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70s amp replacing tolex help?


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Picked up a naff little 70s or 80s bass combo. I want to replace the tolex, but found when I removed the screws on the front, that the tolex is stuck to a thick piece of mdf, and that the silver metal strips down both sides prevents me from lifting the mdf panel straight out. The back of the combo is totally enclosed (no screws), and there are no screws fixing the metal strips to the amp. The sides of the amp are solid and I can't see a way of removing one side to get the mdf panel with the tolex out.

 

Any idea's how I can remove one side or get the tolex/mdf panel out?

 

badger-bassman-30-watt-bass-guitar_360_bb8205ed244ddf5cb174143019f4f827.jpg

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Have you tried prising the rubber/plastic centre out of the metal strip? You might find some nails under there. I think that's how they are normally fixed on. O.o

Edit: warming it with a hairdryer might soften it slightly 

Edited by Norris
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Can you carefully drill out the head of the nails so you can lift the metal strip?
I know you said they're headless nails but they need to have a bit of a head to be able to fix the strip. Can you post a close-up picture of the strip without the rubber so we can see the fixing method?

Doing this you can remove the strip and the tolex with minimum damage (but have to be very carefull and patient in the drilling process). After removing the tolex you can nail the remains of the nails further in and re-aplly the strip with new nails or small screws a bit to the side of the original fixtures.

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Unfortunately I don’t have the tools to drill out the nails, and I have fairly basic diy skills. The metal strips join on the bottom of the amp, so I could carefully lever the nails fixing the metal strip along the bottom upwards, allowing me to lift the metal strip up, which should allow me enough space to slide the mdf panel with tolex out.

But because of the age of the metal it may simply snap or break if I try bending it etc. So I’ve decided to cut out the current tolex covering the speaker, and use extra strong double sided tape to attach some new material on top of the mdf panel. Not an ideal solution, but one which should work!

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If needs be you might be able to get hold of a new metal strip. It looks very similar to the edging strips used in some VW camper vans e.g. edging the table. Certainly you can still get hold of most things like that for restoring campers, as there are still loads of them around. 

Edit: Ah-ha... https://camperinteriors.co.uk/products/plastic-insert-for-table-edging-black-other-colours-available-per-metre

Edited by Norris
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