1590B Top-Mounted Jacks

[dawson]

Hello.
I wanted to share my method of top-mounting jacks on 1590B enclosures that does not require god-level measuring/plotting/drilling skills, rather it requires an inner washer for the input/output jacks that clears the jacks from interfering with the lip of the lid when the box is closed.  These photographs will provide a much better description of what's going on:

The issue I would first run into when trying to top-mount jacks is the tight fit of the 1/4" jacks against the inner nut of the 9v Jack- if not drilled properly accounting for this, I would see something like:

I'm pinching the 9v nut with the output jack.

Even if I were to space the jacks well enough to clear each other, I might still end up looking at:

The lid simply won't shut all the way.

The first time I saw that, I immediately thought to turn to violence and just grind that lip down and out of my way, which would've worked, but that's no fun to do every time I want to build a 1590B, so I kept thinking, and came up with:


These little dudes not-only allow the 1/4" jacks to clear the lid & the 9v nut, but they also position the outer edge of the 1/4" jacks nice and flush with their washers and nuts:

3d printed washer

Since I own a 3d printer, I can't not print mine, but for the sake of this report and builders who don't use 3d printers, I've bent up some of my heaviest wire and it seems to work equally as well.

wire washer

Here's the money $hot:

A nice closed lid.

If you struggle with the top-mounted jacks in the 1590B's I urge you to try this.  Here's an STL of the 3d model:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3803247

I've printed out quite a few of these to PIF away if you'd like to try, but don't 3d print:
http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=30046.msg290399#new

If you have your own way of dealing with this, I'm super curious to know of your method; of anyone's gotten this far in reading the post, they'll certainly enjoy your added input.

Thanks for reading.

[DLW]

Very slick! I'm interested in the .stl file. I'd like to try this out.

[alanp]

A lazy person (like me) only bothers with topmount with BB or larger hehe

Nice solution with the 3D printing, btw

[dawson]

DLW, I'll upload the STL to thingiverse tomorrow- I just created an account today and they're making me wait 24 hours between creating the thing and posting something..probably keeps the kids from shooting each other with plastic guns..

alanp, I understand avoiding the fiddles, believe me, I'm not happily giggling over here, fumbling around with my wires and jacks and boards hanging out while gravity toys with my temper, but I'm a firm believer that in a pedal-board situation like mine with 8+ effects including a couple big units and a volume pedal, almost any expense/tribulation is worth having as many top-mounted units as possible, your mileage may vary- I certainly respect and envy those who choose to trade grief for space.

thanks, guys!

[Leevibe]

I think you're on the right track with the 3D printing. One cool thing to try is to bring in the step file of whatever Hammond enclosure you're building in and model around that. Then you can make your jack spacers and also print a perfect drilling template. I've been doing this on the last several builds and it works great. Here's a link to a fuzz I did this on.

http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=27799.0

[Willybomb]

See.... that's why I've started buying the predrilled Tayda boxes (and using the diyguitarpedal.com.au lumburg mini jacks, and only using 125b as the smallest I'll build into).

[jimilee]

Very nice solution. I must admit, I use a big metal file in those instances.


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[madbean]

Nice! Also, if you haven't tried it the 1590B2 (or BS) is good for top mounted jacks. It's the same footprint but taller like a 125B. Gives you a bit more vertical space to work with.

[benny_profane]

That's a clever workaround. I don't have the best access to a 3D printer; I'd be interested in buying some from you if you're into making some extras and selling them.

[dawson]

Very slick! I'm interested in the .stl file. I'd like to try this out.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3803247
*This is my first time uploading to Thingiverse, and it shows..the model is there, but I wasn't able to rotate it and save it properly aligned so you'll have to do that yourself (should be easy.)

Here's a link to a fuzz I did this on.

http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=27799.0

Oh wow, that's awesome- Leevibe totally did it first everybody!
I really like how your pcb bracket, LED mount, and 3PDT spacer are all the same piece.  I'm  curious what type of filament you're using?  Looks like some nylon alloy I've used in the past, which would make awesome brackets- I never used it because I can't find a type of adhesive that'll actually stick to the stuff, but you wouldn't have that problem because yours looks to be bolted in place by the 3PDT- genius.

Very nice solution. I must admit, I use a big metal file in those instances.

This may very well be the more therapeutic of the two methods- it's always satisfying to grind a problem into submission by shaving away its' very being to smithereens on the floor, but at the end of my day, I outsmarted a box..

See.... that's why I've started buying the predrilled Tayda boxes (and using the diyguitarpedal.com.au lumburg mini jacks, and only using 125b as the smallest I'll build into).

Oh man, 125B is the king of all enclosures in my opinion, however, I like to have some smaller boxes down on the board too: the 125B's look tougher that way.

I'll check out those jacks sometime- I keep reading great things about them.

Nice! Also, if you haven't tried it the 1590B2 (or BS) is good for top mounted jacks. It's the same footprint but taller like a 125B. Gives you a bit more vertical space to work with.

This is news to me, thanks, I'll keep an eye out for  the 1590B2.

That's a clever workaround. I don't have the best access to a 3D printer; I'd be interested in buying some from you if you're into making some extras and selling them.

I'm printing out a bunch right now with some ABS filament I need to get rid of, I'll start a PIF for those who would need <10, but if you need more than that we can work something out.

[benny_profane]

That's a clever workaround. I don't have the best access to a 3D printer; I'd be interested in buying some from you if you're into making some extras and selling them.

I'm printing out a bunch right now with some ABS filament I need to get rid of, I'll start a PIF for those who would need <10, but if you need more than that we can work something out.

That's awesome! I don't need a ton—a few would be great to try out!

[DLW]

Thanks for sharing! I'll print it this week to try it out.

[sonnyboy27]

This is really cool. Do you have a drilling template that goes along with this top mount scheme?

[Leevibe]

I really like how your pcb bracket, LED mount, and 3PDT spacer are all the same piece.  I'm  curious what type of filament you're using?  Looks like some nylon alloy I've used in the past, which would make awesome brackets- I never used it because I can't find a type of adhesive that'll actually stick to the stuff, but you wouldn't have that problem because yours looks to be bolted in place by the 3PDT- genius.

Glad you like it. It's just clear PETG. It was the spool I had hooked up at the time.

[Mr.H]

If anyone comes across this, I found this at PedalPCB forum:

https://forum.pedalpcb.com/threads/1590b-top-jacks-it-can-be-done.1311/

I tried it and it works like a charm!