In the past, when I needed to drill holes for pots and switches, I marked the layout on the box. Recently I discovered a better way (possibly) to do this. Which, namely, is to make a drilling template. I've used them for projects other than effects pedals, so when I started seeing them on the interweb, it was a mini "ah ha" moment.
So let us begin.
Armed with the box, some paper, a hole template, and the actual pots, jacks, LED holder and stomp switch, I go to it.
I just folded the paper over the box. In hindsight, I probably should have measured it a bit more accurately, as some of my final holes wound up being off by a few millimeters. Not a big disaster, but part of the learning curve.
I used the hole template to determine the hole sizes for drilling the hardware. This is a lot better than my usual method of holding a drill bit up beside the part and guesstimating what drill size is needed.
The hole template made me think of my school days when I learned drafting. With actual pencils, drawing boards and t-squares. I really enjoyed it.
Then I use the hole template to lay out the holes I'll need to drill.
The final template. Not super accurate, but close enough for a proof-of-concept. See how my drafting skills (not) come into play?
Then I just tape the template on the box and drill the holes.
This worked out pretty well. I can see that I might make some stock templates in Photoshop and then just print them as needed.
0 comments:
Post a Comment