so i decided to relocate the king of tone pedal i made from the plastic enclosure with no footswitches/LEDS to an aluminum one with footswitches/LEDs but i am having a hard time making a drilling template as the space is limited.

so i am gonna use a 1590BB and i want to put the board on the enclosure itself and not on top of the pots as it makes it easier for soldering everything inside the enclosure.

i made this drilling template (sorry for the non perfect paper cut)




does it look fine or something looks wrong? i made the circles for the top 4 pots 20mm as i intended to use 20mm knobs but i am probably gonna use 17mm like the tone knob to not make it look cramping.

as for the LEDs which are next to the footswitches i am gonna use a 3mm led bezzel but i am thinking to mount the LED without a bezzel as i am afraid from the little space between the bezzel and the 3pdt switch.

so do you have any advice or should i go for it?

Personally, I don't particularly like your positioning of the pots as the smaller knobs look like they might be a little difficult to grip between 2 fingers. You seem to be of the same opinion, suggesting that you'll go with the smaller knobs everywhere.

Trouble is, you've currently laid out the template with equal spacing between each knob. When you alter the knob size, the spacing will be uneven and you may miss the opportunity to create a more ergonomic placement.

It's worth redrawing it with the correct knob size and also place the guide on the top surface of the enclose, rest the knobs in position and see if you can get to them without knocking the others off.

Edit: make sure that wherever you place the knobs, there's room on the other side for the pot body to fit.

LED's without a bezel look good in my opinion. I use a bit of superglue to hold them steady

Finally, I think this is the first time I've seen a drill guide placed inside the enclosure. I always put mine on top. What does everyone else do?

Quote from: Lost_soul on April 23, 2025, 05:23:17 PMso i decided to relocate the king of tone pedal i made from the plastic enclosure with no footswitches/LEDS to an aluminum one with footswitches/LEDs but i am having a hard time making a drilling template as the space is limited.

so i am gonna use a 1590BB and i want to put the board on the enclosure itself and not on top of the pots as it makes it easier for soldering everything inside the enclosure.

i made this drilling template (sorry for the non perfect paper cut)




does it look fine or something looks wrong? i made the circles for the top 4 pots 20mm as i intended to use 20mm knobs but i am probably gonna use 17mm like the tone knob to not make it look cramping.

as for the LEDs which are next to the footswitches i am gonna use a 3mm led bezzel but i am thinking to mount the LED without a bezzel as i am afraid from the little space between the bezzel and the 3pdt switch.

so do you have any advice or should i go for it?

Get some thick card. Turn a drill into it by hand to match your current layout, then install the hardware onto the card so you can see what it feels like to use in reality.

Sometimes I just mark the enclosure top with pencil and see how it looks. I find the center and draw a vertical line, measure down the desired distance, then measure out left/right from there and score another line.  Measure up to locate the stomp switch (leaving space below it for the battery.  It's easier than it sounds! You can set up some pots on a desktop and find the ideal space between them, then transfer that to the box top.

But for a more aesthetic setup, a template is the way to go.  I like drdnO's idea of putting the pots right on the card to see what you will get before drilling!  If there is a template, you can also drill into a scrap piece of wood and put the pots in it upside down to use as a guide for soldering them to the pcb, if they're not attached to it. Avoids those too long or too short wires to the pots/switch etc...

Quote from: GibsonGM on April 24, 2025, 05:56:10 AMSometimes I just mark the enclosure top with pencil and see how it looks. I find the center and draw a vertical line, measure down the desired distance, then measure out left/right from there and score another line.  Measure up to locate the stomp switch (leaving space below it for the battery.  It's easier than it sounds! You can set up some pots on a desktop and find the ideal space between them, then transfer that to the box top.

But for a more aesthetic setup, a template is the way to go.  I like drdnO's idea of putting the pots right on the card to see what you will get before drilling!  If there is a template, you can also drill into a scrap piece of wood and put the pots in it upside down to use as a guide for soldering them to the pcb, if they're not attached to it. Avoids those too long or too short wires to the pots/switch etc...

The cardboard template is also an exceptional way to wire up a guitar - just use the guitar to mark your holes out, put all the pots through the card and then do all your wiring out of the guitar.

When you install them, they're already in the perfect position!

^Wiring templates/jigs work great, sometimes box board sometimes thin plywood.

https://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=110068.0#msg1008187

Quote from: drdn0 on April 24, 2025, 02:25:37 AMGet some thick card.

yeah, this. you can make any number of cardboard front panels to get your positions where they will work, but you only get one metal panel to totally fcuk up w/ your first hole drilled.

Well, i drilled it and it came out pretty nice. Everything fits and was in its place except for one hole. The input jack hole.

Idk why but it was a little but above what i marked. When fitting it above the tone pot, the Long contacts of the jack touches the pot base, but if i rotate the jack so the long contacts are facing the Lid, the shorter contacts (which you solder wires to) don't touch the pot lugs. However it's pretty close but i guess it will be fine.


 

I do that sometimes; it needs to be closer to the top  

You can put some tape on the back of the pot, and be sure to orient the jack legs so they won't (hopefully) touch! Maybe double-sided tape, the sort of thick stuff, could help here.
 
In time it may spin and touch the pot, however.  Put a toothed washer on the inside of the jack barrel when you install it, so it bites into the metal and is less likely to rotate! 

Quote from: GibsonGM on April 24, 2025, 03:33:18 PMI do that sometimes; it needs to be closer to the top  

You can put some tape on the back of the pot, and be sure to orient the jack legs so they won't (hopefully) touch! Maybe double-sided tape, the sort of thick stuff, could help here.
 
In time it may spin and touch the pot, however.  Put a toothed washer on the inside of the jack barrel when you install it, so it bites into the metal and is less likely to rotate! 

Yes that's what i intended to do but for some reason the drill bit wandered off a bit however i center punched the spot first
Thankfully it didn't go down more or i would be screwed!

Center punches never seem to work well for me. I am lucky, I have a drill press so it's easy to put a hole right where you want it.  Sometimes I still do place a hole on the edge too low, though!

Quote from: GibsonGM on April 24, 2025, 05:32:52 PMCenter punches never seem to work well for me. I am lucky, I have a drill press so it's easy to put a hole right where you want it.  Sometimes I still do place a hole on the edge too low, though!

I also used a drill press, but maybe the drill bits weren't sharp or bad.
I am lucky tho that there is enough clearance to make it work!





And for the pot lugs, i don't need to bend them however it makes it easier for soldering inside the box. As i don't have those pots with a hole in the lugs where i live.

Do you still have clearance with a plug inserted into the jack?  That IS tight!   

I've also had to use PCB-mount pots, and I bend them that way (carefully) so that I can solder to them...we try not to buy them, but before the internet we had to take what we could find!! 

Quote from: GibsonGM on April 24, 2025, 07:43:20 PMDo you still have clearance with a plug inserted into the jack?  That IS tight!   

I've also had to use PCB-mount pots, and I bend them that way (carefully) so that I can solder to them...we try not to buy them, but before the internet we had to take what we could find!! 

Yeah I think there is some clearance.


Do you think it would work?

Yeah man, I hate those shitty pots, but I have to use them as that's all I got. I got this enclosure and some foot switches from aliexpress and they costed me a lot! Payed 60% of their value to the arts called customs.

That will work, but it might be a good idea to find a small piece of thin rubber and glue it to the back of the pot between the plug and pot, just in case the plug moves a small amount.   

The same thing happened to me once, so I over-drilled the hole - made it quite large, relatively - and found a washer large enough to cover it, with the jack passing thru its center.  This let me slide it up a little bit for clearance.  I don't think you need to do that, but you should insulate the pot back, in my opinion.   

Having been in this tight squeeze before I sympathise! If you don't mind spending a bit more, can you get hold of enclosed audio sockets like these
https://www.bitsboxuk.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=225_226_294&products_id=3833

They are slimmer than the open sockets you are using and are covered in plastic with just small metal tips poking out the other end. I use them when I have to pack too much into a small enclosure.

Quote from: GibsonGM on April 25, 2025, 06:00:15 AMThat will work, but it might be a good idea to find a small piece of thin rubber and glue it to the back of the pot between the plug and pot, just in case the plug moves a small amount. 

The same thing happened to me once, so I over-drilled the hole - made it quite large, relatively - and found a washer large enough to cover it, with the jack passing thru its center.  This let me slide it up a little bit for clearance.  I don't think you need to do that, but you should insulate the pot back, in my opinion. 

wow! That must have been irritating. To mess an enclosure due to just one hole. But you did good thinking this through.

as for me i think it would work and i would just put a thick double sided tape on the pot just in case, and will also tighten this jack so it won't move easily.

Thanks mike, i painted the enclosure and now i am making a decal for it. There is a place here which does clear vinyl decals, not waterslide but they say it's clear vinyl. I will try it.
Made the decal and here is how it looks.


I really tried to find a good name for the brand but i am bad with names. Called it DELTA TONEWORKS as i live in the Delta area of egypt.
I wanted to call it HOPE AUDIO but my mom told me that the the first is better
What do you think?

Quote from: moid on April 25, 2025, 07:40:08 PMHaving been in this tight squeeze before I sympathise! If you don't mind spending a bit more, can you get hold of enclosed audio sockets like these
https://www.bitsboxuk.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=225_226_294&products_id=3833

They are slimmer than the open sockets you are using and are covered in plastic with just small metal tips poking out the other end. I use them when I have to pack too much into a small enclosure.

Unfortunatley these aren't available here. The only ones available here at a good price are the pcb mounted ones, they look like turtles?
But i think the ones i got will work for this one and i will make sure nothing touches anything.

I like Delta Toneworks!

When I screwed up my input jack hole, I made the output hole the same size, and used 2 washers so it would look ok

Use a round file to enlarge the hole in the direction you need the jack to go. Slide the jack away from the pot and use lockwashers to make sure it stays.  Easy fix in a couple of minutes.