STAIN-LESS STEEL.......DYNACO CHASSIS'S......ST-70 and MK III


I need some help getting some custom made stain-less steel chassis made........Of  course none of the people selling them retail will tell me anything, and I can't pay list price for them , but I will buy larger amounts of them.....They would be the basic Dynaco style but with different holes......THANKS

autospec

Stainless might be quite expensive--it is very hard to cut and punch stainless.  I saw a beautiful linestage made by a specialty builder that was made of stainless steel.  But, when I inquired about that chassis, he said that he made a few that way and decided never to build out of stainless again--it took way more time, the tools wear out like crazy and the tiny metal splinters were much more of a hazard than regular steel splinters.  

@autospec 

Will, we've done stainless chassis at Marksman in St. Michael, MN

Of course you'll need a good drawing, preferably in some sort of computer file, like a DXF. But they can make parts from an actual drawing- don't send it on a napkin :)  my advise is to get only a very small run done at first; if there are bugs in the chassis or drawing you won't have paid for a big pile of them.

If you really want to be classy you can have the corners welded and ground- then have the whole thing polished.

One thing to keep in mind- you might want to do this in steel with a chrome finish because stainless provides almost no shielding. We get away with using stainless because our amps are fully balanced and differential, which prevents a lot of noise pickup so we really don't need the shielding.

You can buy brand new stainless steel chassis from Dynakitparts.net also Tube4hifi. 

I bought some from dynaco.net last year for my Mk4 mono's. 

Dynaco replacement parts & vacuum tube audio amplifier kits from Dynakit (dynakitparts.com)

tubes4hifi home page

cheers

One of the problems is he won't give me a discount on the chassis, and he won't tell me who makes them......So I'm not doing very well with him............His quality is very good but I can't deal with him............Will

http://www.radisonlimited.com/

Great people. They will quote.

Be specific. draw up a sample that is close to what you want to end up actually doing.

They are too busy working, to bother to make a perfect website. it is better than used to be. We’re lucky to have access to one. (note the old logo, simply dumped into the the top left corner...) This is the source point for more than a few of the more iconic machined chassis that are out there.

The may do chrome plated steel. They most assuredly do aluminum...

I do appreciate these leads , I have already contacted several that are working on some prices for me......I still have others to contact , but I'm on it.....THANKS

Have a local fab shop bid them.  You might get a deal or you might find they are quite expensive until you are ready to buy 100+.  They will CNC them and possibly waterjet cut them if you don't need the holes precision or tapped.  Waterjet is very good and will likely save you some money.

Make sure you specify finish.  you will need a fabrication quality drawing.

SS will be a bit more expensive but is not a problem for a professional to work with.

I have my own shop and make my own manually but don't need any work.

Jerry

Tim:   I have worked on this problem for a long time, and it isn't that simple.....There are bends in this chassis that take special machinery, There are Laser cutting that is very specialized, There are big quality issues, and then the cost.......The company in Wisconsin did good work but charged twice as much when I ordered them a year later......So when you suggest things they are not how you see them..........Shamefully we in the USA don't seem to know how to compete in the world market, so people are forced to go off shore for products.......That's why I'm on this forum to try and do business in the USA....THANKS   

@autospec 

Will, did you try Marksman?

If I were you I'd be looking to Portland or Seattle for someone to made the chassis. That will keep your shipping cost down. You might get a local to do it too but I suspect they are mostly serving architectural concerns.

Atmasphere:   I have contacted Mike at Marksman and sent him the drawing so he can work something up for me.....I do appreciate all your help and the others that are helping.....And I am still working on it........I'm getting ready to design a new piece so I will need even more help...............Will

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