SHAD

[JeffB]

Dumb idea doing half blind dovetails. Why would anyone start there! Sheesh! Just setting yourself for frustration and failure. 

On the bright side, my workshop is set up and looking good. I feel like doing stuff in it.

I also had a reminder that you can spend as much time searching the internet for products but when it comes to buying there are only 2 things in stock anywhere and your choice is the less of two evils. '20/'21, like living in a country town in the 70's as far as purchases go.

[JeffB]

On 12/31/2020 at 1:08 AM, Steiner said:

  Precision is key, you'll want a commercial jig.  Even then watch out!  The first jig I used took days to tune in the bit height.  0.001" height difference is enough to change a tight fit to a sloppy fit.  Too loose with the router collet and the bit will move, too tight and the collet will fail; you need to be right in the sweet spot (i.e., experience).  I also learned - the hard way - that the pressure you place on the router will change the joint's fit.

If you use pine, make sure it's OLD!  Pine (a four letter word in my vernacular) has a tendency to load up on tooling which changes dimensions and burns!  When you work it, it smells like PineSol, uck...

The end result is well worth the journey.  The effort will stay with you the rest of your life.

This is all really hitting home after a couple of days of practising.

Bit height, pressure, new pine. Ive been chasing my tail every new attempt. The bit Im using has a deeper cut than I want on the finished product but I have a weeks wait before a couple of shorter cut bits turn up in the mail, so Im just doing practice runs with the deeper bit and fine tuning technique and set up as I go.

Pine is a pain in the neck, Im going to try a tighter grain hard wood.

What jig did you use?

[Steiner]

I started out with a Harbor Freight $40 fixture.  It's quite good considering the price.  I used it on multiple projects with a 1/4" 14 degree bit.

Pine (there's that four-letter word again) splinters and splits Real easy especially when freshly milled and dried.  I'm sure you'll have much better success with hardwoods.  Maple is an economical wood that machines well - especially if it's NOT curly (flamed). 

You do know that every dovetail bit has a few depths that work.  The depth is based on how far apart the jig's fingers are.  Should you find it necessary to buy a Leigh 24" jig, you can set the distance between fingers.  The fixture, with a few add-on goodies are only about US$1,000...  Most jigs come with a "ballpark" bit depth.  if you let me know what fixture and bit you're using, I can calculate the proper depth.  Bottom line, increase the bit length (exposed bit length beyond the router platen) to tighten and reduce the length to loosen.

Just because I can.  Here are some of my favorite corners and the cabs I built for a Fender Concert:

 

[LK155]

Wow.  Fabulous work.  Or, as Pressure would say, fab work.

 

[JeffB]

4 hours ago, Steiner said:

I started out with a Harbor Freight $40 fixture.  It's quite good considering the price.  I used it on multiple projects with a 1/4" 14 degree bit.

Pine (there's that four-letter word again) splinters and splits Real easy especially when freshly milled and dried.  I'm sure you'll have much better success with hardwoods.  Maple is an economical wood that machines well - especially if it's NOT curly (flamed). 

You do know that every dovetail bit has a few depths that work.  The depth is based on how far apart the jig's fingers are.  Should you find it necessary to buy a Leigh 24" jig, you can set the distance between fingers.  The fixture, with a few add-on goodies are only about US$1,000...  Most jigs come with a "ballpark" bit depth.  if you let me know what fixture and bit you're using, I can calculate the proper depth.  Bottom line, increase the bit length (exposed bit length beyond the router platen) to tighten and reduce the length to loosen.

Just because I can.  Here are some of my favorite corners and the cabs I built for a Fender Concert:

 

Yeah, I got a version of the Harbor Freight jig and 14mm bit. Same, just rebranded. I finally got a neat set of joins and repeated it, depth and tightness. I used Jarrah timber for practice runs in the end, a bit tough to work with but no chipping and spitting bits out at me .

I almost grabbed the Leigh jig but because Im at the start of this journey I had a reluctance to jump right in. I will use the cheaper jig for other projects, I can see its worth once I have become more proficient using it.

You do great work! Would love to hang out in your workshop with you and try to learn a bit.

 

[Steiner]

11 hours ago, JeffB said:

Yeah, I got a version of the Harbor Freight jig and 14mm bit. Same, just rebranded. I finally got a neat set of joins and repeated it, depth and tightness. I used Jarrah timber for practice runs in the end, a bit tough to work with but no chipping and spitting bits out at me .

I almost grabbed the Leigh jig but because Im at the start of this journey I had a reluctance to jump right in. I will use the cheaper jig for other projects, I can see its worth once I have become more proficient using it.

You do great work! Would love to hang out in your workshop with you and try to learn a bit.

The Harbor Freight jig was the one that taught me about pressure varying the fit.  After a week of trial and error, my wood shop mate couldn't get it to work while I could.  Once we got that sorted out we went ahead and made a number of cabinets.  You can make "corners" like the top right (white) ones in the examples above with the HF jig.  It almost doubles the effort and increases the chance of producing nothing more than scrap.  Leigh has a reasonably priced jig that lays flat on the router table.  It alleviates the pressure issue but creates a new set of challenges.

The Best investment I made was was the Wixey gauge below.  I use it to set the bit height.  I burned out two dovetail bits on a recent project; the only way to continue with a new bit is to have an accurate and consistent bit height.  It cost US$60 and saved me from scrapping US$800 in materials.

Anytime you can make it to the wood shop, Tully, you will be welcomed with open arms.  Don't stop by on our day off; that's when we celebrate Christmas...

[Steiner]

16 hours ago, LK155 said:

Wow.  Fabulous work.  Or, as Pressure would say, fab work.

 

Thanks!

[JeffB]

Today I learned about, clamps, glue, and router speed and force.

Dont buy cheap clamps. Glue wont wait for cheap clamps. I dont think glue and wood dust will hide torn out bits of wood satisfactorily.

Just a proto type made out of laminated Hevea, rubberwood. Cheap.

I bit off more than I could handle with the clamps I had available and the glue set and beat me before I could get the joints set properly. I did all the joints at once instead of taking smaller bites and doing one or two. The joints were always going to be tight but with glue in them as well it just ramped up the tightness.

The joints are a tiny bit proud.

Tomorrow Im going to learn about sanding.

[Steiner]

I have a full rack of Harbor Freight clamps.  When it came to dovetails, I went with the big boy Bessy clamps.  We use a piece of wax paper across the dovetails with a clamping board, side to side in your photo, to keep the joints flush.  We also use Harbor Freight clamps, top to bottom in your photo, to tighten up the joint fit.  If you need longer open time, Tite Bond makes a hyde glue with just that.

If you get a rectangular box (4 right angles) and flat across the open face, you've alleviated the largest aw-shits first time out!  Nice Job!

[DetroitBlues]

On 1/7/2021 at 5:11 PM, Steiner said:

 

Just because I can.  Here are some of my favorite corners and the cabs I built for a Fender Concert:

 

 

 

Mr. Lafond was a fortunate man to have such spectacular amps and cabinets.

RIP Rhoadescholar.

[JeffB]

On 12/16/2020 at 10:57 PM, loudtubeamps said:

 

Hey @loudtubeamps what angle is the slope on the front of the amp? or how many inches(mm) difference in top and bottom?

 

 I took an inch of the top, approx 1.5 degrees and it doesnt look enough.

 

Had a bit of time to kill before a dentist appointment day and did a few little things to the cab. I just dont have the time to mess around with this like I would like so its like a slow motion project.

[JeffB]

Grabbed some time to make and paint the baffle today. Not sure where Im situating it yet so its just wedged in with packers.

Im pretty much out of time for a week or so at this stage and nothing Ive ordered has turned up, grill cloth, handle and router bits etc, so, guess it will gather dust and my enthusiasm to finish it might wain.

Its all a means to an end, its not "the thing". Its just a project to learn different things on and each stage serves a purpose. Im not particularly invested in the cab itself as much as I am the learning process. Ive enjoyed making router and table saw jigs as much as I have making the cabinet.

Once its all done Im covering it in tolex so I can learn ho to do that. Probably baby blue or something like that.

[Steiner]

If you don't pull the T-nuts and countersink with a forstener bit, you'll end up with 4 bumps in the grille cloth...

You've done well!

[JeffB]

15 hours ago, Steiner said:

If you don't pull the T-nuts and countersink with a forstener bit, you'll end up with 4 bumps in the grille cloth...

You've done well!

Aahhh!

Thanks.

[JeffB]

State went into lock down due to cv19 so I couldnt do what I was going to but nothing I was waiting for in the mail turned up. Its like its 1974 in a country town. No point hurrying.

I played around with what I had for a couple of hours just to entertain myself. I wanted to do a bigger roundover on the edges but that bit and a few others for upcoming projects are on back order or just held up in post. Ive sanded it to 400grit but I I guess it should be around 1200, I dont know. Its going to be covered in tolex eventually.

Ive also got grill cloth, handles, feet, tolex and corners held up in post or back order.

[Steiner]

Beautiful!

[Jaguarguy]

Really nice work!  Looking forward to seeing it completed!

[kbp810]

Nice work, looking good!

[LK155]

Um, Jeff, you've done such a beautiful job on the woodwork, do you really want to cover it up with tolex?

 

[JeffB]

2 hours ago, Steiner said:

Beautiful!

Thank you very much!

1 hour ago, Jaguarguy said:

Really nice work!  Looking forward to seeing it completed!

Thank you! So am I.

1 hour ago, kbp810 said:

Nice work, looking good!

Thank you! I appreciate your comment.

1 hour ago, LK155 said:

Um, Jeff, you've done such a beautiful job on the woodwork, do you really want to cover it up with tolex?

 

 Thank you, Lyle.

I have to learn how to tolex. Not just a stand back and squint is good enough sort of job, but to higher level of  scrutiny. I havnt got anything else to practice on. I also have to learn how to stain and finish timber to a higher quality than I have attempted before.

This cab is made out of cheap laminated rubber wood, hevea, its always been just about learning different processes etc. If I was to do this cabinet again I could knock it up pretty quick. I spent a lot of time making jigs and sleds, rebuilding my saw bench and a lot of time just generally  pondering stuff.

[rockabilly69]

2 hours ago, JeffB said:

Thank you very much!

Thank you! So am I.

Thank you! I appreciate your comment.

 Thank you, Lyle.

I have to learn how to tolex. Not just a stand back and squint is good enough sort of job, but to higher level of  scrutiny. I havnt got anything else to practice on. I also have to learn how to stain and finish timber to a higher quality than I have attempted before.

This cab is made out of cheap laminated rubber wood, hevea, its always been just about learning different processes etc. If I was to do this cabinet again I could knock it up pretty quick. I spent a lot of time making jigs and sleds, rebuilding my saw bench and a lot of time just generally  pondering stuff.

Well so far it's looks great! Can't wait to see the finished amp!

[Steiner]

2 hours ago, JeffB said:

I spent a lot of time making jigs and sleds, rebuilding my saw bench and a lot of time just generally  pondering stuff.

Welcome to the wonderful world of woodworking!

In the states, the hardware (corners) are made for a 1/4" (6mm?) radius roundover.

[JeffB]

So, some items turned up but no tolex or cab hardware.

So I started another cab!
Still have back panels and stuff to do.

I wanted to try to make a light weight cab so went with pine ply cab and cavity free marine ply speaker baffle.

Im never going to do anything with pine of any kind that isnt a simple straight cut butt joint. I hate this stuff. It was soul destroying.

Automotive bog plucked me out of the abyss of despair.

I also bought a forstner bit.

This cab is going to be finished to match my Fender ConcertII. I always gigged with a 112 or 212 cab underneath the combo, they never matched. I doubt Im  going to gig again but kinda its cool to just kinda bookend things. Also, its practice building boxes and covering then with stuff.

 

 

[bolero]

very nice!!

[JeffB]

Stuff finally turned up! Took so long! and a lot of the reason was my fault ?

Dont know if Im in the mood anymore. Kinda lost some momentum. Plus I got a table saw yesterday and Im pretty focused on setting that up and cutting through stuff. Just about as cool as a ngd or nad! I think its underlying resonant frequency is around F#. I havnt tested it out to be sure but I found myself humming along with it a few times.

I decided to go with the bare timber "ikea" look on the combo. I finished it with a satin floor wax, because I didnt know any better, and its durable. bom bom.

I think its going to get the ox blood grill cloth.

The silver black grey grill cloth is for my fender concert ii and the extension cab.

I have to put a speaker in the ext cab and have a listen to it before I go to the trouble of doing the tolexing and the grill cloth. If it sounds bad theres not much point to it, really.

Same could be said for the excelsior rehousing, I dont know why I havnt tried it yet. Might be hard to tell if it sounds better or worse than original because it wasnt great sounding to start with.

Just occurred to me the reason I have a new tablesaw and other new power tools, a couple of new pedal boards and an extension cab, learned to do dovetails and box joints, am going to learn how to install grill cloth and tolex, reestablished contact with a few old friends, is all because I made a weird impulse buy on a crappy sounding amp after I inserted a tube the wrong way around and blew up a perfectly good amp.

Awesome!!! 10/10! Would do again!