Making a custom steel enclosure, 5×7×5 inches
Channel: Kevin Martin
Date: 2023-03-31

The temperature controller on my Monotype Composition Caster has failed, so I'm replacing it with a modern thermocouple-based controller, and this needs an enclosure. This machine (now commercially obsolete) is used to cast type for letterpress printing, and needs accurate control of the temperature of the pot of molten type metal in order to work reliably.

None of the prefab boxes I could find were of an appropriate size, so I made a box from 16-gauge steel sheet purchased at a local home-improvement store.
This is a bit heavier than I would have liked, but the next lighter gauge (24 gauge at the time) seemed too thin.
The metal has a nice clean finish, but it was work-hardened which, as can be seen in the video, caused me some problems.

Related blog post: https://papertrail.ca/blog/monotype-repairs-an-enclosure-for-a-new-pot-temperature-controller/