rk7 Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 Morning viewers! I've been in the man-cave again. With the arrival of the new Aurora amplifier, I decided it would be nice to make a little 'wendy-house' for it to live in. I have seen a picture of the Aurora in a 19" rack, on Eric Czar's website. The 19" rack is wider than the speaker cabinets it sits on, and tbh it looks odd (sorry Eric), kinda like a weird 'T' shape. Right says I, lets get in the cave and make ourselves one that matches the 212MNT cabinet, and hopefully ends up looking like it came from Holland! Features: 18mm Plywood construction (same as the cabinet. Gotta match, see.) Ventilation grilles on the left side, and the base. Rear of the sleeve left open, to assist ventilation. Carrying handle on the right side Corner protectors to match the 212MNT Carpet covering to match the 212MNT Removable (held on with small neo magnets) lid on the rear of the top, to give good unfettered access to the rear panel of the amp. UNFETTERED - word of the day! Jack socket on the rear panel (no messy cable hanging out of the front) Right! Easy peasy, lets get started. RK Quote
rk7 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Posted October 27, 2014 (edited) First, make a basic box out of 18mm ply, with lap joints on the corners. [IMG]http://i59.tinypic.com/2dgkt2d.jpg[/IMG] Can you see what it is yet? Rebate for the handle [IMG]http://i59.tinypic.com/e16wyx.jpg[/IMG] Handle fitted (this is all going rather well) [IMG]http://i62.tinypic.com/358qahf.jpg[/IMG] Side ventilation grille (rebated so it is flush with the carpet when fitted) [IMG]http://i61.tinypic.com/288xjmh.jpg[/IMG] Base ventilation grille [IMG]http://i58.tinypic.com/1zlcbv7.jpg[/IMG] Cutout for the removable lid bit, on the rear of the top of the sleeve [IMG]http://i61.tinypic.com/117v1pe.jpg[/IMG] Lots of woodwork, as it turns out. This is mainly due to me being picky about how the finished sleeve will look. It was all worth it though I think. RK Edited October 27, 2014 by rk7 Quote
Britsie Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 As I have two left hands myself, I always enjoy watching other people make beautiful things. Quote
rk7 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Posted October 27, 2014 This is what it should look like. (imagine black carpet covered, matching corner protectors, amplifier inside, etc) [IMG]http://i57.tinypic.com/3142rma.jpg[/IMG] RK Quote
rk7 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Posted October 27, 2014 [quote name='Britsie' timestamp='1414399641' post='2588814'] As I have two left hands myself, I always enjoy watching other people make beautiful things. [/quote] Thank you Britsie! Quote
rk7 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Posted October 27, 2014 Hardwood (because it is hard) pieces to take the rack ear mounting bolts. One each side, at the front. [IMG]http://i57.tinypic.com/2wovhx0.jpg[/IMG] Fitted. These are glued into rebates in the main body of the sleeve. (Note to self - Should have taken a pic) [IMG]http://i58.tinypic.com/33at11u.jpg[/IMG] Rear panels (back to plywood again. Hardwood is so much nicer to work with) [IMG]http://i60.tinypic.com/eufuw4.jpg[/IMG] Fitted. This one will take the Jack socket for the Instrument Out cable from the sleeve. (No cabling on the front - remember?) [IMG]http://i62.tinypic.com/72rpuh.jpg[/IMG] RK Quote
rk7 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Posted October 27, 2014 Corners rounded over, Lid (Ver 1) made, and corner protectors loosely fitted. This thing is taking shape! [IMG]http://i58.tinypic.com/2l8f5tt.jpg[/IMG] Better get it glued up then? I didn't take any pictures of the glue-up, because I was fairly well stuck to the bench by the end of it. If I had 8 arms it would have gone swimmingly I'm sure, and I'd have had a hand free to use Angies camera without getting glue all over it. Dowelling the Lap Joints on the main sleeve body. Dowels were drilled, glued and rounded over to match the sleeve body. A blind man on a galloping horse would never know they are there, but I'll be happy that the sleeve joints are strong, and my beloved Aurora won't fall on the floor as the sleeve falls to bits. [IMG]http://i60.tinypic.com/2j4plc9.jpg[/IMG] This joinery is hard work for a man of my years. RK Quote
rk7 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Posted October 27, 2014 This was the day that the Aurora arrived, so here are some gratuitous pics of the beast. [IMG]http://i61.tinypic.com/2dlkyde.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i57.tinypic.com/2bd5oi.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i57.tinypic.com/5o6yja.jpg[/IMG] All the other pics from that day were, unfortunately, covered in drool and therefore unusable. RK Quote
rk7 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Posted October 27, 2014 Now that the amp has arrived, I can get on and modify the supplied 19" rack ears to allow it to fit into my 18" sleeve. [IMG]http://i61.tinypic.com/35aqjxx.jpg[/IMG] It fits! Phew! [IMG]http://i60.tinypic.com/dxztdl.jpg[/IMG] Marc Vanderkley was really helpful at the outset of this build, supplying me with the wood dimensions (pre-carpet) of the 212MNT cabinet and the height of the Aurora, to allow me to do this much woodwork before the amp arrived. This is especially laudable, given that he was working flat out putting the Aurora into production. An all-round good guy. Thank you Marc. RK Quote
rk7 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Posted October 27, 2014 (edited) A picture of the rear of the sleeve with the amp in place. This will explain why I felt the lid was necessary. Imagine trying to fit all the cables in a dark gig situation without having this lid. The lid when removed also gives easy access to the Power switch. Also, in this picture you will be able to make out the small neo magnets recessed into the side mounting surfaces for the lid. These have worked out really well, and fairly grab the lid and hold it in place. [IMG]http://i58.tinypic.com/vh9pxv.jpg[/IMG] In fact, now that everything is carpeted, the magnets are out of sight, and it feels like witchcraft is going on when the lid snaps into place. Very entertaining! Ho Ho. RK p.s. The amp is serial number #1402, the second Aurora ever made, and the first in the UK, and signed by the man himself. Oh yes, I am a lucky person! Edited October 27, 2014 by rk7 Quote
rk7 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Posted October 27, 2014 Carpet time! [IMG]http://i60.tinypic.com/a088xv.jpg[/IMG] Corner time! [IMG]http://i58.tinypic.com/2zgi2ki.jpg[/IMG] First try-out on top of the 212MNT. It fits great, thanks to Marcs dimensions early in the build, the corner protectors interlock perfectly. [IMG]http://i61.tinypic.com/5b3436.jpg[/IMG] I'm still waiting for delivery of the right-angle Jack plug and lead at this point, so this arrangement has the normal instrument lead in the amp. RK Quote
rk7 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Posted October 27, 2014 Finished! Hopefully it looks kinda like it was made in Holland. [IMG]http://i58.tinypic.com/1zx5aqc.jpg[/IMG] The Jack plug arrived and is now wired through the rack ear to a socket on the back panel. No wires on the floor in front of the cab! I've enjoyed this build. Hope you like it readers! RK Quote
rk7 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Posted October 27, 2014 I'm now thinking how cool this rig would look with a 210 cab on top of the sleeve, and the 212 below. GAS is incurable! Must resist! RK Quote
Roland Rock Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 (edited) Looks really well designed and built, and matches the cab perfectly. I especially like the recess behind the handles. Edit: and the red washers - were they supplied? Edited October 27, 2014 by Roland Rock Quote
rk7 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Posted October 27, 2014 Thanks Roland! The recess behind the handle originated from my wish to keep the match to the cabinet, I didn't want a handle sticking out. I also wanted to brush up on my jig-making skills, so I knocked out the jig and made the recess with my dads hand-held router. Most of my stuff is made on my router table, much safer! The fasteners are aluminium countersunk allen bolts, with red anodised countersunk washers, supplied by Pro Bolt, http://www.pro-bolt.com/ . I used a lot of their stuff on my Trials Bike, but in very expensive Titanium. 'kin good kit! Its all in the details. Quote
rk7 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Posted October 27, 2014 [quote name='eude' timestamp='1414409107' post='2588930'] Lovely work as always mate! [/quote] Thanks Ewan, it keeps me out of mischief, ha ha Robin Quote
martin lee Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 Looking good Robin... nice work sir. Quote
rk7 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Posted October 27, 2014 [quote name='martin lee' timestamp='1414413747' post='2589000'] Looking good Robin... nice work sir. [/quote] Thank you Martin! That's praise indeed from a man of your skill. Nice one. RK Quote
KiOgon Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 That's a quality bit of kit, custom build of the highest order, looks great! Job well done Cheerz, John Quote
rk7 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Posted October 27, 2014 [quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1414431520' post='2589213'] That's a quality bit of kit, custom build of the highest order, looks great! Job well done Cheerz, John [/quote] Thanks John! Quote
blablas Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 Outstanding amp housing build, the end-result looks great. Very nice design and top-notch fabricating skills. Quote
rk7 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Posted October 27, 2014 [quote name='blablas' timestamp='1414439231' post='2589324'] Outstanding amp housing build, the end-result looks great. Very nice design and top-notch fabricating skills. [/quote] Thank you sir! RK Quote
Mr Anthony Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 Very, very smart indeed. Good job sir! Quote
rk7 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Posted October 27, 2014 [quote name='Mr Anthony' timestamp='1414440666' post='2589353'] Very, very smart indeed. Good job sir! [/quote] Thanks Mr Anthony! Like most of my projects, it was a bit of a leap of faith as I have no woodworking or upholstery training, but I have to say I'm very happy with it. All the design brief requirements were met, and it looks 'proper'. I'm very happy with it, and even more happy with the Aurora that lives in it. However, I do need another project now, ha ha. RK Quote
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