DC power socket help

[lazarusr]

I am building a project in a wooden box (for aesthetic reasons). It will be supplied by an external 5V regulated DC power supply. The original plan was to use a 2.1mm socket to connect to the power supply. Unfortunately, the walls of the box are 14mm thick and no panel socket I can find comes anywhere near being able to mount this deep. If I mount the socket so that it is recessed in the wall of the box, then it will be too deep for the plug to reach.

The obvious solution is to have a captive fly lead coming from the box, but this won't result in quite the right aesthetic I am going for. Before I go down this route, does anyone have any better suggestions?

[Tandy]

Could you make the wall thinner where the power connector goes. For example use a 20mm (wide) flat drill bit to remove 10mm depth of the wood on the inside creating a recess on the inside so that you could then mount your socket?

In other words have the recess on the inside rather than the outside so you can get the nut on.

[Gyro]

Alternatively, mount the DC socket on a small plate attached to the inside surface and make the hole wide enough to take the body of the plug. That would also hide a lot of the length of the plug which might help with the aesthetics.

[jitter]

I see another option: replace the standard DC-plug on the power supply with a longer type.



Or maybe use something like this that you glue (rather than snap) into the wood.

[Aodhan145]

Can you not just take a forstner bit slightly larger than the panel mount one and create a recess on the inside and then mount the normal sized panel mount socket.

[lazarusr]

Thank's for the suggestions.

Drilling a recess on the inside would be the neatest solution. However, I am working with an existing box and there is no way I can angle a drill from the inside to drill out.

I have, however, found a brass disc (that matches some of the other hardware I am using) that I can fit the panel mount socket onto (as suggested by Gyro). I think I can then mount that in a recessed hole on the outside so that it sits flush.

[Aodhan145]

Thank's for the suggestions.

Drilling a recess on the inside would be the neatest solution. However, I am working with an existing box and there is no way I can angle a drill from the inside to drill out.

I have, however, found a brass disc (that matches some of the other hardware I am using) that I can fit the panel mount socket onto (as suggested by Gyro). I think I can then mount that in a recessed hole on the outside so that it sits flush.

Hopefully it works. Is the project interesting?

[lazarusr]

Hopefully it works. Is the project interesting?

Not really. It's a Nixie clock. There's hundreds of such projects online. At least it's basically my own design - I haven't just slavishly copied someone else's schematic.

Fun nonetheless and hopefully it will make a nice gift for Mrs L.

[lazarusr]

This is the solution I went for in the end. I made a hole in the wooden box just large enough to take the full body of the socket. This in turn is mounted on a metal disc and there is a recess in the wall of the box just large enough to accommodate the disc. Worked out well. Thanks for all your suggestions.

[Aodhan145]

This is the solution I went for in the end. I made a hole in the wooden box just large enough to take the full body of the socket. This in turn is mounted on a metal disc and there is a recess in the wall of the box just large enough to accommodate the disc. Worked out well. Thanks for all your suggestions.

  Nice job, seemed to work out well.

[jitter]

Looks good! Looks like it originally left the factory that way.

[alsetalokin4017]

I used a Forstner bit to make a recess larger than the max OD of the jack, thinning the wood until it was thin enough for the jack's mounting length. Then drilled through for the jack diameter.

[bitseeker]

This is the solution I went for in the end. I made a hole in the wooden box just large enough to take the full body of the socket. This in turn is mounted on a metal disc and there is a recess in the wall of the box just large enough to accommodate the disc. Worked out well. Thanks for all your suggestions.

I like it. It does go well with the overall aesthetic.

[lazarusr]

I like it. It does go well with the overall aesthetic.

[jitter]

Haha, "Lazarus' Clock" I think it says... 

[lazarusr]

Haha, "Lazarus' Clock" I think it says... 

Yes.

[bitseeker]

Nicely done. I like it.