Installing Turrets

[PCollen]

I've never built a turret board. I have one that I want to add 5 additional turrets on, but have no skill at installing turrets. Is it simply a matter of pinging the underside of the turret with a punch tool to swage it securely to the board?

[M Fowler]

Yes but not very hard or the turret will bend.

[iknowjohnny]

A good way i found to do it that keeps them from bending and allows a solid hit with a punch to secure it real well is to use the *right* strap button from a guitar and put it over the turret bottom first, lay the board upside down on bench and tap the bottom of the turret with a punch. the way it works is if you get a strap button with the right size hole, (most seem to be for the typical turret size) the main part of the turret will fit thru the hole but the base of the turret which has that flange on it will not. so the flange at the base of the turret is what is resting on the bottom of the strap button. the strap button is what is resting against the bench. Hard to explain, but hopefully you'll get what i mean. This allows you to slam the thing hard enough to really make it solid. of course you can still screw up if you slam it too hard, but it works really well.

[M Fowler]

I quit hammering and setup the drill press like the photo. I use this all the time to make my boards so the tools have already paid for itself over again.

[dynaman]

[quote="M Fowler"]I quit hammering and setup the drill press like the photo. I use this all the time to make my boards so the tools have already paid for itself over again.[/

Here, here. The drill press is the way to go. Nothing fancy is needed. I'm using a janky little Chinese unit that I picked up at a flea market for $20. I put the pointy staking tool in the bed and keep the "female" piece in the chuck. Using this method allows me to stuff all the turrets in the board at once and just go to town. I can cut, drill and stake a board in under an hour. Damn, I hate giving away my little tricks, and I don't have many.

I've only had to use the hammering method twice when I forgot to add a turret to a board. No way am I going to pull all the wires and remove a board just for one turret. In one emergency, I was even able to stake a turret using a very small C-clamp. Didn't even have to loosen the screws holding the board in the amp. Crap, there's goes another secret trick.

[PCollen]

A good way i found to do it that keeps them from bending and allows a solid hit with a punch to secure it real well is to use the *right* strap button from a guitar and put it over the turret bottom first, .

Great idea, but it could be quite an effort buying sets of strap buttons in search of the 'right' one . Maybe I'll take one of the Schaller buttons off one of my guitars, and hope I get lucky.

[M Fowler]

I went to Harbor Freight and got a set of those drill bit stops that have set screw. one size fits the small 1/16 turrets and next size fits the larger turrets.

Then take a dowl pin marking tool, the drill stop, and the clamp to use as a crimping device. This is for use when setting a turret for those boards that are already populated in the chassis and you want to add another turret.

I would have provided a picture but I can't find my darn dowl pin marking tool. Its short and has cone shape. This can crimp the bottom of the turret.

[crbowman]

I've never built a turret board. I have one that I want to add 5 additional turrets on, but have no skill at installing turrets. Is it simply a matter of pinging the underside of the turret with a punch tool to swage it securely to the board?

Pretty much. I use a drill press which really does make it super easy. But you can simply insert eyelet into hole, tape the eyelet in place on the top side, ping the underside of the eyelet with a punch or awl (doesn't take much force, eyelets are soft), remove tape and you should be good to go.

[iknowjohnny]

A good way i found to do it that keeps them from bending and allows a solid hit with a punch to secure it real well is to use the *right* strap button from a guitar and put it over the turret bottom first, .

Great idea, but it could be quite an effort buying sets of strap buttons in search of the 'right' one . Maybe I'll take one of the Schaller buttons off one of my guitars, and hope I get lucky.

I didn't mean to insinuate that the ones that work are rare. In fact, most seem to work. probably more than not. However, it's the standard ones that tend to work. Ones for straplocks and other non standard type are less likely to work i think. the ones that have always worked for me are the ones i took off stock cheap to midrange guitars to fir straplocks.
I'm also not trying to say it's as good as a drill press, but for anyone who doesn't make a living at it or builds a lot of amps for whatever reason, It's a great solution. In my several years i have only built about 4 amps, so the cost and space to keep a drill press aren't nearly worth it. I also recently bought one of those pre drilled turret boards at tubesandmore for about 3 bucks and It allowed me to load the board and get to soldering in no time.

[M Fowler]

pre drilled turret boards at tubesandmore for about 3 bucks and It allowed me to load the board and get to soldering in no time.

I use those as well nice

[PCollen]

pre drilled turret boards at tubesandmore for about 3 bucks and It allowed me to load the board and get to soldering in no time.

I use those as well nice

I'm going to use the 60-turret board (30 sets) for my JTM 45 > Komet 45 project. I've got my layout complete and will be ordering parts this evening. I was going to use a Weber Java (TB-3) eyelette board, until you pointed me to the Tubes and More boards..thanks.

[PCollen]

I've never built a turret board. I have one that I want to add 5 additional turrets on, but have no skill at installing turrets. Is it simply a matter of pinging the underside of the turret with a punch tool to swage it securely to the board?

If adding just a couple turrets, and having no skill or proper tools to do so,
do you think just adding a dab of epoxy, JB Weld, or similar to the turret base and sticking the turret through the hole in the board would work. I don't think the soldering iron would cause damage to the adhesive bond once dry.

Don't laugh...I'm SERIOUS !

[ChrisM]

I've never built a turret board. I have one that I want to add 5 additional turrets on, but have no skill at installing turrets. Is it simply a matter of pinging the underside of the turret with a punch tool to swage it securely to the board?

If adding just a couple turrets, and having no skill or proper tools to do so,
do you think just adding a dab of epoxy, JB Weld, or similar to the turret base and sticking the turret through the hole in the board would work. I don't think the soldering iron would cause damage to the adhesive bond once dry.

Don't laugh...I'm SERIOUS !

Done it before, it works

[PCollen]

I've never built a turret board. I have one that I want to add 5 additional turrets on, but have no skill at installing turrets. Is it simply a matter of pinging the underside of the turret with a punch tool to swage it securely to the board?

If adding just a couple turrets, and having no skill or proper tools to do so,
do you think just adding a dab of epoxy, JB Weld, or similar to the turret base and sticking the turret through the hole in the board would work. I don't think the soldering iron would cause damage to the adhesive bond once dry.

Don't laugh...I'm SERIOUS !

Done it before, it works

Wunderbar !!!

[billyz]

Before I got a turrent tool I used 4/40 screws and nut for mods to existing boards. you can solder to the brass ones and they almost look right. If you just need one or a few. Also, you don't even have to remove an existing circuit board from the chassis if your clever.