Tube Amp Archive

I like a lot this https://www.tube-town.net/ttstore/grill ... 00-cm.html
Marshall-cane alike grillcloth but I am looking for an alternative, since there is nothing comfortable at all to work with it.

It is almost the exact opposite of the Vox style one, whose thinness make for a much smoother installation & which nicely shrinks when drying post-install...

Amongst alternatives, I considered Fender(-alike) stuff but I have read about the difficulties some had heat-shrinking it, so maybe you have another suggestion/comment/criticism (good or bad.!? )



PS : this is for a Fender-ish amp so I felt the Vox stuff wouldn't suit

I preferred the the thinner Marshall style paper grill cloth for years - the large check specifically. Not too thick and it has alignment lines . Cane is a challenge due to it's thickness - I was tempted to put it on damp partly to soften it but didn't as I'd need aluminum staples to avoid rust. The last cab got the Blues breaker style - it was thicker but more cloth like and easy to align and stretch.





The few Fender style grill cloths seem to be more plastic based and not my speed pattern or color wise. Never tried the Vox as it didn't appeal to me. I did build a foot stretching rig that supplied the 'third hand' I always needed when putting the cloth on.

Russ

Thank you very much for this pretty detailled summary about Marshall-style grillcloth...

So no big fans of the Fender-style stuff here, does it seem...

I live in a large city (like you do) so sometimes when I want an alternative, go to the "clothes supplier´s neighbourhood" where all the cloth shops are, and walk around.

Go inside every shop, look around, because sales attendants have no idea of what I want, and in any case I want to be surprised.
The point being that very often I am, and besides that I also want to touch and see through cloth.
I mean I am not shopping at a dedicated "speaker" cloth shop but a general purpose one.
Also check *decoration* type shops, sometimes they have interesting texture cloth, meant for curtains or furniture.
Only problem is that they hardly carry *black* cloth, and look at me sideways when I ask for some, secretly thinking I must be a satanist or something.
Wearing an Ozzy Osbourne T Shirt doesn´t exactly help

Now if you live in a smaller town, you often have to rely on catalogs, and often the most "interesting" ones are not shown.
Or looks can be deceiving.

One day I was walking through our shoe stuff suppliers neighbourhood (I buy high quality contact cement there by the 18 liter can and vinyl cloth , Tolex or Rexine type, by the 100 ft roll at wholesal price) and they were unloading a *beautiful* "salt and pepper" type cloth, silver and black thread and very strong.

I asked for a whole roll and they informed me they wouldn´t sell it as is, it still needed to be glued to a thin *foam* layer, the strong but padded cloth being meant to make the top side of tennis shoes.

I insisted and got it, they reluctantly sold it to me, shaking heads at the "madman" who bought unfinished cloth he he.

That´s why I suggest *walking* around

EDIT:this is the kind of shop I suggest visiting, which nobody thinking "loudspeakers" would even consider.
You my be suprised, just take your time and browse around.

What JM said.

There's nothing particularly magical about grill cloth for guitar cabs. Since it's a woofer output, you don't need anything "audio transparent" ie: expensive or exotic, just pretty and durable. I've built two speaker cab baffles out of JoAnn fabrics "brocade" material. You want the upholstery fabric section.

I really like the look of "This fabric crawled off my couch" look, especially with enough flamed maple and sapele to make it stand out. I actually bought a bunch of that material like 20 years ago, couldn't find enough to do another cabinet after my main stash went to recover my dining room chairs and then went on a long quest to find a fabric remnant after they stopped making it. I bought this bunch off Etsy. Since you don't need much, etsy is a really good source for fabric remnants. They have more than you can possibly sort through. You only need a couple "yards" to last you a lifetime of DIY speaker building and you have the upside that all your cabs will kind of match.

Fun note: I get really funny looks wandering around a fabric store by myself unaccompanied, but then I'm secure enough in my manliness street cred that I also play a shell pink strat, so /shruggie.

Nice workshop...

NB I really don't care about manliness and often tell my boy, which is a dancer, that alpha males are so called because they only know one letter of the alphabet...

I just steal whatever old curtains my wife has left behind - not really

>Nice workshop...

Thanks. I do a combo of handtools and power machinery, although my original background is in EE. It's an ever ever-evolving mess. I originally got into woodworking trying to build cabinets for my original twin/plexi mashup. Funnily I have two daughters and I really really want to make sure they feel welcome and valued in the guitar and maker spaces.

@Geeze Russ what is the foot streching third hand you mentioned? A third hand for installing grill cloth would b fantastic! Thanks

Sorry I've been out of pocket too long.

This is a fixture that I screw into the underside of the baffle end and then clamp to the bench. The other side is held up with blocks and clamped once I have the grill cloth straight. At some point I'll make another to screw and clamp the other end as well.



The third hand is a pair of planks clamped to the free end of the grill cloth and a woven ribbon is tied to the clamps.



Add the trusty third hand AKA the foot and push down whilst you staple away.



Russ

Russ, that's very clever. I believe you "need" a Moxon vise. (Shown here with my homemade frame saw, starting a resaw cut.) It is 37" wide including the clamping wings, so about 31" clamping width, and about 23" between the screws. It is made from Jatoba stair treads from Lumber Liquidators that I bought on closeout sale. It is, in my estimation, heavy enough that you wouldn't need to step on anything. It also has many other uses in the shop. You don't need wood screws. It works fine with metal hardware.

This I've used a few times.looks vintage and I like it..

Geeze wrote: ↑Fri Jan 08, 2021 1:56 pm The few Fender style grill cloths seem to be more plastic based and not my speed pattern or color wise. Never tried the Vox as it didn't appeal to me. I did build a foot stretching rig that supplied the 'third hand' I always needed when putting the cloth on.

Russ

Tried the Fender style one and didn't found it easy at all to install properly...

Finally I ended up with something manageable but not 100% satisfying...

The Vox is -*-way-*- easier to install, especially when wet, but having the diamond patterns straight at the corners is a bit challenging.

I'll have to try the Marshall style grillcloth. So, this



is the one you recommend?
(Thanks for the tip, by the way)

is the one you recommend?
(Thanks for the tip, by the way)

I've used the Marshall large check for 10+ cabs - my favorite for years. With the last walnut / padauk cab I tried the Bluesbreaker cloth which is more expensive and a bit thicker and it may be my new favorite.

Russ

JMFahey wrote: ↑Tue Jan 19, 2021 6:39 am
Only problem is that they hardly carry *black* cloth, and look at me sideways when I ask for some, secretly thinking I must be a satanist or something.
Wearing an Ozzy Osbourne T Shirt doesn´t exactly help

Ha! The ladies in the cloth department take one look at me and ask "black cloth?" How do they know? Must be the "Stage Crew" shirt I'm wearing.

In any case, double-knit cloth is easy to work with. Stretches a bit and can look very professional with minimal effort.

Fender-style grill cloth, what a PIA! But I've managed to make some OK looking grills, just by stretching & stapling. It's tough on the hands and arms. Years of - very occasional - practice have helped. Also a lot of patience, it's never a quick thing to do. If I were to staple on grill cloth with any regularity, I'd for sure get one of those clamping rigs.