I just finished a little DIY project for myself. On my desk I have an LED lamp that I was never happy with since the switch for it was one of those hack job in-line switches. Mine recently died so I got a replacement and I did not want to suffer that inline switch again as there was no good place for it. I also need a fan on the desk and the new one I got has the switch around back, also awkward to turn on and off.

So here we have two simple low power AC devices to switch on and off. My plan was to make a simple box to hold a line cord, a couple of switches, a couple of NEMA 1-15 outlets made nice as I will be staring at it for the rest of my life.

And here it is!



I wasn't sure if I would like these round easy to install switches or rectangular ones, but these look nicer than the others IMHO based on an Autocad sketch I made. Still, I bought both off eBay while planning this. I also got the box, in fact three boxes to get the best bang for a given size, smaller being better.

Oops, the Heyco wire strain reliefs I had in my junkbox were too small, so I had to order those too. Then the cheap 10 pack of outlets from China got delayed so I reordered off DigiKey.

Shall we guess what this cost before I present the costed BOM?

So here is my BOM with pricing:

[FONT=Courier New]                       Ext   Shipping
P1       Cord             $0.00   
   
S1, S2   Round AC Switch  $4.99   
         Rect AC switch   $4.99   
   
J1, J2   NEMA 1-15 outlet $2.49   
         NEMA 1-15 outlet $3.90   $3.75
   
SR1      HEYCO, Junkbox   $0.00
         Heyco, eBay      $5.25   
   
BOX1   Bud CU-185         $5.00   $2.00
       Box, no-name       $4.19   
                          ------  -----
       Total              $30.81  $5.75
       Grand total        $36.56   [/FONT]

Yep, $36.56 for a simple box of switches. TWO switches. Add in a couple of hours labor (which I quite enjoyed BTW).

I only did this because I wanted exactly what I wanted and that was custom. Actually I am quite happy with it. Looks very good, and the switches feel just marvelous and I get an inner smile every time I touch them.

Something to consider when you start to think building something is cheaper than buying one. It almost never is cheaper in time or money.

 

Yep. If you ever get the temptation to figure out how much you "saved" by doing it yourself... resist!

 

We always charge more for Custom Design jobs.

Now all you have to remember is which switch is which!

 

I have a friend who loves to go fishing--figures he gets fish for about $150 a pound.