Building myself some cabs.

[Diocide]

My OCD finally got the best of me and I decided to build myself a pair of matching cabs.

The plan is to sell off my Mesa and Orange cabs once these are done.

Going with a natural finish (no tolex), black and blonde grill cloth and black hardware.

Speakers will be X patterned. Two for sure will be my Weber Blue Dogs, with hemp cones and pre Rola doping. These are super bass heavy, so Im Going to experiment with what I mix them with.

[Diocide]

First couple steps.

Had my buddy Keith from Gravity Cabs finger joint me some 3/4 birch ply.

I glued it up and sanded down the corners a bit.

I then attached a piece of 1x2 Maple as a front nose piece. I glued and screwed it for now, which will be replaced with dowels later on.

[clipless bumper]

.....glued and screwed it for now, which will be replaced with dowels later on.....

That technique really needs to be used more often, so simple, and so pure once it's done.

[mortatone]

Looks great. No need for dowels really.. wood glue is stronger than any of that. Once it dries thoroughly I bet you can stand on the cab, even without any baffle or additional support, and do the Watusi and the cab won't shimmy a bit. Try it. It's a good test. Try it!

[Diocide]

.....glued and screwed it for now, which will be replaced with dowels later on.....

That technique really needs to be used more often, so simple, and so pure once it's done.

I did it on my headhsell buildmand was very happy. Simple and looks nice when stained.

Looks great. No need for dowels really.. wood glue is stronger than any of that. Once it dries thoroughly I bet you can stand on the cab, even without any baffle or additional support, and do the Watusi and the cab won't shimmy a bit. Try it. It's a good test. Try it!

The dowels will basically be just to fill the holes. It’s not really about structural strength, just looks nicer than wood filler IMO.

[Diocide]

Did some router work and glued in th dowels.

My miters were not as clean as I’d hope, but it’s all good.



Went with a cove bit for the inside edge. Seems like a common idea.

[jgreenwd]

I usually glue the dowels, flush cut them, and THEN use the roundover bit. It seems to save a little bit of touchup work.

[Diocide]

I usually glue the dowels, flush cut them, and THEN use the roundover bit. It seems to save a little bit of touchup work.

That’s how I did my headshell build, but I figured I’d try this way. I have to sand the whole thing still, so I figure I can take care of it when sanding before stain.

[mortatone]

The dowels will basically be just to fill the holes. It’s not really about structural strength, just looks nicer than wood filler IMO.

Ah ok that makes sense. I wasn't thinking about it being all nekkid like that.

[Diocide]

Cut the baffle.
Cut out the speaker holes using my old Ampeg combo baffle as a guide.
Drilled the holes, sanded and painted it black.
Added the T-nuts for speaker mounting.

[Zozobra]

looking good man! I want to build a ported 212 at some point.

[Diocide]

looking good man! I want to build a ported 212 at some point.

Woodworking is a lot of fun. Once you get the tools, it becomes a lot easier and more rewarding. Can’t wait to finish this one off and start the second one!

[Zozobra]

I wish I had the space to do woodwork in. I did make some cabs with a few friends a few years ago. One of them had a table saw which makes life a lot easier. If I do make a cab I'll be trying to do it with just a circular saw and a guide rail!

[newholland]

Did you actually stain it purple? Cause if you did, that's badass..

[Zozobra]

It is more of a cherry red colour, that's just a shitty photo haha!

[Tortuga]

Nice work, Paul - keep it up! How'd you make the circular cutouts in the baffle? They look really clean!

How are you making the miter cuts for the maple trim? Looks like it's close, but might needs a little bit of angle adjustment. Other than that, looks like a great way to trim out those edges for staining.

Zozobra - nothing wrong with a circ & guide rails, as long as they're set up properly, and you use a good, high tooth-count carbide blade. I've built a set of my own guides & a sacrificial table that make really clean, accurate / true cuts in all types of sheet material. I've got an excellent cabinet tablesaw in my shop, but the room is small, and it's a lot better to do the large cuts outside with the circ. If I didn't have the tablesaw, I'd still be able to make cabs with little difficulty. And that purple cab is really killer

[Diocide]

My miter box is about a decade old and seen lots of abuse. I imagine the settings are off a bit.

I just used s jigsaw and then sanded a bit. They’re definitely not perfect, but I’m happy with them.

Edit; I would have used a router to cut the baffle holes, but none of my bits are long enough to go through 3/4” and I didn’t feel like buying a new bit.

[Diocide]

Got the baffle all squared away.

[Tortuga]

Loving that

[Diocide]

Progress from this week.

I got 4 coats of finish on the cab. I’ve been using Waterlox, and sanding between the first two coats with 320 and final two with 400.

I got it home this weekend (I’ve been using my job to finish, since it’s too cold to do it in my garage) and got the front baffle all set.

I predrilled some holes and attached the baffle to the maple nosing, then applied glue to braces and screwed it together. I then filled the lower seams with some caulk, and will do the other seam tomorrow.

[/img]https://i.imgur.com/w38L1nV.jpg[img]











Up next is the rear panel and hardware.

[Tortuga]

Looks really great, Paul


What you gonna load in there?

[Diocide]

Looks really great, Paul


What you gonna load in there?

Two Weber Almicno Blue Dogs for sure, and then the other two might be G12K-85's or old Fanes. Not totally sure yet.