Ignition switch plate?

[GBS]

1999-2000 Alumacraft Trophy Sport 175

The ignition switch is fine. But the plastic plate it mounts to is shot. 4 3/4 long, 2 1/4 wide, 1/8" thick. An odd elliptical shape to it, with rounded edges.
A few years ago a local dealer found a similar blank for me, from some "old stock" somewhere. But, it had no holes for the two dash mounting screws, and more importantly the hole for the switch itself needs to be about 15mm, with one flat side (to prevent the switch from rotating when the key is turned).
My attempts to drill it failed - plastic just crumbled. So I reinforced the original with bits of brass/fiberglass and epoxy on the back side. But it too has finally begun to crumble.
Alumacraft has been no help.

Any suggestions on finding a replacement?

Worst case, I could try and model it in CAD, and have a friend print it on his 3D printer. But neither he or I are that good at the tech.

[Hot Runr Guy]

What not just make it out of aluminum, and paint it?

HRG

[GBS]

Originally Posted by Hot Runr Guy

What not just make it out of aluminum, and paint it?

HRG

Thought of that. While I've got a variety of woodworking tools, including benchtop drill press and small bandsaw, cutting it and making the hole with the one flat side would mean for me lots of filing by hand to shape it. And it would end up looking pretty "rustic". Would be nice to find a bolt on replacement. But if that ends up being the only alternative....

[REW]

GBS,
Pretty easy.
Take the drawing for the necessary plate and take it to a nearby machine shop and have them cut one out of stainless and have it polished ready to bolt into your boat.

I expect that it will be perfect and cost much less than $100.

Best wishes.

Or you could take a piece of aluminum, spend an hour and a total of 2 hours and have an equally attractive job down with time and diligence.

I actually do this quite a bit for some of the machines that I build.
My main tool is a Dremel tool with an abrasive cut off wheel, die grinders, cordless drills, reamers, and counter sink bits.

The job is perfect as long as one just takes the time and does not get into a hurry.

When doing this sort of work, the first thing that I do is to cover the face of the metal with standard beige masking tape. Then, a pencil or ball point pen can be used to create the pattern and then you just have to go to work th implement the pattern.

By the way, if you have a buffing wheel on a buffer or a bench grinder and some white polishing compound, you can have the aluminum shine like a mirror.

Best wishes.

[Timmer92]

Maybe post a pic to get more suggestions? If it's just flat, I think you could use a variety of materials - aluminum, various plastics, wood.

[Coho975]

Originally Posted by GBS

1999-2000 Alumacraft Trophy Sport 175

The ignition switch is fine. But the plastic plate it mounts to is shot. 4 3/4 long, 2 1/4 wide, 1/8" thick. An odd elliptical shape to it, with rounded edges.
A few years ago a local dealer found a similar blank for me, from some "old stock" somewhere. But, it had no holes for the two dash mounting screws, and more importantly the hole for the switch itself needs to be about 15mm, with one flat side (to prevent the switch from rotating when the key is turned).
My attempts to drill it failed - plastic just crumbled. So I reinforced the original with bits of brass/fiberglass and epoxy on the back side. But it too has finally begun to crumble.
Alumacraft has been no help.

Any suggestions on finding a replacement?

Worst case, I could try and model it in CAD, and have a friend print it on his 3D printer. But neither he or I are that good at the tech.

I've dealt with these guys before, they do a good job.

https://newwiremarine.com/custom-marine-switch-panels/

[grizzley]

I had that plastic plate crack on a 17"Starcraft SFM and did what others suggested and fabricated one out of aluminum,, PITB to do, but once and done. You could then go to a local sign shop and get it vinyl coated with something of your liking, such as a carbon fiber design if you don't want it to look "rustic".
Point to ponder: If the original one didn't hold up, neither will a OEM factory replacement if you find one, that's why I decided to make one out of aluminum.

[therealjoeblow]

Check out the "F**k that, I'll just print it!" Facebook group...


https://www.facebook.com/groups/444164956225496/

It's for enthusiasts of 3D printing. There are some pretty skilled folks over there that make some extremely nice looking homebrew. With the correct tools and a bit of skill, you can 3D print almost anything (within reason). You might be able to find someone interested in helping you there, or more realistically, find someone locally to model and print you a custom plate for a nominal fee. In any case, you can get some good tips from the members there if you want to tackle it yourself.

Cheers
TRJB