Union Jack 1x12
Posted: Sun May 19, 2024 2:58 pm
A couple of years ago in honor of Marshall's 60th anniversary I built a Union Jack head cab for a 1987.
I was told multiple times to build a matching speaker cab and decided to build it this year for the Dallas Guitar festival with the 'Guys Building Guitars Dallas' group. Work started at the beginning of March and I still didn't have time to get the blue dye and a lacquer finish on but I took it anyway. I loosely copied Zilla's Fat Baby as I have been impressed with it's low end response.
Lots of fun - I kept telling myself that - figuring, cutting, mumbling and cutting more. And clamps - never enough of the right clamp!
The 31° jig I made for the head worked well again. The top and sides each had 28 pieces glued together. Now I can hear the 'Why not veneer?!?' questions. Easy - I've never done veneer, I like big rounded edges and I rely on sanding to 'true up' surfaces and edges.
I've fallen in love with EV's and decided to stuff a Black Label version in this cab instead of my usual 'rob one from another cab' practice.
Got it to here and was stuffing the speaker in and testing at midnight, four hours before I got up to drive to Dallas. Another fun thing - my AC was out for a total of 23 days awaiting parts.
At the show.
Inside sealed with lacquer.
Finished.
Things learned - the most challenging was getting the finger joint edges square. The bloodwood I used for the red stripe actually deflected the thin kerf carbide saw blade about .004-.005" so every face that the bloodwood end grain touched there was bulge in the center of each. Lots of mumbling and time was required to solve that as finger joints and non-square edges don't work. I suspect my next saw blade will be the standard .125" width.
Russ
I was told multiple times to build a matching speaker cab and decided to build it this year for the Dallas Guitar festival with the 'Guys Building Guitars Dallas' group. Work started at the beginning of March and I still didn't have time to get the blue dye and a lacquer finish on but I took it anyway. I loosely copied Zilla's Fat Baby as I have been impressed with it's low end response.
Lots of fun - I kept telling myself that - figuring, cutting, mumbling and cutting more. And clamps - never enough of the right clamp!
The 31° jig I made for the head worked well again. The top and sides each had 28 pieces glued together. Now I can hear the 'Why not veneer?!?' questions. Easy - I've never done veneer, I like big rounded edges and I rely on sanding to 'true up' surfaces and edges.
I've fallen in love with EV's and decided to stuff a Black Label version in this cab instead of my usual 'rob one from another cab' practice.
Got it to here and was stuffing the speaker in and testing at midnight, four hours before I got up to drive to Dallas. Another fun thing - my AC was out for a total of 23 days awaiting parts.
At the show.
Inside sealed with lacquer.
Finished.
Things learned - the most challenging was getting the finger joint edges square. The bloodwood I used for the red stripe actually deflected the thin kerf carbide saw blade about .004-.005" so every face that the bloodwood end grain touched there was bulge in the center of each. Lots of mumbling and time was required to solve that as finger joints and non-square edges don't work. I suspect my next saw blade will be the standard .125" width.
Russ
