Mahogany cab build and finishing?

[tubelovin]

I'm about to start building my first express with mahogany cab. I need Ideas or tips on giving it a nice finish. What products/techniques can you guys recomend?

Also, what is the radius on the edges? Looks like 3/8". And lastly anyone know the angle of the bevel on the front panel?

Can't wait to get this thing on it's way, it's been a long time coming. With all those clips and vids, it makes it too hard to put off any longer.

[gahult]

I used a 1/4" radius router on mine 3/4" wide material minus 1/4" r. each edge will leave 1/4" wide flat face.
I set my table saw to 7 1/2 degrees and it worked fine for me for the bevel.

Gary

[tubelovin]

I wanted to have a nice round edge, but I think I'm gonna have to go with 1/4". I don't have a router table yet and there wouldn't be any material left for the bearing to ride on after the first edge was cut.

Gary, is 7 1/2 deg. same as the original or your take on it? I'm not trying to stick to KF spec just wondered for refrence. What material did you go with? How bout some pics

[gahult]

Hi,
When I set up my saw the angle measured up just right for the length of the face given in the build guide. I forget if did the trig. on it or not, but I think I did and it worked fine.

The only problem I ran into was this:

https://tubeamparchive.com/viewtopic.php?t=6387

But Allyn helped me on that for my next attempt.

Here's my cab.

https://tubeamparchive.com/viewtopic.php?t=5908

You could go with a 3/8" router bit. It would give a rounder corner. Just don't set it 3/8 deep. I used a 1/4 and set it to 1/4 deep, but I may try a piece of scrap wood with 3/8" set 1/4 deep and see what it looks like for my next cab.

Gary

[Ron Worley]

I used 9 degrees of bevel, but that's just what I worked out from the dimensions to get the thickness of the panel to be 1/2" where it meets the faceplate.

I don't think that you're going to see a whole lot of difference between 9 and 7.5 degrees to be honest- unless you're using an extremely good table saw, I bet it varies a couple degrees along the panel due to looseness in the fence, etc.

Ron

[Trigger]

I used polyurethane for my cab, alot of it. I wanted a smooth finish. If I had to do it all over again I would have used laquer as it is easier to work with for me. The reason I didn't use it was on a Morris Chair I built, the laquer is not holding up well and I need to redo the arms, but in hind sight my amp cab won't see the wear the chair is seeing. Brainfart on my end. I have always hated using poly, I started kicking myself after the 1st coat.

[tubelovin]

Gary, Thanks for the links, I didn't think too much about clearances and such. BTW yor cab turned out pretty good.

I think I'll try a couple bevels on some scrap and see what I like best.

I think I will also use laquer for my topcoat. Also, I think I will need to get some type of grain filler to smooth things out and get a nice gloss. If I can get it looking anything like the back of my LP I'll be a happy camper.

[gahult]

If you are going to use a stain, you may want to use a pre-stain conditioner as it will give you a more uniform color. Or so the can says. You just brush it on, wait 10/20 min. wipe the excess if there is any and your OK to stain. I got mine at Sherwin Williams and it seamed to work well.

Gary

[FunkyE9th]

It's not a trainwreck, but here's my 1st build with mahogany/maple cabinet. The faceplate is rosewood. I used General Finishes' Salad Bowl Finish for the cab. Sanded the mahogany to 180 grit. The maple to 400 grit. Used #0000 steel wool between coats. The Salad Bowl finish is very easy to use and doesn't stink.


[IMG:800:532]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e56/F ... C_5749.jpg[/img]
[IMG:800:532]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e56/F ... C_5750.jpg[/img]

[fperron_kt88]

wow these are all very nice!

Tested a new process: french polish (olive oil, blonde shellac, alcool, an old T-shirt, pumice and cheese cotton).

See this for the technique: http://www.milburnguitars.com/fpbannerframes.html

Needs a *lot* of elbow-grease, but it is technically easier than it looks. Super shinny as well.

Wood is maple, oak and purpleheart. Sanding to 180 grit, then regular paste wood filler for the oak (this is an error, will never do that again!), then switched to the pumice and shellac for the real deal, sealing the wood.

[tubedogsmith]

These were all finished with Tung oil. You can go as heavy as you like, it stays organic looking and it's easy to touch up in the future if needed. They're all between 5 and 8 years old and that's the original finish, pic is probably 4 years old.

[doctord02]

They're all between 5 and 8 years old and that's the original finish, pic is probably 4 years old.

I gather you've been building wreck style amps for quite a while...



Nice cabs.

[bigmik]

wow tubedog that's quite an inpressive collection you got there very nice work ! are they all express or how many are liverpool

[tubedogsmith]

that's 2 rockets, 2 express' and 1 pool. I built my first one in '96. A band was playing at one of the Disney entertainment areas in Orlando and I was help to help out the guitar player with some passes and accommodation's for his family. In return he let me keep his amp at the house for almost a week. I drew up the circuit and built an approximation of his amp into a JTM45 reissue. It obviously didn't sound just like his amp but it was close enough for a starter.

[Lonely Raven]

Wow, those are fantastic! That's my dream collection right there as you and I have similar taste in woods!

I bow to your wood working skills!