basstone

Thanks @funklefor the feedback. I was concerned about it being vulnerable to abrasion if just mounted on the back. I'll leave it off for now.

Cab 003 is now finished the first stage of the build (passive). Weighed at 13.2Kg using digital bathroom scales. I hope to do some comparison testing with my Gallien Krueger MB500 and 210MBE cab tomorrow 🙂

I'm not going to have enough space on the back panel to fit the serial number label there. I was wondering about putting it behind the grille at the bottom left corner. It can still be easily read and is well protected there. Any thoughts?

Connector panel fitted, just with a single speakon for initial testing. Crossover fitted behind port to leave room behind the horn for addition of power amp later. All drivers fitted. Getting close!

3 coats of Tuff Cab done. Single sided foam gasket applied to grille batten and trial fitting done. No drivers fitted just yet.

I used a random orbital sander for rounding the edges. Firstly I sanded (with 80 grit) a ~ 6mm flat at 45 degrees along the whole edge then repeat twice to half the angle and approximate a smooth curve. The ply laminates are a good guide to kelp keep it even. Finally finish by hand using 80 grit followed by sanding the whole cab prior to painting. I do have a router but I feel more in control with a sander. It does take a bit longer but less chance of a major disaster. I guess if you're experienced and confident and have high quality routing tools a very high quality result can be achieved that way. Looking forward to seeing what others are doing. 🙂

First coat of Tuff Cab on remaining 4 sides. The high quality of the cab kit is really paying dividends as the panel joins are not visible at all! I put the paint on with an ordinary paint brush to give an even coat then use the roller to give an even textured finish. I will do 3 coats in all.

I missed that one! Thanks @stevie . Fitting the feet also works but it's advisable to let the paint go really dry first. I also put a bit of silicone grease on the feet just in case the paint decided to stick!

3 coats of Tuff Cab on the bottom and feet fitted. 50mm in from the edges seems about right giving clearance for the metal corners. I used the same screws as for the handle (5.0 X 30 black CSK wood screws) with a 3mm pilot hole. The screws do protrude inside slightly but are covered by the 2 layers of felt. I can now stand the cab right way up to paint the rest without damaging the bottom.

Whilst waiting for the paint to dry fitting gaskets to bass driver (supplied with the driver but not fitted) and to horn and handle using 10mm x 1mm self adhesive foam strip.

Ready to start painting 🙂 First coat applied to the bottom.

I am not using the kit input panel so that I can keep my options open for fitting a power amplifier inside the cab later. I plan to fit a sheet steel input panel with a gasket and fixed by screws from the inside. It will eventually have a combined XLR TRS input connector, power inlet & switch and a gain control in the panel as well as an extension cab speakon output - which will come in handy for initial testing with my GK MB500.

Baffle painted with matt black spray paint bought in Proper Job. It came out more of an eggshell satin finish but I'm happy with it - it will match the satin Tuff Cab paint nicely 🙂

I have also used a coat of PVA to prime a porous surface before gluing and it does work well. My concern would be that the rebates are fairly tight even when dry fitted. The thickness of a layer of PVA (plus any possible expansion of the wood as mentioned by @Chienmortbb) might make it more difficult to close the joins effectively unless extra clearance was added by sanding first. Looking forward to hearing how @converse320 gets on and seeing the pictures.

Closer view of the felt in the bottom half of the cab. I decided fit larger pieces covering the small internal bracing rather than fit smaller pieces of felt between the braces

BTW carb cleaner spray is a good way of cleaning off any excess / unwanted contact adhesive

Cab now filled and sanded. Felt glued in and ready for painting.

Fully agree. Use as many clamps as you can to get an even closed joint. I think 3 clamps per join is ideal or use a piece of scrap wood under the clamp to help spread the clamping force. If you have any, G cramps can be used from the speaker, port and horn openings as well.

Yes I also have a smaller piece which may be just as effective in supporting the grille. The full length piece was just self supporting without any glue for a quick trial.

The support across the middle front of the baffle is not part of the cabinet kit, it's a piece left over from the grille support frame. It does add a considerable amount of stability to the expanded steel grille. It's not glued yet as I just wanted to test it out and may do an audio test just to convince myself that I can't hear any difference with / without it before making a final call.

Trial fit for horn, handle and grille looking good. No issues with pilot holes 🙂 . The grille badge is not fixed in place yet. I do like the silver paint on the grille. Should look even better when the cab is painted satin black Tuff cab. Filling and sanding next

Last bit of clamping as the grille frame goes in. Centre cross piece is not glued yet but it does give a lot of extra support to the grille so I will probably keep it.

Just finished fitting the last panel to my cabinet (serial no.003). Here are a few photos of the build so far. As Stevie has noted, a dry build to check for fit is a must before applying any glue. Also use as many clamps as possible to ensure an even join. I found that the panels do distort (very) slightly when clamped so good even pressure along the joins is beneficial, I applied pressure until the glue started to squeeze out of the join evenly along the whole length then stopped. I used 3 clamps per panel join, one at each end and one in the middle. To avoid damage to the panels and to help even out the pressure I used scraps of wood under the clamps. The 600mm clamps which I've seen recommended for this job are only just long enough to reach from top to bottom of a complete cab so I substituted alloy and steel plate scraps I had to spread the clamping load.

If the T-nut is locked completely solid and you can't get to the back to grip it, can you pull the woofer far enough back from the baffle to get a hacksaw blade in from the edge to cut through the bolt shaft? may be easier than drilling the head off?

The AER compact guitar combos are great, very small and light. I know a couple of jazz guitar players who use these all the time now. Maybe worth keeping a lookout for a secondhand oneas new they are well outside budget? The polytone could possibly be sold to help fund it?