funkle

The water trick worked nicely on the clamp marks. Nice one @stevie Ok, this ply is super easy to sand. I used 100 grit paper by hand on this corner, just to test it out. Took me under a minute. It’s just a start, but this stuff is really really easy to sand. So... Made a quick cardboard block for the baffle to stop my sanding going in. Game on! I’m unexpectedly at home today and tomorrow, so I’ll see what I can get done.

All great advice. The clamping in particular is something I want to touch on. In retrospect, one of the reasons the baffle panel may have warped a little was that I clamped it in pretty hard, probably harder than I should have, in my naivety. This meant it went in very firmly indeed against the bracing, which may have contributed to the shape change. There may be a delay in the sander, so I may simply start hand sanding.

Hmm. I'm regretting putting the top on before I did the felt. For the build, I've mostly just been following the original thread, where the cab gets constructed first, then the fitting out afterwards. In the part where Stevie is starting to fit it out, he comments that 'It is much easier to do the felt with the top off'....a detail I had let slip by me by today. Ah well. I'll just have to go super slow with the felt when it happens.

Ah, nice one. I’ve just taken the clamps off and there are very slight depressions. I’ll try the water trick. I need to see if there are any gaps which need filled after all the hi jinks. Probably not, but even a very small defect should be filled; paint doesn’t hide gaps. I’ll start sanding when I can after that. I also need to start experimenting with Tuffcab and different rollers/ways of applying it. I need to practice on scrap first. Stevie has already given me some useful tips on using it.

Had time for the top. The clamps (apart from one that has broken a little bit, visible at the front right) don’t quite fit on the cab with their plastic end protector pads on. So I had to take them off, which makes me a little nervous for applying pressure. I’ve tightened things a little gingerly. I’ll take them off in a few hours. Current total weight of the cab this afternoon before I added glue to the top: 16 lbs. That seems to bode well.

Bottom on. Incredibly messy. I put a lots of glue on, and I think most of it squeezed out. Lol. Top perhaps later or tomorrow. Borrowing a sander if I can for next steps.

Ok. Some updates before more bass practice and sleep. After half a day with the spreader clamps inside the cab, and the other clamps helping to give the desired shape overall, the right side panel now fits easily into the cab. The plywood here is apparently malleable; this reinforces the lessons learned earlier. After a few goes of fitting and refitting, I also noticed that the port shows quite a bit of the right hand panel when looking into it. So the right panel got sprayed as well, at the top. After that was done, I glued in the right hand panel. Finally. You’ll notice I learned my second lesson from earlier - after clamping and wiping off some excess glue, I loosened off two of the clamps slightly and tapped in the top and bottom panels (dry) to make sure they fit in and that the correct shape is preserved whilst drying. Then I tightened the clamps up again. I only have four 24” F clamps and I wanted to put some more pressure on, so I piled some books on. It’s probably not necessary, or as good as another clamp, but it does do something. Back of the cab looks good as well...(photo is a bit dark, but hopefully you can zoom for detail) Back on track, I think. Tomorrow, I’ll try and get time to do the top and bottom. Then I can start rounding off edges, plan the feet, and paint it.

@stevie informs me I glued the handle brace the wrong way around. I did wonder, but when I did the dry fit it seemed to work both ways, blocking neither the rebate in front of it nor the small brace on the front baffle that it fits under. So I stopped worrying about it and just did it any which way 😂

This is so true. I love clamps now. I’m borrowing more for the next stages. Seriously. Lol

Here’s an in-joke on Basschat if there ever was one...handles! I drilled through the top panel through the existing holes, just trusting to the CNC cutter here. I posted early in the thread about my concerns about the pre-drilled holes. I used my little gadget for straight drilling, because I’m paranoid about making sure the holes are 90 degrees and T-nuts install properly. I think it’s just as well I did....read on. Then the T-nuts go in. Hammered in with the soft faced hammer. Then a test fit using the M5 hex head screws that go into the T nuts. It all works out, but it is a little finicky going in. I started with the 4 screws that actually go through the bar part of the handle, and then did screws diametrically opposite to each other. Had to back out on one screw once and do the others instead, then returned to it last. I strongly suspect any holes not drilled straight would have been an issue. Nonetheless, the result looks good and feels solid: I’ll take it apart again and reassemble after I’ve glued the top panel in and painted the cab etc. But this bit of work and planning is done.

Another quick tip, very minor. You can see a lot more wood through the port hole than you think. I went back yesterday and spray painted a bit more to deal with this. Just FYI.

Ok. A fair bit has happened since I last posted. I have made a mistake, in fact two mistakes, and it will be useful to pass on the lessons from these, so others don’t make the same ones. You’ll see in the last post I laid the cab flat on the baffle whilst I was glueing the baffle up. In retrospect, that was a mistake. Here’s why: When I flipped the cab back over and tried to fit the right hand panel, everything lines up fine at the back, but the baffle at the front around the woofer (and where the braces are) is actually curving inwards a little bit. I suspect the soft plywood of the baffle warped a little with the pressure of the rest of the cab pressing on it. (I didn’t receive it warped; the dry fit of the cab was absolutely fine when it came.) So that was mistake one; letting the cab dry this way and in this position. Mistake two - I didn’t use the right side panel to keep the fit of the baffle when I glued the baffle in. If I had done that, and left the right side panel in ‘dry’ whilst glueing in the baffle, the baffle would have likely come out just right. So.... Let me introduce you to my new friend, which I hope you do not need to buy, and probably won’t if you avoid my mistakes. The spreader clamp. Can be used as an ordinary clamp, but has a bolt which allows it to be flipped around. £20 for a set of 4 from Screwfix. (https://www.screwfix.com/p/spreader-clamp-set-4pcs/2646v — I didn’t want 4, but was the cheapest set I could find, most online decent ones are around £10-15 for single one, and the other cheaper Screwfix options I could have chosen from weren’t in stock. So I got the 2 x 6” and 2 x 12” set.) The one at the bottom is flipped around to be a spreader. Works great. So, with some wiggling and jiggling, I have very gently pushed the baffle out with the spreaders (being careful not to break it). Then I’ve dry fitted the right, top, and bottom panels to make sure everything fits. It does. (The spreaders can be seen inside the woofer area and one sticking out the hole for the horn. The other clamps are just to make sure that everything goes flush when I put it all together.) So that was interesting. I’ll leave it like this for a bit and focus on another part of the build, because I want to be fresh for glueing it further and check and recheck the fit a few more times before I put glue in.

Seeing how my port is dried nicely after three coats of black primer, I fitted it and glued it in. Also got the front panel fitted and clamped it up to dry overnight. That’s it till Tuesday chaps. Have a good one! ***SEE NEXT POST! DO NOT LET THE BAFFLE/CAB DRY IN THIS POSITION; LIE THE CAB BACK ON THE REAR PANEL***

I have been called away to my in-laws. Further construction may be light today. Next significant updates may be Tuesday.

No idea. If you can find black pipe of the correct size and thickness I see no reason why not. I just went with what I was told to buy, lol. Maybe worth an ask @stevie in PM or in his main thread?

Glued in and clamped the left panel. Nice fit.

Day 2. I found some black primer spray, suitable for any surface including plastic, at Hobbycraft. £7.99, damn. Still, it’s very convenient. Made by Plastikote. I’ve done a first pass on the port. I probably won’t need to paint it...I’ll just do a few layers of the primer, I think. I blacked out the area behind the port as well.

Trimmed the PVC ducting down to size. I messed it up first time, but had enough length to try again on the other end. Pro tip: mark the measurement line all the way around, as otherwise it is hard to visually line up a straight cut using a hand saw. And cut very slowly, making sure it is straight. I started some of the glueing up as well. The input panel, and a healthy dose of glue for the top brace: Then the top brace went in, and then the first of the smaller panel braces. I used the left hand panel to make sure that the top brace was sitting at the correct angle; it is not glued in, just giving me guidance: Then the next bits of bracing: A small brace on the front panel: Not shown: I also managed to glue the circular brace to the top panel, to support it and the handle. And that’s what I managed today. Tomorrow, more glueing.

Ok. A busy day, between family stuff and starting this. I have been checking fitting carefully as I go. @stevie knows about this one already, but I note the holes currently drilled for the handle are large, which means that the handle install is currently suitable only for a T-nut installation: The holes nearly all line up with the handle, but 2 of them are slightly off - see below. Stevie knows about this. I may need to fiddle with this a bit when doing T-nuts for the handle install: A quick dry fit of the port tube shows it is a snug fit, although not super tight. Stevie is going to shrink it by another 0.5mm, which will mean it’s going to need a hammer to get it in. I think it will work well as it is, but will glue it into place at the seam on the inside. The horn slot is perfect, but has only two screw holes (at the right side). Stevie knows about this and is sorting for the future kits. I have since fixed that issue and installed T-nuts, but earlier I was in the process of marking it up: Here’s all the T-nuts in place on the front panel. The wood is soft enough that I found simply hammering them in from the back very easy. I sweated a little drilling the other horn holes, but everything worked out perfectly, and a check of fit was perfect. More to come.

I’m missing the little circle that goes on the bottom panel. Stevie will send that on with the crossover.

Game on tomorrow. All going well. Need to plan out screws etc. And all the other bits and bobs.

***PLEASE NOTE IN ABOVE PIC THE INPUT PANEL IS THE WRONG WAY AROUND. IT GOES THE OTHER WAY! ***

Dry fitting was a breeze. *** PLEASE NOTE IN THE ABOVE PIC THE INPUT PANEL IS THE WRONG WAY AROUND. IT GOES THE OTHER WAY! ***

Now I’ll do a dry fit. I’ll be back.

I’m marvelling at its lightness. Then I find the decals @LukeFRC did. And the badge. Sweet.