Pot and knob compatability

[AmpBuilder225]

Hi,
Does anybody know if knobs with a 6mm diameter hole will fit on a 6.3mm / 1/4" pot? The unit different seems minimal but would like to be sure either way before I buy!

Also the knobs I'm looking at have a height and diameter of 18mm, does this affect the type of pot I should use, or is pot size (e.g. 16mm or 24mm) referring to the body size.

Thanks

 

[boywonder]

No they won't fit as-is but it'll take about a minute to enlarge the hole to 1/4" since you are removing a mouse-fart worth of material. You can probably do it without a problem with a hand drill, but a drill press makes the job a little easier.

Using a 1/4" knob on a 6mm pot shaft is much harder, since you need to take up the slop with a spacer.

You can use any size knob you want, has nothing to do with the body size of the pot.

 

[AmpBuilder225]

Thanks for that - I've got access to a full workshop at university so a press drill shall be used!

So just to clarify, is the shaft of all alpha pots the same length? And what difference does it make choosing a different sized body? Is a bigger one smoother or something?

 

[boywonder]

The shafts come in all different lengths but they are easy enough to cut since they are aluminum (or sometimes plastic on inexpensive pots). I think the body size has to do with the technology used (cermet, carbon, wire wound, etc) and the wattage rating.

All of the alpha pots/selectors that I've used recently (all two of them ) had AL shafts.

You can click thru to the data sheets for all of the dims of most pots if you are shopping at Digikey, Mouser, etc.

 

[AmpBuilder225]

I see! Thanks for you help