The next step: making the eyelet board.

Full pictoral tutorial here:

http://www.diycustomamps.com/images/.../eyelet_board/

Main points:

I make templates from 3" wide, 1/16" thick Grade XX Garolite from McMaster-Carr. The Garolite comes in three inch wide by four feet long strips. Since I don't have a miter box or a power saw, I mark the garolite using a Sharpie and a square, rough saw it to length with a hack saw, and then trim off the end with a laminate trimmer with a flush cutting bit and a straight edge. Kind of a PITA, I know.

Next I take the 1:1 artwork I previously generated in CorelDraw, cut it out and tape it to the front of the blank template. I make a template so that I only have to do the aforementioned step once. Once I have a template it is just a matter of taping the template down to a new blank board and marking it. This is a lot less of a hassle than drilling through paper taped to a board.

Using a jig I made, I set a fence on the drill press to get nice consistent, even results. I then drill out all the eyelet holes and the four board mounting holes.

Next I take the template and trace the holes onto a piece of G10 glass epoxy board using a Sharpie. G10 is used as the substrate for high-quality PCBs. This is a better material for eyelet boards than Garolite, but it is very expensive. I bought a 3' by 4' sheet a few years ago and had it cut into three-inch wid lengths. I'm down to the last of it and unfortunately G10 prices have skyrocketed in the last few years

Then using the same method for the template, I drill out all the holes on the drill press using the attached fence and setup template.

The next step is setting the eyelets into the board. I put an eyelet into each hole (leaving them out of the mounting holes, natch) and tape them down with masking tape. This allows me to turn the board over without all the eyelets falling out.

I flare the eyelets using a small hammer and a 5/16" center punch. I then secure the eyelets by flattening down the flare witha 6" long, 1/4" diameter steel rod. Viola, the board is done.

The same method can be used with turrets as well. The only difference is the setting method. I personally don't like turrets, they do look cool, but are a PITA to modify once the components are soldered to them.

Since this is a scratch build, I have to do all the handwork myself. This is another advantage of kits: the eyelet board comes ready to stuff and install. Also, the chassis comes finished. Making eyelet boards and drilling out chassis can get very tedious.

Next up: drilling all the holes in the chassis.

tung