Design: Box design

Design: Box design

The design of the box, currently, before I’ve started building it, is based on a piece of equipment I used to use when I first started in electronics. It was a big wooden box, with a duck egg blue painted metal front panel. It had a huge dial and knobs in the middle. I can’t remember what it was for, and can’t find a picture of anything like it, but duck egg blue front panels were prevalent.

On the side I want a ventilation grill. The hole for the grill I want to base on the designs of old valve radio fronts. This sort of thing:

I don’t think my woodworking skills are very adept, so I’ll keep the design simple, probably based on the Phillips logo:

Obviously this isn’t part of an accurate representation of old lab equipment, but I like the idea.

The box will be wooden, maybe oak, with a metal front panel; duck egg blue, which I want to get silk screened with all the nonsense switch settings.

Also, on the silk screened front panel, I want a manufacturers logo for the company name I’ve made up: Oldham & Grearson. I may change that name, but currently that’s what it’s going to be. I shall have to ask for help with the logo design, as my graphic design is poor.

One thing I haven’t worked out, is how to mount it to the wall. Most lab equipment is desk standing, so I can’t think how lab equipment would normally be wall mounted. There is also a security aspect. A lot of art is screwed to the wall using mirror plates. I don’t want to do that, as it doesn’t match the look and feel of a portable piece of lab equipment. So, I have a little problem to solve: How to securely wall mount, without it moving too much as people fiddle with the switches.