Cheap cases at the thrift store

[G.L. Tirebiter]

I stopped into the local thrift store coming home from work last night to see if they had any vintage stereo stuff cheap. They didn't (all the stereo equipment they get is priced pretty steeply -- probably because people were buying it for $10 and re-selling it for $50 on Ebay). But what they had in abundance was ultra cheap VCRs and cassette decks. I bought three old VCRs for $6. For that I get the case and anything inside worth savalging. Make a front piece and I'll have some easy and nice chassis for amps.

They also had three Cisco router cases that had been mostly gutted. They were marked $15 each, but when I showed the store manager they didn't have anything inside, he gave the three of them to me for $10. These are very nice, if small cases. 1Us, I believe the pro sound people call them. About 19 inches wide, 10 inches deep and 1.75 inch tall.

Anyway, if you're looking for a cheap chassdi for your next project, stop by the local thrift store.

[Sherman]

Originally posted by G.L. Tirebiter
I stopped into the local thrift store... I bought three old VCRs for $6. For that I get the case and anything inside worth savalging. Make a front piece and I'll have some easy and nice chassis for amps.

....

I like the VCR idea! I don't know why it never occured to me.
They sometimes have an IEC connector for AC mains and a fuse holder already built into the back panel. Plus you may have some decent RCA jacks back there as well.

I know what I'll be looking for the next time I'm in a thrift store! (Of course I also look for working vacuum tube amps that can often be had for $20 or $30.)

[BrianDonegan]

I think you'll find that an IEC on a VCR will likely not be rated for enough current. Well, maybe for a chip amp, but not for anything with a big torroid.

[Stocker]

You can always add your own high-current-rated connector, since the hole is likely to be the same, eh?

[Sherman]

Originally posted by WorkingAtHome
I think you'll find that an IEC on a VCR will likely not be rated for enough current. Well, maybe for a chip amp, but not for anything with a big torroid.

I was thinking chipamp but IECs are cheap and easily exchanged.

Originally posted by Stocker
You can always add your own high-current-rated connector, since the hole is likely to be the same, eh?

Yep. When building my latest amps I pulled four or five IECs from my bin and they were from three different companies. However they all fit exactly the same sized hole and even the spacing of the screw holes in the "support wings" was the same.

Of course since I was building monoblocks I chose two identical connectors.

[Stocker]

hey, I guess there is something to be said for industry standards.

[planet10]

And if you are building tube amps, the aluminum pan section is also a good place to look.

I haven't found VCRs to be all that useful for parts... you'd have to get a pretty old one to get something that wasn't all molded plastic with a switch-mode supply.... those Cisco 1U rack cases are a good score thou... i've a bid who built up a foreplay clone in one of those...

dave

[skyraider]

I always do my shopping at those old repair shop. People threw away most of their unwanted stuffs there.

VCR players are good but it always short so it couldnt fit the transformers. But its perfect for tube amps. But its not too hard to get some broken amplifiers, and if you are lucky, it comes with useable transformers.

Other than chasis, there are always some nice knobs and switches at almost free.