Kalamazoo Model 2 Chassis

[Magnatron]

I'm thinking for my next project of building a Kalamzoo Model 2 clone. I've looked around, but does anyone know where I could get an after market chassis for this? If not, how do you folks do one-off chassis with knob and connection printing and such?

[maxkracht]

The closest, readily available, thing I can think of would be a vibrochamp chassis. If you want to go all the way from scratch, I think the original was just a sheet of steel bent into an L, well, more of a sideways V. < Could also get a blank aluminum chassis from Hammond. Faceplate design and manufacture is its own can of worms, many possibilities with varying expense and/or difficulty.

[R.G.]

Max is right - the original was an L of sheet metal that slid into the wooden enclosure.

Do NOT make an exact replica, as the originals were hot-chassis, with one side of the AC line connected to the chassis ground. Also known as widow-makers.

As Max says, faceplate layout is a bit of an art. I examined getting a sign printing shop to print a fairly-elaborate front panel on its sticky-back sign material. Worked OK.

[sluckey]

I made a layout for a K2 using a Hammond organ board. It was not a hot chassis. Maybe you can use something here...

[Stevem]

However do add a artificial center tap to the heater string feeds.

[maxkracht]

Here's one I rebuilt for someone a year or two ago. Made a few changes from the original, but same general idea. Artificial heater center tap is going to the 6bq5 cathode.

[Raja_Kentut]

Do NOT make an exact replica, as the originals were hot-chassis, with one side of the AC line connected to the chassis ground. Also known as widow-makers.

IF you make an exact replica, just use a 1:1 isolation transformer as input…then you can connect the chassis to GND and to earth and it is as dangorous as any other tube amp.

[Stevem]

The schematic for the original model I found does have a PT.

[maxkracht]

I think RG was thinking of a different Kalamazoo. The model 1 and model 2 kalamazoos I have worked on had "death caps" but were otherwise isolated.

[R.G.]

Could be. The Kalamazoo I refurbed was a long time ago. It was definitely hot-chassis. Perhaps Kalamazoo decided not to be quite so cheap later.

[Magnatron]

I made a layout for a K2 using a Hammond organ board. It was not a hot chassis. Maybe you can use something here...

Nice! Thanks!

[Dennis Perusse]

Hey,


Years ago on the Tellecaster Forum I did a clone of a Kalamazoo Model 2 build thread. Bit of an old thread and really ugly wiring but food for thought. It still works quite well although one of these years I'm going to do an update on it and clean it up so it hides my earlier build sins.

https://www.tdpri.com/threads/kalamazoo ... ld.393981/

https://www.tdpri.com/threads/kalamazoo ... st-5629956

Dennis