Furniture Style Cabs Build - Done.

[fitz]

Grills and logos.
Nothing's hooked up yet, but perhaps after dinner.
Gotta take it all apart again anyway to get started on the finish.



And I made a "plexi" panel for the M-2.
Not a perfect match on the bronze/gold back paint, but neither is the amp panel and the logos.
I got enough acrylic for 3 more tries if I feel like it.



Cab close up.



Grill cloth was not the size the Ambazon listing said.
Barely 20" tall and about 58" wide.
Not wide enough to cut both cabs and the amp logo panel side by side.
I squeaked the amp panel and one cab out of the 20" height with nothing to spare.

 

[Geeze]

Are you just oiling or going to put a sealer on top?

I did a slurry sand oil job early in my cab fumbling attempts on a figured cherry cab with boiled linseed and mineral spirits that got less pretty as the years went by I've sworn off oil even though it's a breeze to apply.

Russ

 

[fitz]

Are you just oiling or going to put a sealer on top?

I did a slurry sand oil job early in my cab fumbling attempts on a figured cherry cab with boiled linseed and mineral spirits that got less pretty as the years went by I've sworn off oil even though it's a breeze to apply.

Russ

Just satin tung oil.
It hardens nicely and doesn't need a sealer.
Probably steel wool after a few coats to take off any grain fuzz.
I'm not going for any kind of mirror finish - I like the kinda rough rustic look.

Worked out nice on this oak clock I stripped down to the original stain a few years ago.
Put at least half a dozen coats on it.
This clock turned 115 years old last month (1909)...

 

[fitz]

Just a quick comparison: stain only vs. tung oil.
It'll be less shiny when it cures.



First coat on everything.
Probably won't need to do the bottoms and inside of the back panels again.
Not wasting time or finish on the inside of the cabs

 

[ampeq]

Just a quick comparison: stain only vs. tung oil.
It'll be less shiny when it cures.

View attachment 155592

First coat on everything.
Probably won't need to do the bottoms and inside of the back panels again.
Not wasting time or finish on the inside of the cabs

View attachment 155593

She’s coming out beautiful, I use tung oil myself sometimes. Works nice on stocks as well, depending on what you’re after, but too many coats will bring out a sheen. My compliments on seeing the beauty in the wood you used instead of just throwing it out. I always try to reclaim good wood when I can, especially very old wood. The grill cloth looks great on these pieces, so far I think everything you chose really compliments the wood and design rather than distract from it.

That clock looks very nice, I think it’s called a punch card clock. I made a gun cabinet with double molding top and bottom similar to the top of it. Before I started my machine shop I thought about making clocks, Grandfather, Grandmother and some wall clocks like that one. There are not many people doing it so it would be a good niche if you stuck to very high end units.

Anyway keep up the great work, can’t wait to see it when done. Sweet!

 

[fitz]

She’s coming out beautiful, I use tung oil myself sometimes. Works nice on stocks as well, depending on what you’re after, but too many coats will bring out a sheen. My compliments on seeing the beauty in the wood you used instead of just throwing it out. I always try to reclaim good wood when I can, especially very old wood. The grill cloth looks great on these pieces, so far I think everything you chose really compliments the wood and design rather than distract from it.

That clock looks very nice, I think it’s called a punch card clock. I made a gun cabinet with double molding top and bottom similar to the top of it. Before I started my machine shop I thought about making clocks, Grandfather, Grandmother and some wall clocks like that one. There are not many people doing it so it would be a good niche if you stuck to very high end units.

Anyway keep up the great work, can’t wait to see it when done. Sweet!

Thanks,
Tung oil is a very forgiving finish and super easy to apply.
Slathered on a generous amount last night and the wood just sucked it in.
I just brushed on a 2nd thin coat.
Successive coats go quicker and use less finish.
Eventually I'll switch from a brush to rubbing on the final coats with a cloth.
It'll have a little sheen at first, but will cure to a nice satin finish.

The clock is a timecard punch clock, and it's still fully functional - except I never replaced the old typewriter style cloth ink ribbon.
Made by a little company that was called International Time Recording.
They diversified a bit and at some point, changed their name to International Business Machines.

 

[Eric'45]

Grills and logos.
Nothing's hooked up yet, but perhaps after dinner.
Gotta take it all apart again anyway to get started on the finish.

View attachment 155585

And I made a "plexi" panel for the M-2.
Not a perfect match on the bronze/gold back paint, but neither is the amp panel and the logos.
I got enough acrylic for 3 more tries if I feel like it.

View attachment 155586

Cab close up.

View attachment 155587

Grill cloth was not the size the Ambazon listing said.
Barely 20" tall and about 58" wide.
Not wide enough to cut both cabs and the amp logo panel side by side.
I squeaked the amp panel and one cab out of the 20" height with nothing to spare.

That looks very Classy- and like the centerpiece of a living room. The Plexi Attenuator is a nice Touch.

 

[fitz]

That looks very Classy- and like the centerpiece of a living room. The Plexi Attenuator is a nice Touch.

Thanks!
But you know the true centerpiece of the living room is...

 

[fitz]

I'm into the slow boring stuff, but here's a few progress pics:

3rd coat brushed on last night.



Sanded with 400 to knock down the brush bubbles and grain fuzz.



Blast of air and a tack cloth wipe down.



Rubbed on a coat #4 with a piece of old T-shirt.



Repeat process on the rest.



Used up the first 16 oz. can.
Probably another 2 coats to go.
Once the final coat goes on, I'll move this all the parts out of the garage and into the drier, climate-controlled basement.
Then comes the excruciating part of waiting for this to cure well enough to reassemble.

 

[Geeze]

Then comes the excruciating part of waiting for this to cure well enough to reassemble.

Yup, I hate the waiting - is it dry yet?!? Nope, wait some more. When I was a painting contractor in the late aughts in Dallas the interior designers I worked for all had the irresistible urge to touch casement / trim paint to see if it was dry. They all stopped when I told them it would be $400 for me to fix their fingerprint...

Looking good @fitz !

Russ

 

[fitz]

Thanks!

Did a 2nd coat rubbed on for a total of 5 coats.
Didn't look like more would make a difference, so I started the drying / waiting process.
After they had a day or so I brought them upstairs and put the feet and handles on.





Dry enough yesterday to get everything together for a test run.
Tried just about every pedal board I have on them to see what worked best.



Settled on just the Digitech pedals for chorus & reverb in the loop and the Bad Monkey out front.
(also using the BM as a splitter to run stereo with the Haze)
Set it up this morning and I'm calling it done.

 

[DirtySteve]

Awesome job, man...came out looking great!

 

[ampeq]

Beeeeeautiful! Very nice job, I like everything about it. (See how the finish starts to shine when you get more coats on it.) I would rotate the speaker cabs for a couple weeks, the bottom one has all the weight on it and the feet will imprint the finish. That is one of the best looking "living room" amp setup's I have ever seen. Simple, elegant, and a great re-use of some beautiful wood. My hat is off to you sir.

 

[Mike_LA]

Awesome, very craftsman looking.
Enjoy

 

[Kuga]

Awesome Job! It looks really nice!

 

[C-Grin]

Did a 2nd coat rubbed on for a total of 5 coats.
Didn't look like more would make a difference, so I started the drying / waiting process.
After they had a day or so I brought them upstairs and put the feet and handles on.

View attachment 155751

View attachment 155752

Dry enough yesterday to get everything together for a test run.
Tried just about every pedal board I have on them to see what worked best.

View attachment 155753

Settled on just the Digitech pedals for chorus & reverb in the loop and the Bad Monkey out front.
(also using the BM as a splitter to run stereo with the Haze)
Set it up this morning and I'm calling it done.

View attachment 155754

View attachment 155755

Dayumm

 

[Dogs of Doom]

congrat's! job well done...

Looks great. Would have never known that you repurposed that entertainment center.

 

[Geeze]

@fitz you the MAN! Very nice build.

Russ

 

[fitz]

Just tracked down a worrisome vibration.
Was getting a buzzing noise at some lower frequencies - about 7th to 10th fret on the low E string.
Something I missed?
Loose pocket screw that's now buried behind something that's glued in?
Bad speaker perhaps?

Took apart the stack and isolated the vibration to the bottom cab.
Removed the back panel to eliminate that possibility and still the buzzing.
(Where's Bob?)
Went around with one hand feeling for vibrations while the other was plucking the guitar.

Loose logo plate...
SMH.
Two little screws - buzzing gone.
Put it all back together.