Before stuffing everything into the gum container, I cut out a piece of thin cardboard the same size as the perfboard and used a few dabs of hot glue to attach it to the underside of the perfboard. This is to keep the circuit from shorting out on any of the off-board components in the container, especially J1.



Then go around the outside of the container and mark wherever you want the openings to be for the off-board components - J1 and J2, SW1, R1, and D1. Again, the placement really isn't critical, except to keep them as close to the bottom of the container as possible and to make sure the components don't run into each other. For that reason, I thought it made the most sense to place them all 90 degrees from each other. I placed the LED right above the switch, and then placed the headphone jack to side of the switch that activates the headphone output. Next I have the input jack and finally the gain control. Once the spots are marked, drill a small starter hole for each one with a small bit (like a 1/16"). Your measurements will vary for your components, but for J1 and J2 the standard mounting hole diameters are 3/8" and 3/16". If in doubt, start smaller and round out the holes with a tapered reamer if you have one. This is a great tool not only for getting the holes just the right size, but keeping them round and smooth. Also works great for sheet metal panels and enclosures. If you have a snap-in grommet for the LED (I found one in my parts bin) those work well, or you could just push the top of the LED through the mounting hole and secure it with some glue from the inside. I found this 5mm LED grommet online at Radio Shack.



Once the holes are in place, pop each component through, add a washer to the outside and then thread on the mounting nut. Use some needlenose pliers to make sure the nut is on tight, since the surface of the container is curved slightly. I found a nice big knob to put on the gain control, there are plenty of places to find one if you don't have one in your workshop. In fact there are entire eBay stores dedicated to replacement and vintage guitar amp knobs, so have fun looking!



Next, place the circuit board in the container, positioned as far to one side as possible to leave room for the battery next to it and the speaker above it. I placed mine almost vertically, between the switch and the headphone jack. Next, drop in the battery. I found it fit best by laying it horizontally right in front of the circuit board. Depending on the depth of your speaker you may have to turn the battery to leave more clearance at the top. Finally, drop the speaker in on top, making sure to tuck the leads in underneath it. I found that with the Eclipse container, you can press down lightly on the edges of the speaker to get it to pop just under the rim at the top of the container. That makes threading the lid on a lot easier. If you use a different container (Dentyne for example), you may need to leave the speaker on top of the rim, and just thread the lid down as far as you can - just try to hold the speaker in place through the open lid so that it doesn't turn as you thread the lid on.



Congratulations - your sweet little portable guitar amp is completed and ready to start jamming!



