To mod or not to mod?

[bill0287]

I recently got an interest in working on vintage amps, and one of the first updates I plan to make with one is to swap out a 2-wire power cord with a new 3-wire. Thing is, the amp does not have a fuse, so I am interested in adding a fuse holder in the circuit.

I am struggling with the idea of drilling out the face plate to mount the fuse holder.

What is the general consensus on doing such intrusive mods to older gear? Is it widely expected or wildly frown upon?

It's my amp and I can do what I want to it, but I respect the vintage vibe too much and it's giving me pause.

Thoughts?

[galaxiex]

Mount the fuse in a holder inside the chassis.
More trouble to access but no visible mod required.

Or, mount the fuse holder on the back panel, not the faceplate.

[bill0287]

I was going through the back panel but still feel guilty of drilling it out. I know it's the right/safe thing to do, but still...

[The Dude]

What amp model/brand? How vintage?

[bill0287]

It's my only other post on this forum. you can see it there.

[g1]

Here's an inline fuse holder used in another amp that tigerzilly just worked on.

[Tom Phillips]

It's my only other post on this forum. you can see it there.

It is best to put all the relevant information in this thread. That will allow the other members to give you the highest level of help.

[jmaf]

Here's an inline fuse holder used in another amp that tigerzilly just worked on.

Kinda offtopic, but that yellow mustard cap really shouldn't be there on the PT primary.

[Chuck H]

What galaxiex and g1 said. Yess you'd need to open the amp to get to the fuse, but the vintage look and is preserved and quite possibly the amp itself. An in line fuse holder should be easy to install and if the amp ever blows you'd need to open it up anyway if it DIDN'T have a fuse. Once it'sopened for service, which you would need to do anyway, the fuse is accessible. And likely the fuse caught something that would have been more expensive, or more detrimental to the amps stock/vintage value. I'll vote for the in line fuse tucked in the chassis.

[Tom Phillips]

If the fuse is mounted inside the chassis you could also use a simple fuse holder such as shown in the attached photo.

[bill0287]

Thanks for all the comments. I am definitely going to add a fuse, I just can't bring myself to drill the chassis so I will find one to mount inside, either the inline type g1 showed or the one Tom shared. Either way, it's going inside.