Steiner Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 Excellent H! Are you trying finger or dovetail joints? The both joints require consistency of pressure on the router; get LOTS of extra "practice" wood. The half-blind dovetails require even more wood to setup the system and bit height. When done right, you'll have a keepsake to be proud of! Go for it!
H Posted March 24, 2011 Author Posted March 24, 2011 Hi Steiner, I'm going for half-inch finger joints. A lot of practice coming up!
DetroitBlues Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 We are three pages deep in the forums on an amp build that technically hasn't even started....
pegleg32 Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 We are three pages deep in the forums on an amp build that technically hasn't even started.... oh that's ok, I like the blow by blow version.
Hfan Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 All I've done there is to confirm that all the components are present and don't look damaged. I'm aware of the electrocution danger but I'm familiar with soldering and I've got directions to follow to complete it. The cab is my biggest challenge as it's not a kit and woodwork is an alien art to me Once I have the sides, top and bottom cut and fitted together I'll get the soldering iron warmed up Thanks for your continued interest in this project. In some ways I feel I have some friends in the room when I'm reviewing things Wow Howard, I just came across this thread, didn't know you where doing a build. Sounds cool. You will have a nice wood shop at least when you are done with all the tools you have aquired. Regarding hazards, try to keep one hand behind your back when working on a live circuit. Remember that capacitors can hold their charge when the amp is unplugged and need to be discharged. Also, (this one nearly got me) when biasing your tubes or any current measurements for that matter remember that the multimeter becomes a part of the circuit and the test leads are hot. I had my meter with one lead attached to a test point while measuring bias current and got distracted and left one lead dangling, touched the dangling lead and got zapped. And if you are trying different bias settings while sampling tones from the guitar, put the guitar down before going back into the circuit, the guitar strings are grounded I believe. Good luck sounds like a blast.
Hfan Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 All I've done there is to confirm that all the components are present and don't look damaged. I'm aware of the electrocution danger but I'm familiar with soldering and I've got directions to follow to complete it. The cab is my biggest challenge as it's not a kit and woodwork is an alien art to me Once I have the sides, top and bottom cut and fitted together I'll get the soldering iron warmed up Thanks for your continued interest in this project. In some ways I feel I have some friends in the room when I'm reviewing things Wow Howard, I just came across this thread, didn't know you where doing a build. Sounds cool. You will have a nice wood shop at least when you are done with all the tools you have aquired. Regarding hazards, try to keep one hand behind your back when working on a live circuit. Remember that capacitors can hold their charge when the amp is unplugged and need to be discharged. Also, (this one nearly got me) when biasing your tubes or any current measurements for that matter remember that the multimeter becomes a part of the circuit and the test leads are hot. I had my meter with one lead attached to a test point while measuring bias current and got distracted and left one lead dangling, touched the dangling lead and got zapped. And if you are trying different bias settings while sampling tones from the guitar, put the guitar down before going back into the circuit, the guitar strings are grounded I believe. Good luck sounds like a blast.
H Posted March 24, 2011 Author Posted March 24, 2011 We are three pages deep in the forums on an amp build that technically hasn't even started.... It's OK to ignore the thread if you're bored I'm hoping to give any other novices, as I am, a full insight into the planning and purchases required to do something like this. I want to make the best job of it I can with the limited free time I have. There'll be a lot more than three pages by the time I'm done
H Posted March 24, 2011 Author Posted March 24, 2011 Wow Howard, I just came across this thread, didn't know you where doing a build. Sounds cool. You will have a nice wood shop at least when you are done with all the tools you have aquired. Regarding hazards, try to keep one hand behind your back when working on a live circuit. Remember that capacitors can hold their charge when the amp is unplugged and need to be discharged. Also, (this one nearly got me) when biasing your tubes or any current measurements for that matter remember that the multimeter becomes a part of the circuit and the test leads are hot. I had my meter with one lead attached to a test point while measuring bias current and got distracted and left one lead dangling, touched the dangling lead and got zapped. And if you are trying different bias settings while sampling tones from the guitar, put the guitar down before going back into the circuit, the guitar strings are grounded I believe. Good luck sounds like a blast. Thanks for the kind words, tips and encouragement, Pete As I said in the previous post, I'm planning this very carefully - there's a lot of things here I haven't done before and I don't want to screw up any expensive or irreplaceable stuff by rushing in.
kbp810 Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 Thanks for the kind words, tips and encouragement, Pete As I said in the previous post, I'm planning this very carefully - there's a lot of things here I haven't done before and I don't want to screw up any expensive or irreplaceable stuff by rushing in. Hard to argue with this logic... if your going to do it, you might as well take your time and do it right!
glaister Posted April 2, 2011 Posted April 2, 2011 You`re going about it the right way H!It pays to look long and hard at cabinet making,especially a first attempt using good timber.It`ll be very rewarding when it`s finished!Would love to build that sort of amp myself. Cheers!
H Posted April 3, 2011 Author Posted April 3, 2011 You`re going about it the right way H!It pays to look long and hard at cabinet making,especially a first attempt using good timber.It`ll be very rewarding when it`s finished!Would love to build that sort of amp myself. Cheers! Thanks Why not take the plunge and have a go?
glaister Posted April 3, 2011 Posted April 3, 2011 The wood bits etc are no problem,my knowledge of electrickery is ! Cheers.
H Posted April 4, 2011 Author Posted April 4, 2011 After a bit of practice with the router and the box joint jig, I bit the bullet and got out the wood for the amp cabinet this weekend. Things went good at first then bad The good: I routed clean box joints at both ends of one of the sides. The bad: (1) I don't know how but the router managed to rout deeper than the guide I'd set and this has affected a third of the length of one side. Only a millimetre too deep but I still don't understand how it happened (2) At the end of routing the last of the joints, the router kicked back a little and jumped up in the jig, taking out half of the final 'peg'. My fault for not keeping up a steady pressure I think. This is no big deal as I can cut the remainder of the broken peg off and replace it with a peg which I'll cut from some of the scrap. However, the cutter hit the metal template and both of the blades are now damaged. I have a new one on the way already. Despite the setbacks, I'm confident now of completing the rest of the box joints. After that I need to get my new circular saw set up in the router table to make a few long cuts (sloping front face on the sides and the top panel is less deep than the bottom) and then I'm going to cut out the recess for the control panel using KBP810's suggestion of a hole-saw. I'll finish cutting out the recess with a combination of circular saw and jig saw then pretty it up with the router and a cutter that will give me a decent chamfered edge. I've been weighing up options for the grill cloth. Given the natural oak finish of the cabinet, this can't be too light in colour. Perhaps the people following this thread might like to offer an opinion here? One proviso, the cloth should be easily obtainable in the UK!
pegleg32 Posted April 4, 2011 Posted April 4, 2011 Darn, too bad Howard, I guess one must expect setbacks from time to time on a new venture. Glad you are pushing ahead!!!
glaister Posted April 4, 2011 Posted April 4, 2011 I`ve always liked Matamp/Orange Lloyd Loom grillcloth,it might suit your build too !
Steiner Posted April 4, 2011 Posted April 4, 2011 The bad: (1) I don't know how but the router managed to rout deeper than the guide I'd set and this has affected a third of the length of one side. Only a millimetre too deep but I still don't understand how it happened Oak is one tough bugger to route. Sounds like your collet was loose and\or you were cutting too fast. Try a smaller diameter bit, slow down the router speed and cut into the wood slower. Experience is a great teacher. For the front angle, try: Don't rely on the table saw's tiny miter - believe me, I learned the hard way... Same amp.
H Posted April 5, 2011 Author Posted April 5, 2011 Thanks for the advice, Steiner I've got a taper jig on my shopping list for the angled cuts. I think I've spent almost as much on the woodworking gear as I did for the electronics and wood! Considering my inexperience on the way in to this project, I'm relatively happy with what's happened so far.
H Posted April 9, 2011 Author Posted April 9, 2011 Very pleased with myself today! Got to grips with my router and circular saw and did this: I've still got the cutout for the controls to do plus the speaker support and the baffles. A bit of sanding down after all that and it'll be ready to glue and finish off with some wood treatment I've got called Osmo Oil. More soon
Steiner Posted April 9, 2011 Posted April 9, 2011 Beautiful work H! It's fun keeping your head wrapped around which is he tongue and which is the groove... That's some gorgeous wood! It appears you are on your way - congrats!
kbp810 Posted April 9, 2011 Posted April 9, 2011 Looking good H! It's going to look great with a natural oil finish
wdelaney72 Posted April 10, 2011 Posted April 10, 2011 The dovetails look fantastic. Did you use a jig or do it by ruler and pencil?
H Posted April 10, 2011 Author Posted April 10, 2011 The dovetails look fantastic. Did you use a jig or do it by ruler and pencil? Thanks They're actually finger/box joints. I used a jig (Trend CDJ300) as I'm a complete novice at woodwork. Had a bit of a problem with the first side I cut but the other pieces came out really well
Hfan Posted April 10, 2011 Posted April 10, 2011 Very nice Howard, good work. Glad it is coming along well.
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