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.