Amp project - Tolexing Part 2

So, we left it with the front glued and applied, and the tolex rounded through the speaker cutout, and the inside trimmed.

Next was to do the bottom. I used a knife and ruler to cut the sides of the bottom to width, then applied glue to the cab and the tolex. One comment to watch for on the glue - keep an eye open for little globs of glue - they can easily form a little bump under the tolex.

I then carefully lifted the cab so that the bottom was hanging down over the front, so that it did not try to stick before I was ready.

A little gentle heat to soften the tolex, then I pushed it back and down with my right hand, while holding the end up with my left, Folded it into the back of the cab and trimmed. The corners were cut along where a mitre line would be.

I then did one of the sides, It was basically the same as the botton, but this time I cut the bottom a little longer to overlap the bottom. I put masking tape on the bottom to reduce glue cleanup.


If you try that, peel the tape before the glue starts to go off!

Once cab & tolex glued, it was clean scraper,, spreader and fingers then warm and press, then trim.

The second side was basically the same.

Once I had the two sides in place, I took the two panels for the back (6mm ply) and tried them. thet fit nice and snug. I then pulled them, put some masking tape on the back and put them back. Drew a line down them where the battens to screw them to go and pulled them. Measured the distance in from the edge and drilled scre holes to mount them.
Doing that gave the glue fumes a chance to drop down a little. another downside of doing a job like this in winter is that it it less pleasant to work with the doors and windows open. That reminds me of another advantage of the timebond - it is less smelly than standard evo stick!

I also took a little break for lunch at this point.

I came back and did the top. Again it was similar to the sides but with two overlaps to mask and glue. I used a bit of affa tape to hold some tension on the top while marking and cutting.


I kept glue away from the control cutout on the tolex. Then it was warm, press down and trim.


You can see the overlap on the side here.

That just left the most difficult bit - six corners in close proximity - the control panel. I had practised with a piece of paper, so knew there was quite a bit of length. Amp face down, and a horizontal cut, then a cut to each internal corner.


I then did the two easy bits - the top to control panel and the front to control panel. I already had the internal corner inserts. A little warmth helps any stretching needed, and helps smooth the tolex.

That just left the outside corners to worry about. Out came te scalpel for extra sharpness. These are seriously sharp! and a cut was made to the corners




From here it was fold down the two flaps and cut along the mitre line. I then put some glue on. There was no way the spreader would fit in here, so I used fingers to apply the glue.

rub & peel fingers and then warm and press, and that's all the tolex done!

I used a paintbrush to push up from the inside to show where the chassis and handle holes were, and pierces the tolex.

The speaker baffle was mounted and the speaker mounted to the baffle. The handle fitted, the chassis put in and the back panels replaced. The amp kit comes with 6mm bolts to mount it. I used some M8 washers to spread the load a little.

I tried it out a little and it just sounds gorgeous. I can see the hot rod deluxe up for sale. I did notice that witjout a lead plugged in it was intrusively noise. That turned out to be the input jack not shorting input to ground cleanly. A little sandpaper pulled between the contacts sorted that. That's the only electrical issue I have had. Credit must go to Barry at ampmaker for such a trouble free build of the amp.

So, what's left? I need to make a call on the corners. I was intending to fit some, but now I am not so sure. I also want to change the plug for the speaker to a right angle one so that it does not stick out, or at least not so much!

Then I need to record it a little so you can tell what it sounds like.

Hopefully the next entry will be the conclusion - I should have played the speaker in a little, have made the call on the corners, and have a few little samples of what it sounds like.

First impressions are that it just sounds fabulous. Who needs tone controls anyway?

Amp project - Tolexing

Happy new year everyone. I spent new year's eve tolexing!

As a first cab build, I am quite pleased with the result. the corners are not perfect, but I got quite a bit of practice doing it!

First off - glue. I used evo stick timebond. I tried a few before deciding on that. I used some scrap wood and made up both internal and external corners to practice. The ones I tried included :

PVA - to slow to dry - would be a pain holding a complex corner until it set.
Evo Stik solvent free - this feels like a latex glue. If I was more patient, or better able to plan it may have been better, but I found that particularly on the tolex it too an age to dry to tack stage.
Standars evo stick - very "stringy" it tends to stick to the tin or anything it passes along the way, and also tends to somehow string from part way up the spreader.

Contact adhesives are good particularly for corners, as you press it down and it is stuck.

I used the timebond because it is more of a paste - I scoop some out of the tin and it just comes - no stringing back.

It also dries to tacky quite quickly. The timing I worked to was apply the glue, rub the glue off my fingers, the spreader and the scraper I was using to scoop the glue out of the tin, and it was then round about tacky to put the cloth to the cab.

I only realised as I was starting to think about the covering that I had set myself a particularly challinging covering job. The control panel cutout has six corners close together. There is also no easy approach to it - planning some piping somewhere would have broken up the tolex a little, so I may not have needed any joins.

I did lots of googling for tolex hints, and two things I found useful were Casey4s' tutorial - words at http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum11/HTML/008611.html pics at http://s238.photobucket.com/home/Casey4s/allalbums and an article on recovering a slant 4*12 at http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=70200&highlight=slant+recover

The way I decided to do it was to use a "cross" of tolex. Attach the front, then I have top bottom and sides to cover. From there the bottom was next, so joins side-bottom could be underneath, leaving onlt two joins really visible.

I added about 6 inches to the top-front-bottom and side-front-side measurements. and then sat the cab face down in the middle and drew round it. I added two inches all round to give flexibility when covering
I then cut the cross.

I then put the cab back on and drew through the speaker and control cutouts, and then again 2 inches inside the speaker cutout.

I used the offcuts to practice corners and try different glues on scrap wood. Once I was getting the hang, it was time to start on the cab.

I put the corner inserts in first.

I used a heat gun (a hot air paint stripper) frequently - we are in the middle of december and I was working in a cold garage. The heat gun I have has an adjustable temperature and I had it set toeards the lower end of the heat range. In this case it just helped form the flat tolex to the compond curve of the internal corner. I did try using the heat gun to form flat tolex for the whole corner, but all the texture went where it stretched.

Glue was applied to the front of the cab, and to the tolex. I kept the glue on the tolex to just the bit for the front panel, to the 2" marks for the speaker cutout. I kept glue away from the control cutout - I wanted all the practice on other corners first, as the plan was to put corner protectors on. Once tacky, I put a couple of rulers on top of the tolex, and put the cab on them, lined it up then pulled the rulers out.

I cut out at the 2" marks for the speaker cutout then into the corners, flipped the cab over and rolled the front of the cab, warmed the tolex and then stuck it down through the speaker cutout.



The flash does make the insert more conspicous.
Aftert that I flipped the cab back and trimmed the excess using a ruler to keep cuts straight.

A rubber is quite good at removing excess glue while it is still tacky.

There's quite a bit there, so I will continue in another post shortly.

Amp project - golly, that sounds nice!

Having the cab virtually done meant it was time to break out the soldering iron.

I had previously assembled the turret board, so it was time to wire the chassis. The instructions on the web site are reasonably easy to follow, but I did have a couple of problems along the way.

One thing I did was put a copy of http://www.ampmaker.com/ak00/ak00wg2.jpg and http://www.ampmaker.com/ak00/ak00cw6.jpg onto the same pice of paper to plan wire lengths.

I deliberately left some of the wires long, as neatly trimming them may look more elegant, but it would mean that to remove the turret board in future would mean disconnecting wires. I have enough length to lift the turret board. That proved useful!

The neon is very close to the power transformaer and the side of the chassis. That made it rather a fiddle doing the soldering. I ended up pulling it out and soldering the wires to it then popping it back in. Some of the other soldering in confined places was awkward, but not impossible!

I also had an "oh dear" moment doing the output transformer. As you can imagine that's not exactly what I thought, but it will do.

Heatshrink is used for some of the connections. It seems like the supplied heat shrink it rather a high temperature heat shrink. Waving the soldering iron near it was not doing much, so I broke ou the electric blowlamp, and promptly melted the insulation on the wiring. As two of the wires were from the output tube and the underside of the turret board, I was rather pleased I had left wires long!

Anyway, I replaced the damaged wires, and having used up the supplied heatshrink I hot some out of my bag. My old stuff seems to go much lower, as a waft of the electric blowlamp on low got it all nice and tight very quickly.

I mounted the speaker temporarily into the cab and connected a plug to it.

I knocked up a spreadsheet to do all the calculations for me, and all came in within range. If anyone is building the same kit and wants a copy let me know.

I was quite pleased that other than the melting problem there was no remedial work to do.

Having metered everyhting for ground connectivity, no shorts and correct voltages/currents there was just one test left, so the Telecaster went out to the garage and was plugged in. A few moments to warm up and lift the volume a little and boy, it sounds nice. Who needs tone controls!

Nice and clean low, crank it a bit and nice bite, all the way and it makes quite a racket - too loud to play with the boys in bed, but no real risk of damaging hearing or upsetting the neighbours. Lovely.

I am tempted to label the volume control "Tone"!

So, what is left to do? Basically I need to cover the cab in Tolex, put some grille cloth on, mount the chassis in the cab and put handle, corners and feet on.

I also want to play it in a little and record a few clips with the Tele and Gretsch.

I am not likely to be doing much of that in the next few days, so the next update may be a little while off.

Amp Project - Cab nearly done

Quite a bit of progress on the woodwork. I cut the front of the cab, having prviously done the sides, top and bottom. I cut the front slightly large and marked where it fitted to the main bodu. I put my little speaker baffl inside and marked where the speaker hole would be. I then marked out the two cutouts for the speaker and control panel.

To cut them I used a hole saw to cut the corners for the control panel and speaker - note the deliberate funky shape for the speaker!

I then used a jigsaw to finish the cutouts. Isn't it surprising how the quality of power tools can vary. I bought myself a jigsaw a few years ago. I don't want to name names, but it is a well known in the UK DIY brand. I never managed to cut anything even vaguely straight with it. My father in law bought me a cheap jigsaw for either burthday or chrismas and it knock spots off the "good" one.

I then glued and clamped everything up and left it a while. I then used a bearing guided trimming bit on the router to trim the front to size. That got me to the position of the first pic on here.

You may note from the date that chrismas is rapidly approaching. I also have two young boys so we need somewhere to conceal presents. The only space really is the garage which is where I have been working, so I needed to either get the messy work done, or pack up until after christmas. I chose to get a move on. 1/2inch round over bit into the router and everything looks nice and rounded. I have given the little baffle board and the inside of the cab a spray with matt black paint. As you can see I have a little overspray.

I tried the chassis in the cab for the first time. I have made the control panel cutout a tiny bit too wide and tall, but that may not be noticeable once the tolex is on. I was very pleased that the holes drilled for the chassis mounting screws are all in the right place.

There is not much to complete the cab bow - it needs a little filling and sanding. A couple of battens up the sides and maybe across the bottom at the back, and a couple of bits of ply to be a back. I may of course not bother with any form of back as all. I feel that may leave the valves and speaker a little vulnerable to damage though.

Then there is the tolex, grille cloth, handle and corners. I need to decide how to fasten the grille cloth to the baffle board, and how to glue the tolex to the cab. I am thinking copydex or evo-stick for thegrille, and evo-stick for the tolex. How on earth I am going to get the tolex round the corners is going to be the big question...

Amp build part three - don't power tools make a lot of sawdust!

I was working in ply, and cut out sides and topp, and dowel jointed them, but I was not happy - I had not got things quite square. That delay is why I did not post anything for a little while.

Anyway, I changed my mind and decided upon dovetail jointed 18mm pine instead. I have a dovetail jig, and router. I would say cutting the dovetails for all four corners took about 20 mins. Getting the jig set up quite a bit longer!

The speaker will be fastened to a piece of 9 mm ply. I cut the hole for the speaker using a coping saw. That took me a little while! I was quite pleased that I managed to mark and drill the speaker mounting holes without using the seaker as a template!

The pine is 18mm - is it just me or does plain wood look thinner than plywood for the same thickness? anyway, marked, measured, dovetailed and ready to join the parts can be seen to the right. One little thing that caused me a little confustion. Before cutting the dovetails, I marked and labelled the corners for which ones will go together. Unfortunately I marked a little too close to the corner, so quite a bit of the marking was removed by cutting the joints. Oops!

I decided to drill the top to mount the chassis now, rather than after the cab is assembled, so that is holes for the screws, and for the handle. That made it a lot easier to make sure there was some wood behind to make the back of the hole tidier.

The sides and top are now glued and clamped. Once that is set I can look at cutting the front. First thing will be to cut the panel to shape, then speaker and control panel holes. Then I can fasten the front on and round off all the edges. I will spray the inside black.

I can also at that point try to work out what to glue the Tolex with, and how to get it round the various corners. If anyone has any tips on covering, I would like to hear them.

Amp project part two

No photos today I am afraid - there is not really much worth photographing today.

A parcel arrived from Germany today. I ordered my Tolex & Grill Cloth on Tuesday evening, after most places were shut, which made it effectively a wednesday order, which arrived today. That is quite good IMO.

I have also tried out my dowelling jig, and it seems to work quite well. I just need to watch the depth of holes I drill. There's not much spare wood if I want half a 30mm dowel in 18mm wood!

I have also checked the wood - I think I have all the wood I need. That will be 18mm for the main carcass, 12mm for the front and 9mm for the baffle, not that there will be much of that. What little of a back there is will be either 9 or 6mm.

I have also tested the saw board. I made brief mention of it in the previous entry, but did not really say what it was. There is detail of what one is at http://www.rochesterwoodworkers.org/JunkDrawer/Sawboard.pdf, but what it basically does is make it easy to use the circular saw to cut big stuff quickly and accurately. Draw a line where I want the cut. Clamp the sawboard to the line and cut. It is important to note that the saw board is made with the saw it is to be used with!

The 40T blade does make a significantly tidier cut than the 24T!

I'll be using a round over bit in the router to shape the corners on the cab, the cordless drill for the dowels, either the router or the jigsaw for the circle in the baffle.

Now, how do I get the angle grinder involved?

The project - a new amp!

I have decided to build myself a little guitar amp. I was looking primarily at kits from Torres and ampmaker. I got a few recommendations for Barry at Ampmaker, and on maing contact he was friendly and came across as a decent guy, so I ordered a WF-55 kit. http://www.ampmaker.com/ak00x.asp

This is a single ended amp based on the old Fender Champ. There are just two controls - power and volume. I like that simplicity! Im really tempted to labe the single knob "Tone".

The kit was ordered at the weekend, and arrived yesterday. I wasted no time in tearing open the package to get at the bits and lay them out on my work area:

All the bits appear to be present, though one of the valve socket retaining clamps was a little bent. The pliers soon sorted that though. Barry is right in the instructions - the mounting of the bigger socket is rather fiddly!


Having got the amp kit, I  thought it might be a good idea to sort out a speaker. Idecided that with the fender theme, an 8" Jensen P8R would be in order. One arrived this morning after placing an order with hotrox yesterday.


As you can see my work area is stunningly organised! it is a lot better than it was a week ago, though. A week ago there was no room to work on the workbench. I am quite prod of my work benc - I made it myself! offcuts from the top of the workbench are likely to be the source of wood for the cab. 18mm ply. Now I have the speaker and the chassis, I can plan the can better. It is likely to be about 16" tall, 14" wide and 10" deep. To help building the cab, or at least cutting the wood with a semblance of accuracy I am also making myself a sawboard.

As with any project, I could not resist getting started. Most of the hardware is mounted in the chassis - transformers, sockets etc. The turret board is populated with components, and I have given the front panel a coat of varnish. In line with building the cab from offuts lying around, I have used varnish from a nearly empty tin of Varnish I hapenned to have about. B&Q waterbased mahogany, Satin finish. I like waterbased - cleaning the brushes afterwards is easy.

The last bit to add is that I have ordered the tolex, and various other bits and pices from http://www.tube-town.net/index.html