One of the most expensive parts of any project is the case, often the most expensive. I read somewhere about using metal studs to make enclosures for pedals, and that got me thinking. I went and got some supplies today and threw this together. Its a new housing for my headphone splitter (which will eventually house other things too since there’s plenty of room.)
I bought a blank rackspace panel from Guitar Center for $6.49. They’re meant to just cover up empty spaces in your rack, but that’s kind of silly. I got some machine screws and nuts, and drilled the two holes in the panel, and two holes in a 17″ section of aluminum stud and bolted them together. Studs are a couple bucks per 8′ section, so this is totally the cheap way to go for simple projects.
Then I drilled more holes to mount the jacks and the switch. This got frustrating with my cordless drill because those panels are 1/8″ steel. I need a drill press. I also should have drilled all the holes and then bolted the panel to the stud, because a bunch of burr got caught in the middle.
I drilled a little too high for the input jack. I had to snip a little piece so the jack wouldn’t short out. The whole enclosure acts as ground for the circuit.
Installed. Nice blank mystery box. Obviously this only works for projects that don’t take up much space, and that aren’t heavy, but “real” rackmount enclosures start around $60 last I checked.