stevie

The way I understand the problem, Phil, is that the bolt has been cross-threaded and has jammed in the T-nut. Turning the bolt has forced the T-nut round, gouging out a circle in the rear of the baffle. So the T-nut is now spinning round but not gripping anything, and the bolt is stuck in the T-nut and won't come out.

Phil's suggestion of pulling the T-nut out to re-engage the spikes is definitely worth trying. However, I suspect that the bolt is tightly jammed and the T-nut might not hold. If you can get the mole grips to grip the T-nut tightly - you'll need to experiment with the adjustment a bit - jam the handles of the mole grips against the side of the cab. Then turn the bolt. When you get the bolt out, you'll need to fill the bit of the baffle that the T-nut has gouged out. Unfortunately, the Everbuld wood filler you have is only meant for use in thin layers, although it might work depending on how much wood the T-nut has removed. Two-pack wood filler or car body filler will work and will allow you to reinstall the T-nut. Araldite is another option. With any of these fillers, you'll need to re-fit your T-nut before they set hard. I think that repairing the hole will be a lot less work than filling all the existing holes and drilling new ones. If you need another T-nut, I can send you a couple on Monday - just let me know. When you've removed the offending T-nut, there's nothing to stop you finishing off the cab and trying it out. Just stick some Blutac over the spare driver hole.

Oh dear, just as you were nearly there!🤨 It looks like you've cross-threaded a T-nut. Drilling out the bolt is absolutely a last resort. What I suggest (and others who have some experience of jammed T-nuts might like to comment) is trying to grip the offending T-nut from the rear with a pair of pliers or, better still, mole grips. It depends how far in the bolt is, but you might be able to lift the driver up enough to get your hand in behind it. If you're lucky, you could even swing the driver out to improve access. Failing that, slide your arm in through the hole for the horn and try to get to the T-nut that way. You can get a lot of leverage on the bolt with an Allen key. This is ideally a two-person job. One person gripping the T-nut and another person trying to undo the bolt. While you're deciding what to do, put some lubricating oil on the bolt and let it seep into the thread on the T-nut. That should aid removal. Don't give up now!

Yes, that's definitely an option. I have a specialist aluminium powder coater not too far away from where I live and I'm planning to ask him for a quote - although I suspect a one-off could be expensive. That doesn't really help anyone else though, unless they can find a local powder coater who does aluminium (I believe aluminium uses a different powder coating process to normal steel). So I'm still going to look for a spray can that would do the job. It wouldn't need a thick coating - it's just to stop the aluminium tarnishing with age.

I think that's basically what the foam roller does in fact. It just speeds the job up and makes it easier to achieve a consistent finish.

Mine's 007.🤩

I am indeed. And there will only be one serial no. 001 - the one you are watching being built right here.🙂

I agree, it could be a nice look. I'll be hammering Google this weekend to find some kind of spray coating that works. Then we can all see how it looks.

I'm leaving my cab to harden up a bit overnight. It's dry now but the paint still seems a bit soft. I'm not sure it's a great idea to load it up just after painting it.

The difference in price between the steel and aluminium grille isn't that great - it's the cost of the primer that makes the aluminium one so much more expensive. However, Luke has just pm'd me with the idea of keeping the aluminium look (he keeps sending me these neat ideas). So if we can find a clearcoat to spray over the aluminium to stop it tarnishing, that could be a solution. Depends on how an aluminium grille looks, of course.

The expanded metal grille isn't that heavy, although obviously heavier than the aluminium one. I expect the punched mild steel one will be the heaviest, although I haven't actually weighed any of them.

I've been looking into this issue myself lately. As £250 for a standalone module is out of the question, I've been looking at software solutions, as I have a spare Windows laptop and a quality USB sound card. My research so far is pointing me towards Native Instruments software. There's a free version called Komplete Start and you can download over 2,000 sounds for it - free. I've downloaded the software but not installed anything yet. Perhaps someone has used it and could comment.

Finally.... grilles. These were always a bit of a problem. But now we have several options. First, I bought a sheet of expanded metal and cut my own to size. It took a lot of experimentation and some hardware purchases to figure out how to do it properly. That's the one that funkle has, and you'll no doubt see it very shortly in his build thread. It's primed lightly with zinc primer and painted with Plastikote. I have enough of the expanded metal to make a few more. So if you're interested in one of these, let me know and I can include one with your kit. Luke brought the other options to my attention. There is an Ebay seller who will cut punched metal to size and send it through the post. He offers mild steel and aluminium. I decided to get an aluminium one for £15. Now, the problem with aluminium is that it won't take normal paint directly; you have to use an etch primer. That adds about £10 to the cost. So you're looking at around £30 for an aluminium grille. For some, the weight saving will be worth it. Others might like to go for the mild steel alternative. The mild steel one costs £8.95, and you can paint it directly with Plastikote or similar spray paint. The German discounters regularly sell an equivalent for around £2.99 a can, and it's not bad. These paints do a fairly good imitation of powder coating and are quite tough in practice. Anyway, here's a photo of the aluminium grille on my cab. The white coating is a protective film which I've not yet removed as I've not got around to painting it yet. The photo of the grey paint on the wood is probably the best one I took. That's more or less how it actually looks.

Here's a comparison of my new grey cab with my previous black one - both painted with Tuff Cab. It's actually slightly darker grey than this, but that's photos for you.

As you can see, the Euro Car Parts plastic primer worked a treat on the port. Two coats - so I have plenty left. Shame I got some Tuff Cab over it but I'll fix that later. The baffle took three coats of Tuff Cab applied thinly with a brush. I used some of the Everbuild wood filler to fill in dents, etc. and highly recommend it. You can even use if over the Tuff Cab paint if necessary. I wanted a dark grey cab this time, but as Blue Aran didn't have any of the new 'pro' paint in stock in dark grey, I decided to order a litre of black and a litre of white. As luck would have it, a 50/50 mix gives you a nice dark grey, which makes mixing fairly easy. I used a 1-litre yogurt pot to create my custom colour. You have to use a spoon, by the way. The stuff won't pour.🤨 Should anyone want to make a custom colour, there are a few ways of doing it. You can add some normal domestic acrylic paint or undercoat - I tried that and it works fine. Or you can get some pigment from your local art shop and mix it in. The new 'pro' paint doesn't seem very matt to me, although it is slightly less shiny that the original Tuff Cab. It also seems to take longer to dry, but that could be my imagination. I applied one coat with a 2" brush all over while I was painting the baffle and left it to dry. I then tackled one panel at a time, applying a thick coat with the brush all over the panel and then working it in with the foam roller. It only took light pressure with the roller to spread it evenly and create the 'spattered' pattern. There's no need to press hard. I applied two thick, rollered coats and reckon that will probably do. So, three coats in total. A handy tip when painting is to drill the holes for the cabinet feet (make sure you leave space for the corners). I know I should have photographed this, but please bear with me. Start painting with the cab upside down. Paint the bottom and just over the edges of the bottom. Then insert the screws. You can now turn the cab over and paint the rest of the cab without waiting for the bottom to dry. Just turn the cab round by grabbing the inside of the cab through the driver hole. When the paint takes two hours to dry, you'll be glad you did this. Here's a photo of the top of the cab - not quite dry yet.

Really hard. I took that photo in artificial light with a flash. It looks much better in real life than here. It needs a photo in daylight, which I'll try to do tomorrow.

My paint finally arrived! Unfortunately, I only managed to get back into my workshop yesterday to start painting. But here we are:

The next one will be a doddle!😀

Stew, applying the paint is probably the easiest part of building the cab - and probably the most satisfying apart from plugging in and listening to it. If you're concerned, just practice on a piece of scrap wood. A one-litre pot of Tuff Cab contains enough to paint two cabs - so you'll have enough to practice with until you're ready.

You can get rid of the visible plywood layers by applying a couple of extra layers of paint with a small brush and sanding them back. Then go over with the roller. But I see you've progressed past that stage now.....🙂

I have the new "pro" Tuff Cab. I'll be applying it when I revisit the original thread later this week to carry on from where I left off. It seems that funkle has now overtaken me..... I've used the original stuff and will compare the ease of use and finish. Everyone seems to have a different technique for applying this paint. I used a brush to put a couple of coats on the edges and the gaps. Then I applied two coats with the foam roller. That's it really.

I suspect 8.4V is enough for most purposes. I wonder if the rechargeable lithium batteries last longer than non- rechargeable alkalines. It wouldn't surprise me.

I suppose that just highlights the problems of buying and making in small quantities.

This is the kind of roller sleeve you need for a stippled finish. I've seen them in DIY stores but I can't remember which particular ones. https://www.trade1st.co.uk/texture-stipple-mini-paint-roller-4-inch

You used to be able to correct your spelling mistakes in pms, as in the main forum, but this is no longer possible. Could this option be provided at some future time? Thanks!