Switch Box gen III
February 17 2010 | Posted in: ElectricalAfter I posted on the local boards about my homemade gen II switch panel, I had a few requests my people to make these for them. In all honesty, the gen II box was a beotch to bend and even with taking my time, it wasn’t perfect enough for me to comfortably sell to others. So I set out on how to make one that allowed for cleaner and simpler bends. The hardest part to bend on the gen II was towards the end when I was working around the ends that were already bent. No matter what order I bent the metal, I always ended up with 1 or 2 hard bends and it constantly came out looking less than 100%.
So I figured I’d make it in 2 pieces – make the wings separate from the box itself.
After making the 2 side pieces and the 1 main box portion, it would be super easy to rivet together.
This time I waited until I went home to visit the family because my dad has a decent shop setup I could use. It works better than my living room floor 
And because I wanted to make the bends as sharp, even, and consistent as I could get them, I made a little bending jig. It was pretty simple to make. It consists of some scrap angle I had laying around and a few hinges. The strip of metal sitting on top gets clamped down to the sheet metal to keep the bend tight. It needs to be just shy of 8″ long so it can fit in between the outter tabs of the box.
OK, time to get to work. With this new design, I found I could make 2 switch boxes out of the same sheet my gen II box would only allow 1 box. Score!
Trace out the design and cut the sheet in 1/2. I stuck with the metal shears to cut the sheet.
Center punch the holes to be drilled then drill them out. I chose to once again drill holes in corners to help the bends come out cleaner:
Finish doing the cuts to create the tabs
Time to bend!
Now those are the bends I like to see! I would like to point out the “tabs” at the top of the front and back face. They are bend as far inward as possible. These bent in tabs greatly increase the rigidity of the front and rear panels.
Time to do the end panels/wings. Trace the pattern out, cut it to shape, and drill out the corners as well as the holes to start the wings mounting strips.
Final bend is MUCH easier now:
Now rivet the end panels to the box:
No, the design is almost exactly the same as my gen II box. But this gen III box accomplished the goal of being able to make them much easier as well as provide a cleaner finished look.
I actually never used this box in my XJ. Before I could paint, wire, and install it, I thought of a much easier way to make a box. Thus giving me my gen IV box.
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