Since buying a Squeezebox, I've been slowly hatching a plan to remove the stereo rack from the sittingroom. Everything on the rack is a "legacy system" now -- turntable, cassette deck, CD player, integrated amplifier -- and will soon seem as quaint as eight-track or reel-to-reel.

All I need is a power-amp, with reasonable heft and minimal (15db?) gain.

Daniel recently pointed me at diyaudio.com, which is a treasure trove of project ideas, and frequented by a fascinating mixture of clueless Darwin-award material and radical guru innovators. The chip-amp approach tickled my fancy -- there are a few very interesting designs there too, but I want to stick with something ultra-simple.

The electronics should be straightforward, but I also want a nice-looking enclosure. Something to match my minimal skillset, but which will look good underneath the Squeezebox. So, armed with a few sheets of paper and a pencil, a sketch emerged. A copper box with wooden legs.

How to source the materials? Newburyport's Port Sheet Metal does copper, but only up to 48oz sheet, which isn't substantial enough for what I want. Luckily I found Admiral Metals, only a short drive away. They have a warehouse and walk-in shop, with offcuts, sheets, flat bars, rods, and various other bits and pieces. Copper, brass, aluminium, steel, and more. The offcuts selection was wide enough for me to pick up a couple of 9x11 x 0.1875" plates and some 2.5" x 0.25" flat bar -- sold by the pound (and this stuff weighs about 20lb, altogether!). Vastly cheaper than onlinemetals. If you're looking for metal (or just up for a tactile experience) I'd unreservedly recommend giving Admiral a visit.

Now I just need the wood. And a few months to put it all together.... :-)