Amp Caddy

[Paul1453]

Can't be any worse than my blown PT, cardboard boxes, and wood scraps I end up using.   

[sluckey]

So, I'm thinking that posting pictures of my 4x4 scraps isn't really going to cut it in this thread.

Wooden blocks, bricks, paint cans, etc. served me well all my life. Now that I actually have a cradle, it'll probably mostly just be in my way.   

[p2pAmps]

So, I'm thinking that posting pictures of my 4x4 scraps isn't really going to cut it in this thread.

Wooden blocks, bricks, paint cans, etc. served me well all my life. Now that I actually have a cradle, it'll probably mostly just be in my way.   

No way, I think you will be happy and wonder why you never did it before now.  I love my cradle...

[hesamadman]

I didnt know this thread existed 


I finally got around to making one. I just saw mojotones amp cradle and thought that was a fine design. While at home depot I checked around for an easy means of adjusting the parts. Wing nuts were accessible. All my woodworking tools are packed away in the basement since Im moving soon so I dug around and got a few things out and whipped this up in a couple hours.

[Ed_Chambley]

Looks like a fine one. Good work!

[p2pAmps]

I didnt know this thread existed 


I finally got around to making one. I just saw mojotones amp cradle and thought that was a fine design. While at home depot I checked around for an easy means of adjusting the parts. Wing nuts were accessible. All my woodworking tools are packed away in the basement since Im moving soon so I dug around and got a few things out and whipped this up in a couple hours.

Love it man, I can't live without one now that I have it...

[hesamadman]

Thanks guys. I love the hardware you used Mike. Im going to take that into consideration if I ever have to build another one.

[p2pAmps]

Thanks guys. I love the hardware you used Mike. Im going to take that into consideration if I ever have to build another one.

Thank you.  I bought the hardware at Woodcraft supply where I live.  They have a nice selection of stuff there, little high priced but nice.

[PRR]

> at Woodcraft supply where I live.

Are the rooms quiet? How are the beds?

[hesamadman]

ha ha. Sometimes when I post topics for help, I really can't read the tone of everyones response. I can't tell if sometimes you guys are annoyed or what  . Topics like these show a little more about your guys humor. I should visit these more often.

[p2pAmps]

ha ha. Sometimes when I post topics for help, I really can't read the tone of everyone's response. I can't tell if sometimes you guys are annoyed or what  . Topics like these show a little more about your guys humor. I should visit these more often.

You might be surprised at our sick sense of humor!   

[bnwitt]

That is a very nice amp cradle Mike!

[shooter]

You might be surprised at our sick sense of humor

I lived in 2 worlds, electronics and medical, sorry to say, medical wins hands down for sick humor

[VMS]

Thought i share two pics of my amp cradle i build today. Cheap, super easy to make and best thing is that it is very easy to take apart. With limited space i have to store things this wont take much room.


...not as wobbly as one might think :)

[southboundsuarez]

  Am I too late for this party?
sorry! Seems I am beyond casually late everywhere I go!
Sorry to bring a dead thread back to life but I was enjoying everyone's Ideas so much!
I have been wanting and needing something like this for so long!
It seems like not only am I habitually late all the time,,,, but I can never seem to get enough of those elusive things called a "round to-it". I stashed all my round to-its, with a bunch of thingy-ma-jigs!
Luckily I salvaged a round to-it tonight that I found in the junk pile in the shop and was able to kludge together this amp cradle!
Not sure if anyone reads these old posts anymore but sure is alot of good stuff to read!!! 
Here is mines....

[southboundsuarez]

Thanks for the likes guys and not for flaming for bringing this old thread back to life. Today looking at the photos, my messy shop is an embarrassment. I better invest in more of those ol' round to-its!
The arms I am using for my cradle are some sort of retail display rack for keyboards. I received them from a truckload of stuff I received from a local music store going out of business. I believe these arms mounted to a wall mounted
slotted backing board. Unfortunately I dont have the backing board but I will have to look into a way of making a sort of T-Sotted backing. With wall mounted t slot I will be easily able to make adjustments for width and with several t-slots I should be able to make it height adjustable too.  For some reason these stupid arms have been getting kicked around throughout my shop , just taking up space. For whatever reason they just seemed too trick to just throw away! Ha ha ha!
They are multi adjustable with detents to lengthen and shorten the arm and also pivot in a an arc to adjust the angle or even could be folded down to place them against the wall when not in use.
I think they would also be useful to place my scope up and above my work surface too. 
This was a quick and dirty proof of concept and Simply screwed to the wall. I am going to construct a backing board to mount to the wall with the T-slots. I like the fact that I still have plenty of work space on the top of the bench. I just rewired a Twin Reverb in the cradle and the ergonomics is so much nicer with less fatique . Thanks for this thread and getting me motivated.

[Latole]

Well I took the night off from soldering and decided it was about dang time I made an amp caddy.  Nothing fancy mind you, just something other than 2x4s to hold em up... 

I would like to see your home made caddys too if you have a few pics.

It is not only a tool it is a piece of art, congrat !

[Latole]

I use these since 20 years, cheap and easy to build, no need better one.

[Latole]

I use these since 20 years, cheap and easy to build, no need better one.

[p2pAmps]

Here's a different one I did up for boards

[mresistor]

Super nice cradle Mike..   very well done.     

[CrocMule]

Apologies for flogging an old thread, but I'd like to get in on this parade. 

Here are pics and a link to a video of my cradle.  It's a modified version of the Modulus design that Ed_Chambley linked to in post #14.  I hadn't seen those plans when I made it -- I just watched a youtube video of someone else's interpretation of the Modulus design, and I modified that over a few prototypes. 

I made it specifically to fit Fender BF and SF chassis.  It tilts forward almost vertically, to work on the backs of the pots and jacks, and tips back quite a bit too (see last photo) for working on the inside of the back panel. It works like a charm with Fenders -- adjustment is a breeze.

The idea is that I can make new arms for other amp makes/models.  These arms work well enough for the Danelectro I'm tinkering with now, and the Newcomb PA head recently, but they didn't work worth a damn for the '63 Gibson chassis I put on it a few weeks ago.  Need to go into my friend's woodshop soon to make some Gibson arms.

I planned on cleaning up the drawings (graph paper and pencil) to post them but never got around to it.  If anyone's interested, I might be more motivated.

Cheers!

[Lectroid]

CrocMule,

I like your design.  I made one prototype with two sides connected by drawer slides to give length adjustment.  Been thinking about the best way to do side pieces ever since.  Your solution, with the triangular side pieces is really smart.  You get one knob adjustment with a much greater range of up and down movement.  You're the first style I"ve seen that makes me want to copy it.  Well done.   

[CrocMule]

You're the first style I"ve seen that makes me want to copy it.  Well done.

Hey Thanks Lectroid -- that's a nice compliment

I knew from the first prototype that I wanted several things

• the arms should hold the chassis weight centered over the pivot point (unlike the Modulus design),
• the pivot point of the arms should be centered over the cradle base front to back for stability,
• the side pieces shouldn't stick up above the chassis when the chassis is adjusted flat for ease of access,
• the arms should tilt as far forward as possible while holding the chassis stable,
• they should also tilt back as far as necessary to give good access to the inside of the back panel,
• and they needed to pivot from front to back while holding a chassis without allowing the transformers or tubes to hit the cradle base.

The 2nd prototype solved these problems but created another that killed the design -- it was really difficult to adjust the tilt.  The arms were isosceles triangles, with the adjustment thumbwheels directly below the pivot point -- loosen the knobs, and you'd lose control -- not a good feature.

So what I did to solve that problem with #3 is offset the knobs forward, as close to being in-line with the arms' flats as possible, while keeping the sides of the base low.  It mostly solved the problem -- still gets weird with chassis that are unbalanced on the arms. 

The Danelectro I'm tinkering on now has two chassis connected by an umbilical cord: power section and preamp.  I tossed the 2nd cradle prototype, and a friend has the 1st, so I had to go back to wood blocks to hold the preamp.  It was a real drag -- I've gotten used to the stability of a cradle.  It was wobbling back and forth while I unwrapped clipped leads from terminal strips to replace the filter caps and diodes.

I'm thinking of making another shorter version of #3 for narrower amps.  This one can handle a ~25" chassis without the sliding end extending out over the base.  It can go longer, but I haven't needed that.

I'm pretty sure I know which pile the plans are in -- I'll dig them out and see what shape they're in.

[CrocMule]

Here's a couple photos of the plans I drew -- I'm not going to do anything to spruce them up.  Note the different scales.

[Lectroid]

Damn!  I'm stealing your adjustment side pieces design, that's all there is to it.     It's exactly what I've been trying to dream up for a couple of years now, and you've nailed it.  And with drawings already.   

[CrocMule]

Damn!  I'm stealing your adjustment side pieces design, that's all there is to it.     It's exactly what I've been trying to dream up for a couple of years now, and you've nailed it.  And with drawings already.   

Ha!  Steal away! My version is 95% stolen already.  Let me know how it turns out -- I'm curious what improvements you'll make in the design.  My version isn't perfect -- there's tinkering to be done in those side pieces and arms.

I took more photos yesterday -- if you're curious about construction details, I can put them up.

Cheers!

[Lectroid]

CrocMule (et. al.),

Here's some pictures of my first pass at your side pieces design.  I settled on a 30-degree down angle for the lower hole when the chassis would be level in the stand.  That seemed to give enough range of motion and so far it's worked pretty well.  To anyone else following this, that angle is the key to CrocMule's improvement, over side pieces where a line between the pivot bolt and the tightening bolt is parallel with the chassis.  With that 30-degree angle, the side pieces "tilt" the working range of motion into a much more usable range. 

I really like how the drawer slides worked.  They slide in and out easily and the sides lock up tight when I tighten the plastic knobs.  I can do a chassis sized from 15" (Princeton) out to almost 24".  For a while, I thought I'd invented this then found others had done this years ago.

Adjustment is a snap.  Tighten one end down, leave the other end slightly loose, and just slide the sides together.  I can have my hands on the knobs controlling the chassis while I tighten them up.  It gives complete control and with the knobs tightened, the cradle is firmly locked into position.

[CrocMule]

Here's some pictures of my first pass at your side pieces design.  I settled on a 30-degree down angle for the lower hole when the chassis would be level in the stand.  That seemed to give enough range of motion and so far it's worked pretty well.

Right on!  Nice work.  Thanks for sharing photos.

I really like how the drawer slides worked.  They slide in and out easily and the sides lock up tight when I tighten the plastic knobs.  I can do a chassis sized from 15" (Princeton) out to almost 24".  For a while, I thought I'd invented this then found others had done this years ago.

Adjustment is a snap.  Tighten one end down, leave the other end slightly loose, and just slide the sides together.  I can have my hands on the knobs controlling the chassis while I tighten them up.  It gives complete control and with the knobs tightened, the cradle is firmly locked into position.

Now that I see your photos, I get it.  I couldn't visualize it before.  The slides are brilliant.  If I build another one, I'll have to incorporate your idea. 

I need 2 hands to adjust mine.  What I've been doing is measuring the chassis and adjusting the width of the cradle before I finish pulling the chassis out of the cabinet.  It's kinda clumsy.

I'm a believer in parallel invention.  I think it happens all the time.  Even though someone else invented the drawer slide chassis cradle (first), it sounds like you invented it too.  The world is filled with everyday inventors.

Cheers!

[Lectroid]

I'm a believer in parallel invention.  I think it happens all the time.  Even though someone else invented the drawer slide chassis cradle (first), it sounds like you invented it too.  The world is filled with everyday inventors.

So true.  Thanks again.

[CrocMule]

The greatest addition to a chassis cradle yet...  a Stick!  (patent pending)