Chassis worries

[NINfan]

Hi, I'm slowly putting together an lm3886 stereo amplifier, right now I'm wondering what kind of chassis I should go for.

I have a HUGE fear of getting shocked by my amp, and am thinking of buying a plastic chassis and installing a small steel plate in it's base and using that as my star ground point, would there be anything wrong with that? If the hot wire ever did come loose and touch the steel plate I would atleast be protected by the plastic exterior.

I've thought about a steel chassis, but in the back of my mind I always worry about that hot wire coming loose and touching the case.

[lgreen]

I think your fear is a little irrational, you can connect the metal chassis to the 3rd 'ground' prong in the AC inlet (at least in USA you can, not sure about your country) and if it ever goes live it will be instantly grounded -- protecting you. Also, if your AC inlet is fused the fuse will blow, hopefully isolating the chassis from the incoming AC.

Then again, you are entering the wold of DIY. You can do whatever you want, for whatever reason you want and don't let me or anyone keep you from building something your own way, even if its not technically how we all would do it.