My $6 1x12" DIY cab (tons of photos)

[JohnnyCrash]

Here's the tools I used:
1. Ryobi Router (with mini-work tablemount).
2. Cheap-o Craftsmen plastic dovetail jig.
3. Jigsaw.
4. Rip saw (hand circular saw).
5. Hand Drill.
6. Screwdriver.
7. Soldering Iron.
8. Dremel tool.

Here's the extras I had on hand:
1. Scrap wood, odds & ends.
2. Half a bottle of woodglue.
3. Large sheet of plywood.
4. A Pencil and square.
5. A bellcover from a dead transformer.
6. An extra jack (from a Telecaster mind you) and some wire.
7. An old T-Shirt promoting the horrible film "Domino".
8. Not enough oxblood grill cloth to do anything with.

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I went to HellDepot and bought two sheets of solid Pine. Good quality, no bad knots. 11" wide, 3/4" thick, 6' long each. Each sheet was just under $6, one sheet built this 1x12" cab... the next sheet will build an identical cab for a seperate speaker I have on deck.

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Pics and a step-by-step coming soon...

[JohnnyCrash]

Firt I cut the fingerjoints with my router and really crappy Sears jig. Always an admirer of fellow cheapskate Rob DiStefano's DIY stuff, I wanted to do half-blind dovetail joints to cover up the gaps my crappy jig often leaves me... his always look so nice and nothing covers my mistakes like anything called "half-blind".







As you can see, it only occurred to me to snap a few photos after I had cut, glued, and clamped the cab... but oh well.

I used a 3/4" router bit to cut "channels" into the inside walls an inch from the lip/edge. I then glued and clamped 2" wide, 3/4" pine trim into the channels to act as cleats.

I then rounded all edges of the entire cab with a round router bit.

Being the cheapskate I am, I decided to cut holes in the top to act as a handle so I wouldn't have to spend any dough on a strap handle.






I then rounded the edges with the router. Like the total dumbass I am, I forgot to cut the handle holes before gluing it all together, to the underside of one handle I had to round by hand with a Dremel tool.

Next I cut a sheet of scrap plywood to size for the baffle. I took an old wooden paint stirrer and drill two holes in it, 5.5" from each other and used it as a compass to draw the 11" speaker hole. I then cut it with my router. Finally I painted the from of the baffle black.

[JohnnyCrash]

I had an extra sheet of birch ply and a bell-end from a dead transformer from a previous amp build. I cut the wood to size and cut a square hole in the back.

Then I drill the jack's hole into the trannie's bell-end and installed a jack.










Finally I used an old T-Shirt as a grill cloth, stretched it over the baffle, stapled it off, and trimmed it. I then rear loaded an Eminence Tonkerlite into the baffle and screwed the baffle to the cleats from the back.

[JohnnyCrash]

Here's the T-Shirt I never wore... it made a good grill cloth :)











Here it is with a Crate Powerblock sitting on it to give you an idea of its size/scale:

[JamonHamon]

Johnny oh sh*t that is so cool the best thing I've seen all year

[getbent]

muy bien. es impresionante.

[JamonHamon]

make me a House Of Blues one
or ????? its endless

[toadman]

Claremont Williams Bail Bonds.....is that from a movie??or am i just having a BAAAAAAAD dejavu?? was it "Jackie Brown"??
anyhoo...GREAT cab on the cheep! 2 parts skill and ingenuity can turn 1 part scrap into 10 parts beeeeutiful work of art

[ibobunot]

You're an inspiration to non-handymen everywhere...

[Ed P]

Great stuff!

[JohnnyCrash]

Originally Posted by toadman

Claremont Williams Bail Bonds.....is that from a movie??or am i just having a BAAAAAAAD dejavu?? was it "Jackie Brown"??

Yeah, that really horible movie "Domino" about a bounty huntress. Keira Knightly was in it. It was so terrible I wanted to punch my own self in the face for seeing it. The shirt was given to me.

Originally Posted by ibobunot

You're an inspiration to non-handymen everywhere...

The camera does too much justice to that damn rat box HAHAHA. In person its a lot more flawed and crooked. Like I always say, I'm a dumbass so whatever I do - anyone can do it, and much better.

I love the idea of showing what a primordial ape like myself can do with $6.00 - perhaps somebody with actual manual dexterity (and maybe proper tools) could do something glorious with the same budget!! We'll never know unless I "show off" these funny assed chips of wood...

Ah, next L.A. TDPRI jam there'll be some laughs when its seen up close and in person! HAHAHAHA

[markothefish]

That is great Johnny . Your way to modest that actually is nice solid work.I'm willing to bet that Cabinet would last the better the better part of 10 years in a hard /road use. Now are you going to cover it ? black tolex maybe or Blood red tolex .....

[JohnnyCrash]

Originally Posted by markothefish

That is great Johnny . Your way to modest that actually is nice solid work.I'm willing to bet that Cabinet would last the better the better part of 10 years in a hard /road use. Now are you going to cover it ? black tolex maybe or Blood red tolex .....

I'm trying to stay MacGyver cheap, so I think I'll leave it nekkid. If I find some stain in the garage, I'll sand the thing (you can still see pencil marks and dirt HAHA) and stain it.

My non-guitar playing buddy suggested I paint it matte black like an old hot-rod's primer black. I think the grill cloth somehow gives off a '50s hot rod vibe in some ways. Maybe I'll do black with some flames on the side, then matte clear coat it... I'll ONLY use stuff I already have around the house though.

PS
I'm not being modest. Honest.

This thing will definitely take a fall down the stairs (I used so much glue, it better HAHA!) but it don't look too pretty... there's a difference between a guy who just builds stuff and an actual craftsmen/artisan. My cuts aren't even, some of my fingerjoints have some small gaps between them, some corners/edges are a bit rough and haggard, etc.

I'll build the second cab just like this. It'll be for a Jensen Neo12-100 this time though. I wonder what grill cloth I'll scrounge up for that one...

[Rob DiStefano]

Real good stuff, JC - the T shirt grille is the crowning touch! Whenever I routed integral handles I'd box them from the inside with a glued on tray - keeps the noises from leaking out and beer from drowning the speaker(s).





The beauty of the integral handle (aside from being cheap) is that it provides a nice flat functional surface to sit any amp head.

[nvosmeier]

Nice cab. I wish I could build something like that.

[jabsalt]

great lookin' cab man

[dibber124]

JC- You did a really nice job. Your new title should be King Cheapocaster!

[mistermullens]

Skills. I'm completely jealous

[Tdot]

Originally Posted by JohnnyCrash

Maybe I'll do black with some flames on the side, then matte clear coat it... I'll ONLY use stuff I already have around the house though.

Pinstripe flames with a Sharpie from the kitchen drawer, filled in with concentrated grape juice from the freezer for purple dye, maybe some red highlights using a pomegranate, background rubbed in with shoe polish from that box in the bedroom closet, then a nice satin clearcoat.

[JohnnyCrash]

Originally Posted by Rob DiStefano

Real good stuff, JC - the T shirt grille is the crowning touch! Whenever I routed integral handles I'd box them from the inside with a glued on tray - keeps the noises from leaking out and beer from drowning the speaker(s).

Yeah, I was thinking about how to keep crap from falling into the handle. I'll have to worry about that later.

Originally Posted by Tdot

Pinstripe flames with a Sharpie from the kitchen drawer, filled in with concentrated grape juice from the freezer for purple dye, maybe some red highlights using a pomegranate, background rubbed in with shoe polish from that box in the bedroom closet, then a nice satin clearcoat.

HAHAHAHAHAHA

[bowlfreshener]

I recently made a 1x12 for about $8 myself out of a dead combo amp (if you don't count what I paid for the combo when I got it new in 1990)...The money went to the 1x2 and the jack/jackplate parts...

[pottedmeat42]

ain't nothing wrong with that bro. Does the $6 cost include drinks? -jason

[WireLine]

Originally Posted by bowlfreshener

I recently made a 1x12 for about $8 myself out of a dead combo amp (if you don't count what I paid for the combo when I got it new in 1990)...The money went to the 1x2 and the jack/jackplate parts...

Years back I did something similar with a Peavey Bandit that gave up the ghost...took off the Peavey logo, threw away the non functioning chassis, and put name badges from all sorts of things on there...but I didn't run the "expense" of a jackplate - I just hardwired a 6 ft speaker cord to whatever speaker was in there at the time...

You know what might be a fun experiment? Take a Fender 2-15 cab and replace the baffleboard with one cut out for a single 10...the proper application of a Theile Small port with that much back room for a good 10 could make for one hell-ACIOUS cabinet...might be a tad on the overkill side, though (/tongue in cheek)