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My first cab build

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luvmyshiner

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Well, I received my 12" Veteran 30 from Warehouse Guitar Speakers last week (thanks for the heads up DVM), and speaker grill cloth courtesy of simplyspeakers.com (a place Strum found awhile back, nice folks, fast shipping but a little high on the postage and handling).

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So last week I did a lot of research on the fret and elsewhere regarding speaker cabinets. Found a LOT of information on what type of wood should be used, dovetail joints vs. finger joints., open back vs. closed back vs. partially open back, etc. Last night I finally chunked it, came up with a plan, and decided just to build the dang thing. I figure any mistakes I make will be lessons learned for the next build.

I haven't worked out in my shop for awhile, but my son has, so needless to say I spent the first hour just cleaning the place. If you think it looks bad now, you should have seen it before.

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I'm planning on using some of this big chunk of mahogany to frame out the front and add a little bling. I'll probably use mahogany to bung the screw holes as well (heh, heh, I love the word "bung").

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I decided to use 1" cabinet grade ash plywood because I had it left over from another project, and I'm cheap.

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I cut out my blanks, then cut the sides, top and bottom to join at a 45 degree angle. I didn't want to dovetail or finger joint it because it's plywood, and I figure I'll just brace the heck out of the thing to make up for any weaknesses. I also angled the front of the cab to project up slightly at a 5 degree angle. After getting those parts cut I did a little test fit:

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Oh, CB took a couple of shots of me hard at work, heh, heh. Oh, and LEGAL DISCLAIMER!!!! I remove the safety gear from most of my power tools because it tends to get in the way of precision work. I AM A COMPLETE IDIOT WHO HAS NO IDEA WHAT HE'S DOING AND NO ONE ELSE SHOULD EVEN CONSIDER DOING THIS JUST BECAUSE I DO. If you lose fingers, toes, appendages, appetite or anything else by emulating this practice, it's your own damn fault.

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Next I broke out the "dado of death". This thing always makes me nervous because I've never found a dado insert that fits my table saw, so I have to be careful.

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I dadoed (is that word?) a slot for the speaker panel to fit in the sides and top.

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Then I went to work on the speaker panel. I couldn't find my compass (so I cussed the boy) couldn't even find a piece of string to do the old "tie the string to a nail and pencil" trick. So finally I made a template out of newspaper, checked it against the speaker, and transferred it to the speaker panel.

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After being so proud of myself for my ingenuity, I found my compass and went back and did it right.
 
Finally, I did a quick test fit of all the pieces just to make sure everything was ok.

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Tomorrow I'm planning on cutting the braces, doing a test assemble, then pulling it apart to glue and screw the crap out of everything. I don't want this thing rattling when CB starts jamming.:rockon:

I'm also planning on making the back in two removable pieces so I can play around with the whole open back, closed back, and partial back thing.

If everything goes well tomorrow, I'll start finishing it next weekend. I'm just going with a natural finish to show off the mahogany bling.
 
Very good:bravo: :bravo: :bravo:

You are an old hand out in the shop. Looks like a pretty cool project and coming along nicely. I assume you made it safely through the "dado of death" portion or are you looking for a pair of three finger gloves? When I was actively doing woodworking, my fear was the radial arm saw. Loved the tool, but the stories scared the crap out of me.

Great pictures to go along with the project.

This should be a great thread as you progress.
 
Heh, heh, thanks guys. It's been so long since I've worked out in the shop (read that "garage" even though it's never had a car in it) that I just took my time and enjoyed it. And the weather was perfect. Low to middle 70's all day. Just opened the garage door, cranked up some tunes, and had a great time.

Strum, I survived the dado of death . . . this time.:saw:

Dread, yeah . . . about that. I'll quit smoking when you do brother.:beer:

Thanks Robert. It's been a blast and CB helped me out with the pics.
 
Fellow lawyer dude, my favorite part is the lawyer loafers being recycled as shop shoes. LOL!!!!! Nice thread!! I have some tools, and know just enough to be dangerous. This is a project I might try some day. Reminds me of my friends building "Speakerlab" kit type speakers back in the 70's.
 
sunvalleylaw said:
Fellow lawyer dude, my favorite part is the lawyer loafers being recycled as shop shoes. LOL!!!!!

I'm beginning to think that Sun has a footwear fetish ;).

Man, I admire those with woodworking skills. If I tried that it would've taken a week, 40,000 cusswords (several thousand of which would've been newly minted for the occaision), & the d@mn thing would lean sideways & fall apart as soon as the first power chord was played.
 
Nice post, Shiner!
Good project, pics, and descriptions.
Thanks for taking the time to share it.
 
Have you decided if your mounting the speaker from the front or the back.They make these inserts with bolts that work way better than say wood screws.Also easy for swapping/trying new speakers out.On the back im not sure if you intend on 2 pieces being removable or just one piece.If you make both pieces removable with a third piece in the middle permately mounted so you can mount the speaker jack you can then try different positions (both panels off/on ,top off bottom on ,bottom off top on).Hope this makes sense.

Of course if you just have the top removable you can mount the jack on the bottom section. Id also use the bolt inserts for these panels after awhile if you use screws of course the holes will become unusable.Last id make the grill cloth panel removable also with tabs of velcro if your mounting from the front.Not sure if im articulate enough to describe in detail whats in my mind but hopefully you can take a bit or two from my reply:AOK:
 
Thanks for reading y'all, I'm glad you're enjoying the thread.

Ted, once I get the cab finished my next project will be the firefly build. I've given some thought to a guitar build, but I've always thought about building an acoustic. And I know from a thread Dread posted over on Washburn awhile back that it's a difficult time consuming build. Perhaps it would be best if I started off with an electric build. I had not considered it, but I think I will.

Steve, heh, heh, glad you like the shoes. Like I said, I'm cheap. Everything in my house gets used and recycled till it falls apart, including me.:cry:

Mud, I'm planning on front mounting the speaker, because frankly it looked easier. I took into account the depth of the speaker lip, as well as the depth of the grill panel and velcro to attach it, when determining the set back of the speaker panel.:AOK: I hadn't considered using bolts, but I like the idea and fortunately I'm early enough in the build that I can accommodate that change.

My thought on the back panels was to have both panels removable, with a hole cut at the base of the bottom panel. I was going to mount a piece of wood on the bottom of the cab, behind the hole in the bottom panel, for the speaker jack. Again, I hadn't considered using bolts, but I like the idea and will probably go that direction.
 
My old khakis are yard work/chore pants, (got that one from my Dad), and I wear old long sleeve shirts for the same thing when i need sleeves. Haven't gone so far as to wear my old Navy blazers as a bathrobe or skiing or anything yet. ;-)
 
Well, I didn't get as much done on the project today as I had hoped, but that's ok. Both of the kids called and I would much rather spend time visiting with them, plus I had couple of "honey do's" to take care of. Like I always say, however much time you think a project will take, multiply by ten.

I did manage to get the braces cut and checked for square.

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I hoped to use a little bit bigger braces, but I had to go with the scrap wood I had available. I also managed to get the braces positions marked as well as the pilot holes marked for the screws.

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So that's where we are. I'll have more for y'all next weekend.
 
just strum said:
You skipped over the pictures of you cutting down the trees to get the wood.

I'm not that cheap.:mad: I stole it from the neighbors fence last night while they were sleeping.:beer:
 
Very nice, Shiner. :AOK: I wish I had your woodworking skills & equipment! Looking forward to seeing how it looks "together"....
 
Looking good, Shiner! I was considering building a cabinet of my own, but I fell into a deal on a 4x12 in good condition. I still might make a 2x12 later on, but not for a while. I'm one of those guys who likes to pretend he's good with woodworking... :whatever: :messedup:
 
Thanks for the kind words y'all. It got cold last night so it may be a few days before I get back into the shop, but I'm really looking forward to getting her together and starting the finish work.
 
ted s said:
It got cold ? phhff.. Texas cold ? what's that, 65 ?
Lightweights.. ;)

Oh no! It's down to 42!:D Might have to break out the thermal underwear tomorrow.:rotflmao:

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Yikes on the underwear dudes:eek:


Nice work there luvmyshiner:AOK:

M29
 
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