Turret Board Installation

I have a pretty good grasp of where all the components will be mounted in the chassis. Now the time has come to begin drilling. 

In order to prevent cutting my hands and wrists on the sharp metal edge of the chassis, I placed a folded piece of gaffer's tape over it. Masking tape probably would work just as well, I just wanted to make sure to use something that would release easily when the protection was no longer needed.

 

The first step was to drill the mounting holes in the turret board itself. It came pre-drilled for all the wire passage holes, but I needed to create the holes that I will use to mount the board to the chassis. The material the board is made from is surprisingly tough, and drilling through it took more force than expected.

Once all four mounting holes were drilled in the turret board, I used a ultra-fine point permanent marker to mark the location of each hole onto the chassis.

Next I used a small nail and hammer to mark the location through to the other side of the chassis. I could have drilled through this side, but when drilling through almost any material, you get some messy edges on the back side, and filing them off leaves some roughed-up areas. In order to keep that rough filed area hidden, I drilled from the outside of the chassis and filed the burrs from the inside, keeping it completely hidden.

I used the marker again to mark the location of each hole, this time from the outside of the chassis.

After drilling and filing those four holes, I mounted the board on standoffs for a test-fit. Everything lined up nicely, and the standoffs are going to keep the turret board secure and elevated to prevent unwanted shorts.

Finally, some physical work has been completed on the amp! Everything up to this point had only been planning.