LED with no bezel

[guitar413]

When you see pedal LED's with no bezel, are they just gluing them in or is there something else going on there?

[italianguy63]

A touch of superglue.

[Seljer]

Or PCB mounted

[deadastronaut]

A touch of superglue.

+1.

[Kipper4]

Same here works a treat no mess no fuss. +1 superglue and a bit of heatshrink tubing.
Bezels are a PITA. I never seem to have the right size drill bit for them and end up reaming the hole to the right size and when all said and done the superglued ones look better.

[bluebunny]

Same here works a treat no mess no fuss. +1 superglue and a bit of heatshrink tubing.
Bezels are a PITA. I never seem to have the right size drill bit for them and end up reaming the hole to the right size and when all said and done the superglued ones look better.

+1

Anyone wanna buy some bezels? 

[Kipper4]

Yep I have a dozen that are waiting in stock for somebody to say I prefer a bezel.

[duck_arse]

on past form, I'm too scared to use glue on a led. sure as eggs, I'd need to do something stupid that needed the led out again, soon as the glue hardened. I'd just ream the hole till the led was jambed in good, but "I prefer a bezel".

[cloudscapes]

hot glue if I feel ghetto

but if I mount my pots on the pcb (most of the time these days), then the led goes on there as well

[JFace]

If it's not a DIY pedal, than likely it is PCB mounted.

If you plan well enough, and have good tools (drill press, CAD software) you can do it PCB mounted. Or just use superglue.

[karbomusic]

I drill a hole that is barely too small. I then drill into that hole a tiny bit wider from the inside but only about 2/3 of the way through. This causes the LED to stop at just the right point without going all the way through. It also creates an sharp edge inside the hole that you can sort of twist and lock the led into the hole with because that sharp edge sort of cuts into the LED allowing to position it. I then use a few dabs of epoxy to make the LED near permanent. If I were ever to need to remove it, I could snap it out with a pair of pliers but barring that, it pretty much isn't going anywhere.

[guitar413]

When you see pedal LED's with no bezel, are they just gluing them in or is there something else going on there?

Thanks for all the suggestions, awesome responses.

[davent]

For 3mm leds i drill with a 1/8" bit then do the finishing which leaves that hole too small,  redrill with a 3mm bit and the fit is usually tight enough to hold the led in place. Have PCB mounted, superglued, hot glued...
dave

[PRR]

> scared to use glue on a led. sure as eggs, I'd need ..the led out again, soon as the glue hardened.

None of the glues you are likely to use will really HOLD the slick plastic or metal. Glue-in LEDs work because we don't try to push them out (knobs and such prevent foot attack).

When you want to remove it, just push hard. You may want a metal dowel smaller than the LED, and/or a hollow tube (wrench socket) a little bigger than the LED's butt to support the panel. But they don't put up a real fight.

[deadastronaut]

ive had to drill out glued leds before (from the inside) ...the ultraloc glue really does its job.

[bluebunny]

ive had to drill out glued leds before (from the inside) ...the ultraloc glue really does its job.

NASA technology, clearly...   

[deadastronaut]

yeah, nasa were screwed till i showed them superglue.....