but surely getting educated with all this, but i'm still a long ways off from understanding everything, so any help or direction is most welcome;)

Thanks for the replies so far guys!
Tristan