chriswareham Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Hi folks, As I love my vintage Vox Foundation cabinet with its original Celestion G18C speaker, I decided I needed another one to go with it. Seeing as they are as rare as hen's teeth and either in an appalling state or with a replacement speaker when they do crop up, I decided to build my own. Fellow Basschatter Balcro was kind enough to give me his home built speaker cabinet from the 1970s, along with its hardly used Celestion G18C. I then set about getting the dimensions and construction details of my original Foundation cab down on paper. It's made from 3/4" birch plywood with 7/8" cross section battens for internal bracing. I decided to omit the recessed handles, since it would make covering the cab in Tolex that much harder. My local B&Q had suitable plywood, 18mm thick external use stuff, and 20mm cross section battens for the bracing. This afternoon I put the basic chassis together as stage one of the build: Now I have a dilemma. I don't know how to cut a neat round hole for the speaker in the baffle. I also don't know the correct tool for rounding off the edges of the cabinet. Any advice gratefully appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 [quote name='chriswareham' timestamp='1419274634' post='2638265'] Now I have a dilemma. I don't know how to cut a neat round hole for the speaker in the baffle. I also don't know the correct tool for rounding off the edges of the cabinet. Any advice gratefully appreciated! [/quote] A router is good for both jobs, with a circle cutting jig for the baffle and a round-over bit for the edges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allighatt0r Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Piece of string, a nail and a pencil, then a jigsaw? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswareham Posted January 18, 2015 Author Share Posted January 18, 2015 Finally made some further progress, thanks to a router owning colleague. The speaker hole is now finished, so I can now move onto spraying the baffle matte black and mounting the speaker. The edges of the cabinet still need rounding off with the router, but then it will be Tolex time! Here's the marked out speaker hole just prior to routing: Here's Dante inspecting the fit and finish: (As suggested by my wife, my next project will be two 1x12 cabinets that I can make into novelty beds for both our cats). And here's what the complete rig looks like so far: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswareham Posted January 25, 2015 Author Share Posted January 25, 2015 More progress! The baffle is now finished in matte black spray paint, the driver is mounted and the baffle fixed in place with black anodised screws and wood glue. The back panel is secured with the same type of antique brass coloured screws and cups as used on original cab. The corners still need rounding off, but no urgency as the Tolex still hasn't arrived from the States. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Looking sweet... even though it's not going to be a genuine Vox, I'm hoping you can get hold of a logo to top it off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswareham Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 Fitted the correct style of jack socket and mounting plate (courtesy of the excellent Solsounds in Potters Bar), so I decided to compare with the original cabinet. I couldn't hear any differences tonally, so I'm very happy. Then decided to connect both speaker cabinets in parallel, having doubled checked the phases match by using the 9v batter trick. Perhaps because of the change in amplifier impedance, it sounded much punchier. Anyone whos says that 18" drivers sound woolly or muffled needs to hear this rig! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Looks good. Are you going to kit it out with the Vox grille cloth to match your old one? I like that stuff. If you find a reasonably priced source for the cloth, please post a link here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswareham Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 [quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1422612039' post='2674545'] Looks good. Are you going to kit it out with the Vox grille cloth to match your old one? I like that stuff. If you find a reasonably priced source for the cloth, please post a link here! [/quote] Still looking for someone who isn't charging a fortune for the cloth, but it's definitely going to have the proper brown diamond stuff. The basket weave tolex is quite hard to get hold of as well - North Coast Music in the US wont ship it out of the US, but there is a company in Germany that have some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rk7 Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Great work! Subscribed RK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingBollock Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 I used to have a Vox 2x18. It looked like the Super Foundation but I remember it being more red than brown and it had a big metal rig thing over the top that acted as a handle and something to clamp the amp (which I didn't have) onto. If it wasn't the Super Foundation (and I am inclined to think it wasn't but my memory might well be playing tricks on me), any idea what it might have actually been? I had to leave it at home when I moved out. Although, thinking about how much trouble I had finding somewhere else to live, I could have just moved into the cab... Shame to be talking about it in the past tense, but it probably ended up on a bonfire or at the tip, like all the rest of the stuff I had to leave behind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswareham Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 [quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1422784184' post='2676637'] I used to have a Vox 2x18. It looked like the Super Foundation but I remember it being more red than brown and it had a big metal rig thing over the top that acted as a handle and something to clamp the amp (which I didn't have) onto. If it wasn't the Super Foundation (and I am inclined to think it wasn't but my memory might well be playing tricks on me), any idea what it might have actually been? [/quote] The only 2x18" Vox cabinet that I'm aware of is the Super Foundation. I think there was also a possibly ported 1x18" in the same size cabinet, and a 2x15" with similar proportions but in a slightly smaller case. A couple of years ago I almost managed to win an eBay auction for an empty Super Foundation, and was then also outbid at the last minute on a WEM 2x18". [quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1422784184' post='2676637'] I had to leave it at home when I moved out. Although, thinking about how much trouble I had finding somewhere else to live, I could have just moved into the cab... Shame to be talking about it in the past tense, but it probably ended up on a bonfire or at the tip, like all the rest of the stuff I had to leave behind. [/quote] Sorry to hear that you had to part with it. I still miss my V125 Vox cabinet that I used with a Simms-Watts AP100. It was a wide cabinet with a large port and a single 15" speaker with a blue painted frame. My love for 18" speakers came after that, as I replaced the V125 with a brand new Peavey 1820, which I had to special order from the States. Then I recently discovered there was a Peavey 3620 - two 18" and two 10" speakers in a single enormous cabinet! One failed to sell on eBay a month or so ago - not unsurprisingly as it was collection only from someone quite remote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartelby Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 [quote name='chriswareham' timestamp='1422959114' post='2678747'] Then I recently discovered there was a Peavey 3620 - two 18" and two 10" speakers in a single enormous cabinet! One failed to sell on eBay a month or so ago - not unsurprisingly as it was collection only from someone quite remote. [/quote] Just found a photo of Adam Yauch's custom 3620 type cab: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingBollock Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 [quote name='chriswareham' timestamp='1422959114' post='2678747'] The only 2x18" Vox cabinet that I'm aware of is the Super Foundation. I think there was also a possibly ported 1x18" in the same size cabinet, and a 2x15" with similar proportions but in a slightly smaller case. A couple of years ago I almost managed to win an eBay auction for an empty Super Foundation, and was then also outbid at the last minute on a WEM 2x18". Sorry to hear that you had to part with it. I still miss my V125 Vox cabinet that I used with a Simms-Watts AP100. It was a wide cabinet with a large port and a single 15" speaker with a blue painted frame. My love for 18" speakers came after that, as I replaced the V125 with a brand new Peavey 1820, which I had to special order from the States. Then I recently discovered there was a Peavey 3620 - two 18" and two 10" speakers in a single enormous cabinet! One failed to sell on eBay a month or so ago - not unsurprisingly as it was collection only from someone quite remote. [/quote] I shouldn't have had it in the first place... It was stolen and I new it. And being 13 was no excuse. There had been an illegal rave that was raided. A bunch of people grabbed what gear they could and legged it. I got it for £20, along with a 50 foot speaker cable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3below Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 (edited) Had a cab with G18C in my youth (1970s). I remember it being pretty good with the AC50 and subsequent Hiwatt 100 I had at the time. Happy days... I wonder if my judgement of sound quality is through rose coloured spectacles. Edited February 7, 2015 by 3below Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckman67 Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 (edited) Just stumbled onto this thread & it's my old setup back in 1989/90. I swapped a 2x15 cab for the Vox and still had the sound city heavy thing that it was. I was using my 1964 Hofner violin bass & wanted a McCartney look, when the sound city broke I gave I away and used an H/H valve sound head. I gave the Vox cab to a friend after storing it my Dads place for a few years, nice to see one again will see if I have a pic of mine somewhere. Edited April 10, 2015 by luckman67 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswareham Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 The tolex has finally arrived from an eBayer in the US. So now the weather's finally turning nicer it's time to get the router out and finish rounding the corners off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswareham Posted August 19, 2015 Author Share Posted August 19, 2015 An update! The edges and corners have been routed, so I can finally cover the beast in Tolex: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rk7 Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 Any Tolex action yet? RK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswareham Posted December 19, 2015 Author Share Posted December 19, 2015 No updates for a while, as my wife's puppy chewed through the speaker cone! I left a door open while I went to fetch something and the little horror sneaked into the room. The speaker is now with Wembley Loudspeakers for re-coning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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