baffel clearance for grill cloth?

[koolaide]

Just a quickie question. I'm building a 1x12 cabinet and need to know how much clearance I need for grill cloth. (front mount baffle no surround). any recommendations on how to get a good fit?
Thanks in advance.

 

[LowCaster]

You don’t need much.

Fender uses a small strip of wood glued to the baffle, a thickness of 5mm seems more than enough. The grill cloth is then fixed to the baffle with staples. This is easy to do but works only if the speaker is mounted from the back of the baffle.

The other way to do it is to use a stretching frame to hold the grill cloth, so the grill cloth/ frame can be easily removed from the front of the amp (use Velcro to hold the frame). In this case the frame has to be strong enough to stretch the grill cloth and not bend. Like 1cm maybe, depends on how you build it. This is usefull when the speaker is mounted from the front of the baffle.

I’d like to see your plan or pics of the work in progress.

 

[milocj]

^^^^
You should be able to find 1/4" x 1 1/2" or so strips at Home Depot/Lowe's etc. Works perfect around the front of the baffle and is pretty much what Fender did during the brown/black era.

 

[BigDaddy23]

+1 on what others have said above - 1/4" thick strips are the way to go.

 

[Axis29]

1/4" here too. I did mine at 1/4 x 7/8 for my tweed Twin. I was copying the exact dimensions of what was left of the original baffle. Works quite well.

 

[koolaide]

thanks all... I guess I was not clear in the question. I plan on loading the baffle from the front and do not want a surround- or trim. I am going for this look...thanks

 

[Axis29]

I re-read your post, and I guess a couple of us did mis-read it the first time around. I was thinking clearance on the front, between the grill cloth and baffle. Not baffle+grill cloth clearance to cabinet.

The clearance you need should be about 1/8" for it to be tight. Go 3/16" and you should probably have an easy fit. You could simply fold over the grill cloth you have and measure it... Then give it a touch more, because you won't get it super tight when stapling it in place. Plus, the staples won't sit flat.

 

[tah1962]

I have done several of my own baffles and I use digital calipers to measure the thickness of the grill cloth, (and piping if using) then add 1/16”. Take those measurements and subtract before cutting your baffle board. After you cut the baffle board, cut a few small pieces of cloth/piping and dry fit it before you start stapling the grill cloth on.

This formula has never failed me.

 

[BigDaddy23]

If you work on a baffle 1/4" narrower/taller than the cutout dimensions (ie length and width of the opening before tolex) you will have a good fit with a small amount of clearance. I have cut spacers to position my baffles in this way when I am fixing them into place and they work out perfectly.

 

[LowCaster]

Ok I misread the question... I just finished working on an old blues junior, and the grill cloth+baffle fit into the cab was really tight. Maybe too tight. I’d do what tah1962 says.

 

[moosie]

When I built my Tweed Pro cab, I waited until the cab was complete before cutting the baffle board. Then I dry-fit bits of tweed (for the cab) and grille cloth (for the baffle wrap) to act as spacers, to determine baffle dimension. Basically, I wanted a snug fit.

 

[jimgchord]

Make the baffle 5/32 smaller in both dimensions.

 

[koolaide]

thanks all. Now I have a plan. Going out to final grain fill, and hope to have color on late this afternoon weather permitting. I'm going for a translucent butterscotch lacquer.

I'll cut and fit baffle and grill cloth to fit after.

Thanks again to all for your input.

 

[schmee]

View attachment 682278 thanks all... I guess I was not clear in the question. I plan on loading the baffle from the front and do not want a surround- or trim. I am going for this look...thanks

That's what I thought you were asking. I'd go with about 1/4" overall, (1/8" all around) This will be a close fit. A little more for tolerance maybe, 3/16 each edge max.

 

[koolaide]

thought I would post pics of cab- top coated last eve. Hope to clear tomorrow.

 

[ce24]

Just remember a 1/6th is only a 32nd on each side.