Tolexing Help

[Robert]

I am tolexing my first cabinet for my ODS and haven't found any good tutorials on the subject. I would appreciate any experienced thoughts about the process. I purchased some expensive material and want to get it right the first time. I am concerned about how to get it to adapt well for the top inset as shown on the Dumble #124.

As always, thanks for the assistance!!

[glasman]

Robert to form the insets you will need to heat the material. I use a cheap heat gun for heat shrink tubing and it work great. I would suggest that you try the technique on a scrap piece of wood before committing to the cabinet. It will save you time and grief.

Make sure to use a quality contact cement (I use CustomPak tolex glue) and allow the pieces to flash (dry to the touch) at least 40 minutes before applying the tolex to the cabinet.

The link below is to Casey's tolex tutorial (3 links towards the bottom of the page) and is a great primer for getting it right the first time.


http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/casey4s/my_photos

Gary

[d95err]

Practice is the key. If you don't want to waste your expensive tolex, you can find really cheap stuff at some auto parts stores (intended for car interior panels).

I recently finished tolexing my first cabinet, and it worked out allright, but it's nowhere near perfect. Thank god for corner protectors...
I learnt a lot though, so next time should be a lot better.

I used a hairdryer to work the corners. From what I hear, you need to be very careful with heat guns. It can easily get too hot and melt the tolex.

There was a thread on the 18W forum recently about tolexing corners. Some very good tips and links there (look in the Cabinets & Speakers secion).

[Luthierwnc]

The heat gun is the big thing. Here are a couple little things: tolex will not hide imperfections in the wood. If you have any dent or router tear-out, you need to fill and sand them first. I use bondo (outdoors). If you use an electronic shield (I use 12" aluminum flashing from the hardware store), put it in place before you tolex. Lastly, have a staple gun handy for those cutouts. You won't have enough hands and as the tolex cools, it shrinks and wrinkles. Once you have it in place, hit it a couple times on the underside with 1/4" staples and it will stay there. It also holds the aluminum in place. Keep a few strips of strapping tape (the stuff with the filaments in it) pre-cut in easy reach for persuading corners and curves to behave.

Skip

[Robert]

Thank you guys. Hopefully I will be proud enough to post some pictures after I finish. It's a really cool faux black Ostrich leather material (actually not even tolex) I was able to purchase wholesale for $35/yd.

[BobW]

robert, this tolex tutorial helped me, and should help you too. Nice pics

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/casey4s/a ... 56&.src=ph

[BobW]

Gary, I should have read your previous post. brilliant minds think alike

[drew]

There doesn't seem to be a "how to Tolex a Dumble combo cab" thread, so I'm bumping this one to ask a couple of basic questions. This pertains to a cab that I bought secondhand that was apparently a prototype for the compact D'Lite combo cabs. It's bare plywood with some added strips of hardboard here and there. It's the same basic design as the green Robben Ford combo amp. I've never worked with Tolex before, so bear with me if some of this is newb-ish.

First, how many pieces of Tolex are used to cover the cabinet, and where are the seams? Are the seams overlapped, or butt-jointed?

I assume the cross-bar on the front of the cab is covered with a separate piece of material; do you do this first, or after the main part of the cab is covered? How do you handle the seam where the crossbar meets the inside part of the main cab?

As to the "insets" on the top of the cab, as Gary calls them above, I'm having a hard time visualizing the process. Can someone take another stab at describing how to fit or form the material to the curves?

[Structo]

robert, this tolex tutorial helped me, and should help you too. Nice pics

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/casey4s/a ... 56&.src=ph

Link doesn't work Bob.

[blinddog]

Yahoo messed up their photos, but Goggle found them for me.

http://s238.photobucket.com/albums/ff243/Casey4s/

Included the whole photobucket, other neat photos, too. The left column lets you select your options, tolex about 1/2 way down.

Google groups also found other links, but that is just fyi. I haven't reviewed them. If Gary and Bob are both sending you to Casey's link, you know it is the first place to look.

Have a happy Independence Day Weekend Everyone!

Joe Walsh quote,"....Yeah man, I played a 4th of July concert once, everyone in the audience was either drunk or on fire, man....." (Joe on a local radio interview years ago, it always comes to mind this time of year)