4
Front of the completed panel
Back of Panel
How to
These panels are in fact easy to make.
you will need
1) a Drawing Program plus Printer ( I used Coaldraw 6 which has a 30 day free trial)
2) a Laminating machine or access to a shop that does it (mine was less than 30 euros and has lasted for years)
3) a backing board I used what we call hard board (fiber board?)
4) a large felt tip Pen (Sharpie ?)
what to do
1) draw your panel and print it out. I used normal pain paper.
2) Laminate it then trim the lamination down till they is just enough left to seal the panel.
3) Cut or backing board to the same size as your panel and them colour the edges with your felt tip pen, both the edges and about 1cm in ob both faces. This really helps to hide were the panel face and the board meet covering any imperfection. It is also much harder to do later than it is now.
4) glue the panel to the board , cover the whole board with glue not just the edges. Then leave the panel to dry over night with a pile of books on top of it.
5) Drill the hole I found that it best to drill the hole with a very high speed drill and start with a small drill bit and work up to the size you need. I started at 1mm and steped up in 1mm steps till I got to the 12mm I needed.
This is because I found if you try to drill the holes in one go with a large drill bit it rips the lamination terrible and ruins the pain. I lost one that way and had to redo it.
Panel with holes drilled
6) install your switches and enjoy your new panel.
I shall be making a few more panels for the rest of the control not on my stick or throttle and them will build the pit
