What part of DIY do you HATE?

Conrad Hoffman said:
#1 Steel chassis' (is that how you make it plural?)
#2 Aluminum chassis'

Chassis work. Yecch. If it weren't for my dislike of sheet metal work without the right equipment, I'd get a lot more stuff built.
I hate chassis work. I hate having to try to get to my mate's workshop when we both have some free time, and I hate paying money for skilled metal workers to do it. I hate how commercial chassis available are never the correct dimensions for my projects and always too expensive. Hence, many of my amp chassis are scrap mdf/ply wonders.
 
kuroguy said:
listening to my wife complain about all the small pieces of wire and solder all over the office/hobby room. I've been pretty much relegated to the garage at this point.


I haven't been allowed to solder in the house since I was 10 years old and I melted thousands of solder splashes into the carpet in my bedroom... flick! ;-)

My wife and I now have an agreement that I don't release toxins into the air in the house (except the usual H2S and CH4). If you get too much lead in your body it's a real pain to chelate it out.
 
soundbrigade said:
Well, er ... OK, but I have to shave first ...:xeye:

Here's the drills .
Be thankful you live a long way away.

Great resource there. Thanks so much. As soon as some of my stuff gets ebayed, I know where the funds will be going. I have several amps to build for my new system, and the chassis were the hold up. Those aluminium plates were exactly what I had in mind.
Cheers!
 
I have those drill bits, that I bought from VT4C. I broke a couple already, but I'd still buy them again. Don't use them on steel but for aluminum they are good if you go slow.

I am just bummed that they don't have the size needed for neutrix connector holes. They have 1mm too big and 1mm too small. I usually use the too small one and then use a deburrer to make it bigger, but its a pain.

I like to use Neutrix powercons, speakons and XLR plugs....it makes drilling out chassis backplates a cinch.
 
sbelyo said:
[B
Terminal stips that don't accept solder

Soldering Rhodium plated RCA's

Forgetting to put the RCA barrel on the interconnect after you've made the best solder joint anyone has ever seen

Ah yes! I save myself the aperplexy these days and file the plating off down to the copper/brass.

Further to a much earlier contribution:

Love/hate:

When I turn the amplifier on the first time after weeks of construction, put my ear to the loudspeaker and detect absolutely no hum, hiss or other dreaded noises .........


and then turn up, to also find no music or anything else - the darn thing is not working at all!!