I have impure design thoughts

[hokenpoke]

Stop me before I design again . . .

The cabinet that dares to ask the musical question "What if Leo Fender had asked Leopold Stickley to design the Bassman?"

The only outstanding issue is what color for the grill(e) cloth?

[jhadhar65]

For something like that, I'd go with something like this:

http://www.grillecloth.com/pages/gallery.php

[tubesornothing]

Well, it'd be more acceptable to the wife if I put that in the living room instead of the marshall stack...

...hmm, speaking of which - could you stack them?

[hokenpoke]

For something like that, I'd go with something like this:

http://www.grillecloth.com/pages/gallery.php

Perfect!  That's what I'm going with.

could you stack them?

Oh yeah!

[2twang2]

Awesome, hokenpoke! Now, of course, we need to see pics of the finished amp!

[jjasilli]

Nice design!  The only drawback I can see is that it might invite guests to put drinks on the top, which could spill into the amp.  If that's a concern, one solution might be to put the amp, facing forward, under the overhang of the top.  It could be hidden with a fold-down panel.

[hokenpoke]

The only drawback I can see is that it might invite guests to put drinks on the top, which could spill into the amp.

Good point.  I'll have to think about that.  I guess that's at least part of why they changed the arrangement after the tweed generation - too many beer accidents in the topsy-turvy world of rock and roll.

[Frankenamp]

<puts in his vote for either grill cloth #3 or #15> Cherry finish would be a nice touch.

[billcreller]

 
 That's a neat idea!  I had thought about building a furniture style cab with Honduras mahogany and using some of my Chris Craft stain on it.

[hokenpoke]

<puts in his vote for either grill cloth #3 or #15> Cherry finish would be a nice touch.

I liked those too.  21 and 53 are also looking good to me.

I'll go one better on the finish - I'm going to make the whole thing out of various bits of cherry that I have lying around from other projects.

[Mr. dB]

Cherry?  Mahogany?  Sheesh.  For Arts & Crafts-era furniture, you gotta go with quarter-sawn oak, with a dark stain.  It's got to look good between the Roycroft magazine rack and the Stickley morris chair.

Ya gotta know this stuff when you live in a Pre-WWI bungalow neighborhood.

[hokenpoke]

For Arts & Crafts-era furniture, you gotta go with quarter-sawn oak, with a dark stain. 

You are correct in that much Craftsman/Arts & Crafts/Mission was done in q-sawn oak - when one thinks of this type of furniture, that is invariably the image that comes to mind.  It is somewhat lost to history though that cherry was also quite common.  A furniture making type guy I know insists that 40% of Stickley pieces were made in cherry - I can't verify that myself but he usually knows what he's spouting off about.  Indeed a quick perusal of the current Stickley catalog shows that most items are available in both woods.

As I am more partial to cherry, and as I had exactly the pieces I needed in the basement, and as the cherry that I bought to make a Thomas Moser knockoff bed for my daughter needs to dry for another month, I leaped into making my cab yesterday.  Here is what the side panels look like in clamps:



The slots are for Dominos - without a doubt the fastest and easiest way to join wood.  Very high quality joins too.

Also, if you look carefully in the upper right, you can see a Partscaster in final setup - the product of a class in guitar making that I taught in Jan.  The kids did really excellent work and made instruments that they can be proud of.

[hokenpoke]

More progress - as time permits.  The part that I like to call El Tenedor nears completion:

[jhadhar65]

Will the grillcloth stretch in front of that or behind it?

[Dynaflow]

 Beautiful work, I'm so envious of people that work wood so well, thats just a patience and skill I can only hope to attain someday. (well to a even a lesser degree I'd be happy with :D )

Regards,

Dyna

[hokenpoke]

Will the grillcloth stretch in front of that or behind it?

Behind - over the speaker baffle which (of course) will be a piece of ply with 4 round holes in it which is screwed into the back of El Tenedor.  Per the above recommendation from jhadhar65 I ordered some old-timey radio cab grill(e) cloth.  Should look pretty great.

Beautiful work, I'm so envious of people that work wood so well

Thanks for the kind words - it helps not to show things too close up lest the imperfections become too obvious.  I am slapping this together with only a modest concern for the tightness of joints - it's not coming out too bad though.  Good tools and access to people with experience is a big plus.  Didn't stop me from making a number of errors in cutting the half-lap joints though  . . . up, down, up, up . . . D'oh!  Sometimes it's all a matter of what you can successfully hide!

[rob440]

Great idea!That will go a long way towards  keeping your significant other  from complaining about having an amp sitting around the living room. I guess then you would need to build a matching armoire to hide the guitars in.

[hokenpoke]

More progress - it's starting to get a little exciting.  At this point I need to put a floor in it, cut out the speaker holes and cut the top to accommodate the controls and do various finish it up things like the faux tenon pins on the front.  Then all I have to do is finish the bloody amp!

[Dynaflow]

 Wow, that looks cool, with a marble top it'd make a darn nice bar (how tall is it by the way?)! :D Really cool work.

Regards,

Dyna

[P Batty]

I am experiencing Amp Lust, in its most severe incarnation!!!

[2twang2]

Really, really nice!

[echuta13]

That really looks nice!  Can't wait to see the final result. 

[hokenpoke]

Wow, that looks cool, with a marble top it'd make a darn nice bar (how tall is it by the way?)!

I actually thought for a little while about using a piece of the beautiful limestone I have that is left over from the construction of the building I work in.  Unfortunately it's a little too small - which (fortunately) saved me from having to figure out how to secure it to the rest of the body.  Would have been fun to cut in the waterjet though.

The thing stands 26.25 inches tall before the rubber feet I will probably add to the bottoms of the posts.

[Dynaflow]

 Yeah, that soapstone would be cool. Thats what it reminded me of, a lot of the marble and soapstone topped sideboards I used to see back when my Ex and I were into going to the antique malls and such. Thats going to be one good looking amp. Probably a lot of guys might be able to have a amp in they're living room if they looked like that! :D

Regards,
Dyna

[Frankenamp]

Thou shalt not covet-Thou shalt not covet-thou shalt not covet... Oh (expletive deleted), still want one! and the shop in the background looks purty good too. sign me up for another stint in Purgatory ;) That does look nice!

[Schnauzer]

I actually thought for a little while about using a piece of the beautiful limestone I have that is left over from the construction of the building I work in.  Unfortunately it's a little too small - which (fortunately) saved me from having to figure out how to secure it to the rest of the body.  Would have been fun to cut in the waterjet though.

The thing stands 26.25 inches tall before the rubber feet I will probably add to the bottoms of the posts.

Perhaps a recessed pocket on the top panel. Could be supported by remaining wood lip depending on stone thickness WRT the top thickness, or L brackets tied to a cleat. Or even steel or aluminum flat stock. I'll try to find a picture of one of my end tables with marble tops.