Stepped or multi level enclosures anyone

[ntblade]

Hi all,
Does anyone know where to get /make enclosures that have two "levels"?  I mean something where I could have two rows of footswitches with the back row higher up like many MIDI foot controllers..

http://line6.com/footcontrollers/fbvexpressmkii.html
http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/FCB1010.aspx

I thought of trying to get hold of one of the Line 6 ones and running a bandsaw through it to cut off the pedal but the base appears to be plastic so would be difficult to modify and the FCB1010's pedals are offset which I don't want.

I've also thought about bolting two together.

Any suggestions?

Thanks for reading.

PS.  Has to be cheap!  (As usual)

[defaced]

If you're in an area with some industry, there's probably a local sheet metal shop that could bust something like that out in short order. 

[ntblade]

Thanks for the reply.  I expect that would be pretty expensive.  Although some you lad could maybe do something out of scrap in his lunchtime for a small cash payment!

[Chugs]

Hammond do some sloped enclosures which may be an useful alternative.

http://www.hammondmfg.com/dwg16.htm

[Processaurus]

If you don't have access to sheet metal tools, what about making a stepped enclosure by sticking a smaller hammond enclosure on top of another, for example a 1590B on top of a 1590DD?  You could drill holes for the corner screws of the smaller enclosure in the top of the larger enclosure.

[defaced]

Thanks for the reply.  I expect that would be pretty expensive. 

It all depends on the details. 

[ntblade]

Thanks for the reply.  I expect that would be pretty expensive. 

It all depends on the details. 

That was one of the things I was thinking about.  For the time being I'll simplify things to get going

Thanks all.

[R.G.]

In about 1979 I saw one of the model makers/machinists at work do some (I know now - ) simple sheet metal cutting and bending. It was a kind of epiphany. It took me a good decade to find a used one, but the first finger/pan brake I found that I could afford was MINE.

I heartily recommend "Sheet Metal Work" by Wakeford from the "Workshop Practices" series: http://www.amazon.com/Sheet-Metal-Workshop-Pratice-Series/dp/0852428499

It's under $8.00. A real bargain if you ever do any enclosure work. I can't turn out the neat hand work they show with only clamps and a mallet, but reading makes me feel armed and ready for sheet metal work.  And I did carry that brake around with me all these years. 

[PRR]

The shape of this is very-very-very hard to do as a single box... you do what B-ringer did, Z-bend a top then stuff side-pieces and a bottom on it.

Lacking a diemaker and injection gear, you saw the sides out of oak. The bottom is just flat, maybe with bent lips.

Now the Z-bent top. This is too tight for standard pan or box brakes like R.G. got. It is a snap in a press with V-dies, but finding V-dies may be tough now that most machine shops are dying.

Make a 1 foot square of 1" thick plywood (probably glue-up several 3/8" slabs).

Get two 2" wide 1/2" high chunks of HARD oak. (If you can go 3/4", common oak flooring scraps may do.)

Glue one oak chunk to the middle of the plywood.

Lay some light scrap metal on that chunk, set the second chunk on top lined-up, and C-clamp it very tight.

Get a 4" wide Brick Chisel.

Set the chisel on the metal a little away from the edge of the oak and start tapping. Bend it down to the plywood, then work it into the corner between oak and plywood.

Re-set the metal to make additional steps or lips.

Your first attempt will probably be ugly. Start with aluminum flashing. 4" wide of flashing should be easy after a few tries. Wider widths will need care to work the bend down evenly a little at a time. Reynolds Hobby aluminum sheeting is a good second step. For very light abuse on a small box, that may be adequate. For longer spans or heavy abuse you turn to steel.

When you have a Z-bent top, trace that onto hardwood to cut the sides. (It will be far easier to make the sides fit what you bent than to put multiple bends precisely to match a pre-cut side.)

I'd really consider gluing-up layers of wood into a stair-step, then jigsawing or routing switch holes. Yes a non-metal case opens up hum/buzz problems, but they can be dealt with (guts in a metal box, or foil-tape as used inside guitars).

[defaced]

It is a snap in a press with V-dies, but finding V-dies may be tough now that most machine shops are dying.

Huh?  Yes, the US industry is not what it was, but every shop of any appreciable size I've walked into in the past 5 years has a press break.

[amptramp]

Conversely, a lot of shops are dying and their machinery is being sold at auction - the last place I worked at just dumped all their stuff at an auction last week.  Newspapers will have notices of upcoming auctions and auction houses have websites.  You are not looking for a Sotheby's type of place - just an auction house specializing in production equipment.

[digi2t]

You know... sometimes those Behringer boards show up second hand on the cheap on Ebay. Considering how much it would cost to have one made, for the right price, it would almost be tempting to buy one and gut it for your purpose.