Slider pots.

[Beaker]

Does anyone know a good reliable source of cheap slider pots?

I've scored a couple of galvanised steel electrical mounting boxes for peanuts, but they are huge - 12 inch x 6 inch x 2 inch high. so about the same size as a DJ mixer. As well as being great for a multi-pedal unit, I fancy putting my Dub Siren in one along with a Deep Blue Delay. It is a desk top unit after all.

Using rotary pots will look a bit sparse, so fancy using long slider pots instead, just so it looks a bit different from my normal B or BB builds.

I can get Alpha sliders from Banzai in Germany, or Bourns sliders from Mouser UK. Banzai don't stock all the values I need, while Mouser has all the values you could ever need, at great prices, but their postage is insane - £12. Right now I cant afford to add a load of stuff to the order to make the value up to £50, to qualify for free shipping.

And yes, I've trawled ebay, but not much luck.

[Synsound]

Well, I guess you'll just have to send those boxes to me ;)

[Sergio]

http://www.futurlec.com/PotSliding.shtml

I have not tried these, but I was about to buy some of them, I was thinking of making some box looking like a mixer. At least, these doesnt seem expensive. Anyone here has tried them? Thank you.

[Beaker]

"Well, I guess you'll just have to send those boxes to me ;)"

Ha ha, nice try. They are the same as these here:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Galvanised-Steel-Adaptable-Mounting-Box-Electrical-Enclosure-300-x-150-x-50mm-/121270570713


Thanks for the link Sergio, I had already seen Futurlec, but they don't stock enough values of the long sliders.

[jaredcohen]

Just out of curiosity, is it a pain in the ass to drill openings for slider pots? I've had a couple pedals where I would've preferred a slider over a rotary, but I have no idea how to drill for them.

[Sergio]

Beaker, the values you are searching for, are these pots 50kB ? or Audio pots? Maybe I got what you need, I found some of these in a electronics shop near my parents house, I asked for slider pots and they took out a drawer with mixed values pots, some 50K B others 100k B and some stereo 250k, I measured some of them and were right, except the 250 that were higher in value, about 450k  really, so I thought that playing with pins in that one I could get almost 1M. Interesting.Well, I asked the owner and told me it was 1 euro/ piece. They look horrible, like if they had been there for 40 years, oxide and shitty, but the ones I measured, were accuratet, 50 and 100k were metal and about 8 cm long,
"250k " were a little different, 6 cm long more or less.
By the way I live in Spain and if you dont find other source I dont mind sending these to you.  Im a litlle idle when it comes to box things up but I m motivated about making something looking original and I could try to make a box with these sliders too, some delay time pot with slide potentiometer or  tremolo vibrato would look really cool  besides being  practical to adjust effect time with your foot.

[Beaker]

Many thanks for the kind offer Sergio, but buy them and keep them for yourself. I'm sure you will find a use for them.

Like I said in my original post, I can easily get what I need (5K linear, 50k linear, and 50k log) from Mouser here in the UK. They are also very cheap, but the postage is expensive. I have found some elsewhere but at a much higher price. Either way the total cost works out almost the same.

I'm going to wait till I get paid, then buy a bunch of them, which will offset the postage.

[Beaker]

jaredcohen wrote

Just out of curiosity, is it a pain in the ass to drill openings for slider pots? I've had a couple pedals where I would've preferred a slider over a rotary, but I have no idea how to drill for them.

You have a couple of options really, I'll start with the worst, and work up to the best method:

#1. Mark out the silde "slot" you need to cut, drill a hole at each end and then use a Dremel with a disc saw blade to cut out the slot.

#2. Mark out the slot, then centre punch a row of dots down the centreline, and drill out the slot. Then it's a case of filing, pad sawing, jigsawing or Dremelling the slot out.

Both methods need a fair bit of time, skill and care to get a good result, with plenty of opportunities to cock it up.

Far better results can be obtained using either of the following methods.

#3. Get a precision router base for your Dremel - Stewart MacDonalds in the US sell them - I have one and it's awesome. Chinese copies are available on ebay, or you could make your own (Google Dremel router base) for how to make one. Using the router base and a "fence" stuck to your enclosure lid with double sided tape, run a slot drill along the length of the slot between your two end holes. Job done!

#4. Do the job on a Bridgeport (or similar) vertical milling machine. Super easy and truly pro results, but only if you have access to one. Fortunately I do, so it's not a problem for me.
You could find a small machine shop or Auto shop locally that would be happy to do it for you.

Hope this helps.

[Luke51411]

Ooohhh shiny new thing to try Slider pots!!! haha never mind that I have all the rotary pots I could ever need (almost)... I guess its time to stock up on sliders and I have access to a bridgeport at work!!! Further down the rabbit hole we go...