Building an amp cabinet. How hard can it be?

RodeoTex · May 11th, 2008, 11:02 AM

You might remember a few months ago when I posted here asking about the little RCA I found. I wired a jack to the mic input and a stereo speaker to the output. It worked! It was clean all the way up to maximum volume. I was hoping for a little growl, but oh well.

I'm a fair woodworker so I figgered, 'how hard can it be to build a box?' Well I found out.

I found a bunch of nasty gray old wood at work, then discovered it to be mahogany when planed! Using just the limited time and tools available at work I built this on my lunch hours:

Note the really sloppy finger joints. Best I could do with only a table saw to work with. I filled the many gaps with clear epoxy. For some reason the flash really shows all the flaws. It really doesn't look that bad in person.

Here's the back view. I bought an 8" Weber Blue Pup. I have not heard the amp with this speaker yet:

It now looks like this picture below. Since I made a slanted front for the controls I had to add wires onto the originals inside the amp to extend the controls out to the new front plate. Gawd I hope I labelled those wires right:

Note the grille cloth. I found it on ebay for $12. I wasn't really crazy about it, just bought it because it was cheapest. Turns out to match the overall look very well I think. This cloth is NOS from the estate of Elmo and Patsy (Grandma got run over by a reindeer).
I didn't do a very good job of getting it on straight, but then there is nothing straight or square in this whole project.

RodeoTex · May 11th, 2008, 11:10 AM

For the control plate I used a piece of brass that I've had forever:

I did a simple little engraved border and made the labels with DIY decal paper.

Had to throw in my own name of course:

It is just all sitting together but here's the almost-finished amp

I I probably won't get to work on it for a few days due to 'real' projects that gotta get done. I now have this great fear that its gonna last about 2 days then crap out.I'll post again later if the finished product is worth talking about.

BritishBluesBoy · May 11th, 2008, 11:14 AM

That looks awesome man! I hope it sounds as good as it looks... Keep us posted!

micpoc · May 11th, 2008, 11:42 AM

I want it. Give it to me now.

e-merlin · May 11th, 2008, 11:49 AM

Right about now, some Alt. Country guy is plotting...

Looks good!

TeeBird · May 11th, 2008, 12:05 PM

I love it!

Now give me the rest of that mahogany.

Steve G · May 11th, 2008, 12:07 PM

nice work mate

JohnnyCrash · May 11th, 2008, 01:40 PM

Damn!

I like it. Very cool.

I wish I was that good at woodworking :(

RodeoTex · May 11th, 2008, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnnyCrash

Damn!

I like it. Very cool.

I wish I was that good at woodworking :(

Lemme know Johnny. Maybe we can trade out some work. Thanks for the compliment.
walt

Tim Armstrong · May 11th, 2008, 03:15 PM

Extremely cool! And if the amp doesn't turn out to be terribly functional, you can always build a Champ circuit or something like that for it!

Cheers, Tim

del · May 11th, 2008, 03:28 PM

i love it ! control plate looks great !

Scott S · May 11th, 2008, 03:32 PM

Looks awesome! Wish I had the gear to do fingerjoints.

BTW, if those 6J7's are wired as triodes, then they will have a fairly low amplification factor -- this amp was designed to stay clean all the way up the dial after all.

If it's not, then I would personally rewire V1 as a pentode. Done right, it should turn into a real screamer without having to change the tube complement or anything else!

(It would be a shame to hack this amp for 9-pin tubes, IMO.)

- Scott

RustleFuzz · May 11th, 2008, 05:13 PM

Sweet man, very cool!

magicguitar · May 11th, 2008, 05:18 PM

Very nice job.

octatonic · May 11th, 2008, 05:24 PM

That is the coolest thing I have seen in yonks.

camari · May 11th, 2008, 06:07 PM

Nothing like your own cabinet made with your own hands. Chances are you'll keep this amp because of the bond you have with it. :-)

JohnnyCrash · May 11th, 2008, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RodeoTex

Lemme know Johnny. Maybe we can trade out some work. Thanks for the compliment.
walt

What'd you have in mind?

Guitar players always have wish lists... hehehe...

RodeoTex · May 11th, 2008, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnnyCrash

What'd you have in mind?

Guitar players always have wish lists... hehehe...

I dunno. I was really intrigued a few months ago by your thread about building a your own line of amps. Maybe you could do that mod that Scott S mentioned above. Sounds cool but I wouldn't have the foggiest idea where to start.

Lemme know what you're in need of. I always seem to have too much of everything, except what I need.

6942 · May 12th, 2008, 07:15 AM

Looks great!

Steve

Dennis68 · May 12th, 2008, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Armstrong

Extremely cool! And if the amp doesn't turn out to be terribly functional, you can always build a Champ circuit or something like that for it!

Cheers, Tim

+1. My favorite of all !

turn_up_the_tele · May 12th, 2008, 04:27 PM

That turned out nice. I love the face plate.

RodeoTex · May 25th, 2008, 09:50 PM

Ok, so I finally got it all together and it only hums (real loud). No signal, no nuthin' but hum.
So Tim, where to get a Champ kit?

May 11th, 2008, 11:02 AM	#1 (permalink)
RodeoTex Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 847	Building an amp cabinet. How hard can it be? You might remember a few months ago when I posted here asking about the little RCA I found. I wired a jack to the mic input and a stereo speaker to the output. It worked! It was clean all the way up to maximum volume. I was hoping for a little growl, but oh well. I'm a fair woodworker so I figgered, 'how hard can it be to build a box?' Well I found out. I found a bunch of nasty gray old wood at work, then discovered it to be mahogany when planed! Using just the limited time and tools available at work I built this on my lunch hours: Note the really sloppy finger joints. Best I could do with only a table saw to work with. I filled the many gaps with clear epoxy. For some reason the flash really shows all the flaws. It really doesn't look that bad in person. Here's the back view. I bought an 8" Weber Blue Pup. I have not heard the amp with this speaker yet: It now looks like this picture below. Since I made a slanted front for the controls I had to add wires onto the originals inside the amp to extend the controls out to the new front plate. Gawd I hope I labelled those wires right: Note the grille cloth. I found it on ebay for $12. I wasn't really crazy about it, just bought it because it was cheapest. Turns out to match the overall look very well I think. This cloth is NOS from the estate of Elmo and Patsy (Grandma got run over by a reindeer). I didn't do a very good job of getting it on straight, but then there is nothing straight or square in this whole project. __________________ Turn it on, turn it up, turn me loose.

May 11th, 2008, 11:10 AM	#2 (permalink)
RodeoTex Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 847	For the control plate I used a piece of brass that I've had forever: I did a simple little engraved border and made the labels with DIY decal paper. Had to throw in my own name of course: It is just all sitting together but here's the almost-finished amp I I probably won't get to work on it for a few days due to 'real' projects that gotta get done. I now have this great fear that its gonna last about 2 days then crap out.I'll post again later if the finished product is worth talking about. __________________ Turn it on, turn it up, turn me loose. Last edited by RodeoTex : May 11th, 2008 at 11:13 AM. Reason: forgot

May 11th, 2008, 11:14 AM	#3 (permalink)
BritishBluesBoy Friend of Leo's Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Brooklyn, NY Age: 40 Posts: 4,065 62 Photos	That looks awesome man! I hope it sounds as good as it looks... Keep us posted! __________________ BBB.

May 11th, 2008, 12:05 PM	#6 (permalink)
TeeBird Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Sebastian, FL Age: 46 Posts: 256	I love it! Now give me the rest of that mahogany. __________________

May 11th, 2008, 12:07 PM	#7 (permalink)
Steve G Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: LeeK (England) Posts: 1,409 54 Photos	nice work mate __________________ "He was a drinkin' man with a guitar problem..." http://www.myspace.com/stevegiddings http://www.myspace.com/hiandlonesome

May 11th, 2008, 11:42 AM	#4 (permalink)
micpoc Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Louisiana Posts: 572	I want it. Give it to me now.

May 11th, 2008, 01:40 PM	#8 (permalink)
JohnnyCrash Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lost Angeles and Orange County Posts: 7,134 39 Photos	Damn! I like it. Very cool. I wish I was that good at woodworking :(

May 11th, 2008, 03:15 PM	#10 (permalink)
Tim Armstrong Moderator Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Berlin, Maryland, USA Age: 49 Posts: 7,672	Extremely cool! And if the amp doesn't turn out to be terribly functional, you can always build a Champ circuit or something like that for it! Cheers, Tim __________________ http://www.moodswingers.org

May 11th, 2008, 03:28 PM	#11 (permalink)
del TDPRI Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: antwerp, belgium Age: 28 Posts: 95	i love it ! control plate looks great !

May 11th, 2008, 03:32 PM	#12 (permalink)
Scott S Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: SW CR IA US NA PE Age: 27 Posts: 1,210	Looks awesome! Wish I had the gear to do fingerjoints. BTW, if those 6J7's are wired as triodes, then they will have a fairly low amplification factor -- this amp was designed to stay clean all the way up the dial after all. If it's not, then I would personally rewire V1 as a pentode. Done right, it should turn into a real screamer without having to change the tube complement or anything else! (It would be a shame to hack this amp for 9-pin tubes, IMO.) - Scott

May 11th, 2008, 05:13 PM	#13 (permalink)
RustleFuzz TDPRI Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Nashville TN Posts: 36	Sweet man, very cool!

May 11th, 2008, 05:18 PM	#14 (permalink)
magicguitar Tele-Meister Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Fallon, Nevada Age: 60 Posts: 497	Very nice job.

May 11th, 2008, 05:24 PM	#15 (permalink)
octatonic Tele-Afflicted Join Date: May 2007 Location: London Posts: 1,282	That is the coolest thing I have seen in yonks. __________________ “Music is perpetual, and only the hearing is intermittent.” - Henry David Thoreau.

May 11th, 2008, 06:07 PM	#16 (permalink)
camari Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Florida Age: 50 Posts: 102	Nothing like your own cabinet made with your own hands. Chances are you'll keep this amp because of the bond you have with it. :-) __________________ Remember to listen.

May 12th, 2008, 07:15 AM	#19 (permalink)
6942 Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Western Maryland Posts: 1,362	Looks great! Steve

May 12th, 2008, 04:27 PM	#21 (permalink)
turn_up_the_tele TDPRI Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 34	That turned out nice. I love the face plate.

May 25th, 2008, 09:50 PM	#22 (permalink)
RodeoTex Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 847	Ok, so I finally got it all together and it only hums (real loud). No signal, no nuthin' but hum. So Tim, where to get a Champ kit? __________________ Turn it on, turn it up, turn me loose.