Neogenocide
New member
It's a type of welding. If the person doing it is skilled, you get a very nice smooth looking weld.
DIY: Light Housing
- Thread starter kaserpick
- Start date
kaserpick
Keeping it Simple
Oh ok, well I'm taking a step back from this to think. It would be a shame to botch it with a bad choice at this stage. I did get the fans mounted, so that's an update. The next two jobs I want to accomplish are cutting acrylic shields for the fans and filling the small gaps on the ends. I'll have to tackle these over the weekend; I didn't get off of work 'til 4:30a, and now I have to go back. This is what I get for taking a job at a manufacturing plant. Here are some pics to show the finished result of the JB Weld and mounted fans (before shields).
The future plans for the body include filing the edges of everything, priming, sanding, painting, and clear coating. After this, the DIY will take a turn toward the LED's, heatsink, fans, and switches. Thanks for following along! I'll be able to answer any questions or comments sometime after 4am, EST.
The future plans for the body include filing the edges of everything, priming, sanding, painting, and clear coating. After this, the DIY will take a turn toward the LED's, heatsink, fans, and switches. Thanks for following along! I'll be able to answer any questions or comments sometime after 4am, EST.
Drag Racer
New member
Yeah take it to a local welder. Preferably someone who works on race cars. They work chrome-moly which needs to be tig welded. That will look the best.
Mouse
UnRegistered Member
rustyjames
EMT-B
That is one sexy housing you've built there. Very impressed. After scoring, what did you use to bend the metal, by hand or a break? Also, how did you measure the angle?
kaserpick
Keeping it Simple
Thanks for all the suggestions, questions and answers, everyone. :thumbsup: I was a little more curious about tig welding, myself.
kaserpick
Keeping it Simple
Thank you very much! After scoring, I re-aligned the flat iron with the score and bent the aluminum sheet by hand; I wish I had a break.
As far as measuring goes, I first bent it to what I believed was an angle greater than 125 degrees (measuring with protractor). Then I slowly continued bending until I was at 125 or very close. In the end, the top was level, so I was pleased.
NanoReefWanabe
Active member
rather then bondo i would have just used your two part JB weld epoxy to fill the joints...though TIG would be nice, you have to find someone who could do a flawless job...otherwise you would be filling tiny little waves in the weld..
by the way your fixture looks awesome...though i wonder why you didnt make it square to fit the shape your tank a little better? or does your tank have an internal overflow you are avoiding?
by the way your fixture looks awesome...though i wonder why you didnt make it square to fit the shape your tank a little better? or does your tank have an internal overflow you are avoiding?
kaserpick
Keeping it Simple
Actually, I did decide to go with the JB weld rather than the bondo...after I read on the back that you can file/sand it. Thanks for the suggestion! :thumbsup:
As far as the dimensions go, I wanted to make something that would cast light at an angle, but I didn't want the look of spotlights (above the tank). This fixture will hang flat but cast the light at an angle, allowing for top down viewing without light reflections. I'll explain more later.
kaserpick
Keeping it Simple
Looks great man! Are you going to anodize it?
Looks like one I did a year ago!
-Dave
Looks great, Dave! Did you cut and bend the aluminum, and if so, how did you go about it? Are you still using it?
I'm not going to anodize the aluminum. I'm going with a good primer, a metal paint, and a clear gloss. I want this look like one piece, so I'm using the JB weld to blend them and the primer/paint/clear coat to hide the rest.
kaserpick
Keeping it Simple
Nice build and nice amp. Subscribed. What model is that. I currently have a JCM 900 50w head. Gotta love that Marshall tone.
Thanks!
It's a MG250DFX; my sister gave it to me 10 years ago. It's been a real trooper, a little beaten up from the road, but a real trooper. Now, it doubles as my entertainment sound while I'm not using it. I've only ever had combos. What cabinet are you using with it? How do you like your setup? I'm looking at upgrading sometime in the near future.
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c0mp|ex
New member
I'm running it through a Mesa 4x12 Rectifier cab. Love it! In the studio, i used a Mesa Stiletto cab instead. It's just a bit smaller than the rectifier but with the same exact speakers for a tighter feel. My axes are 2 Gibson sg-x in Caribbean blue and coral and a Gibson Les Paul Studio.
What LEDs are you planning on using on your LED build? I'm looking to do an LED build too but the look of the fixture is something that's been holding me back. I'm def going to do something like yours once i decide on which LEDs i want to use. I wanted to incorporate violet LEDs into my build for a more complete spectrum.
What LEDs are you planning on using on your LED build? I'm looking to do an LED build too but the look of the fixture is something that's been holding me back. I'm def going to do something like yours once i decide on which LEDs i want to use. I wanted to incorporate violet LEDs into my build for a more complete spectrum.
kcress
New member
I too would go with TIG welding that. It would look far better.
I would go to a tig welder and ask if "he could weld those on for twenty bucks". The guy down the street from me would probably do it for less than that and he's a master.
As for the holes... That's too few if they're the only inlets. All those holes would account about 1/8th the air one of those fans would try to move. I suggest you plan on opening up the splash shield in some manner that still protects the LEDs, to get a LOT more flow.
I would go to a tig welder and ask if "he could weld those on for twenty bucks". The guy down the street from me would probably do it for less than that and he's a master.
As for the holes... That's too few if they're the only inlets. All those holes would account about 1/8th the air one of those fans would try to move. I suggest you plan on opening up the splash shield in some manner that still protects the LEDs, to get a LOT more flow.
Gamepro_inc
New member
Ok a TIG weld by definition is Tungesten Inert Gas TIG. Basically it uses a gases mostly argon to limit or control the amount of contaminates that would be in compressed air driven type welds. The main difference with a TIG is that the welder can control the tempature of the weld with a foot pedal and therfore can get very small perfect weld that are not ugly and have a lot of splatter like other forms of welding that have sparks and splatter. TIG doesnt have a lot of structural strength though but your design would not need much strength.
So what are your plans for the underside? I am curious if you are gonna have enough airflow but very impressed so far.
So what are your plans for the underside? I am curious if you are gonna have enough airflow but very impressed so far.
kaserpick
Keeping it Simple
Here's the mix that I'm looking at for the LED's:
6 Blue XP-E 3w w/ 50 degree lenses (on constant current driver)
6 Royal Blue XR-E 3w w/ 60 degree lenses
3 Cool White XR-E 3w w/ 80 degree lenses
3 Warm White XR-E 3w w/ 80 degree lenses
The 18 will be arranged in a tighter pattern, more on one side of the fixture. I'm hoping it'll give the look of sunlight streaming down at an angle. I'll have to special order small heat sinks so I can mount groups of the LED's at an angle. I think it'll look like a cross between spotlight and full fixture in the tank. Where could you find Violet 3w LED's? I'm all about getting a full spectrum. I've heard that Red's aren't the best choice.
Yeah, I'll still be considering tig. I haven't done anything permanent to the fixture. I never let the Bondo set up. I mentioned earlier that the holes really don't seem like they'll provide enough flow, but I don't want that well organized swiss cheese look on one end. I'll be opening it up on one end by make the splash guard short to accommodate. I wish I would have thought about this before I drilled those holes, though. I'm just glad they don't seem to detract from the look (an acceptable blunder). I'll explain in better detail through pics tomorrow night, when I get back home. I'll actually show how it'll be setup. Thanks for the advice! :thumbsup:
Thanks for the info on TIG!
I always love learning about new things. Also, thanks for voicing concern about airflow...seriously. That's why I post these things, to help others learn and to learn, myself. So, thanks for helping. 
I am going to be opening the fixture up at the end opposite the fans by shortening the splash guard. This should accommodate for much more airflow. That being said, this'll pretty much render my holes useless, but I still think they don't/won't detract from the look for which I'm going. I'll be posting pics of how I'm going to setup the underside tomorrow; I think they'll explain much more than anything I could type.
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