Blackbird Guitar Cabs - the magic wooden box build thread

BlackbirdCabs

Erm, I got carried away and ploughed ahead with the back panels, without taking many photos of the process, sorry!

Here's my 3 panels. This is how they'll look when the cab is 'closed'....

And here's how they'll look when the cab is open-backed....

I wanted there to be a lip on the panels to make sure the cab was properly airtight with the middle panel screwed on. The middle panel has a corresponding lip as well.

The profile within the lip is purely aesthetic - I wanted the cab to look decent when open-backed rather than it looking like something was missing.

I still love the grain on this pine!

TheOtherDennis

BlackbirdCabs said:

Thanks @TheOtherDennis and @paulnb57 - to be fair I make a decent amount of mess myself!

Hehehe, I didn't mean the mess I'd leave behind during the work - I meant the mess I'd make OF the work!

paulnb57

TheOtherDennis said:

BlackbirdCabs said:

Thanks @TheOtherDennis and @paulnb57 - to be fair I make a decent amount of mess myself!

Hehehe, I didn't mean the mess I'd leave behind during the work - I meant the mess I'd make OF the work!

Me too!

BlackbirdCabs

Here's a gratuitous oiling shot, just because

BlackbirdCabs

The finishing line is defintiely in site! Here's the oiled cab and back panels....

BlackbirdCabs

The oiled battens for the baffle and for the back panels are screwed in place.....

I've seen people glue these in rather than use screws. I'm a bit of a magpie and love shiny things, but I can see how glueing looks cleaner. However I worry about glue over time, and I also feel like the cab has more chance of being around in 20 or 50 years time if it has flexibilty built in to it e.g. maybe in the future someone will want a tilted baffle.

This might be something I change my mind about as I get more of these under my belt.

paulnb57

Lovely!

BlackbirdCabs

Cheers @paulnb57 - how's the Firebird sounding? The non-reverse Firebird is an itch I reckon I'll have to scratch at some point! Is it comfy to play?

(I appear to be de-railing my own thread)

paulnb57

BlackbirdCabs said:

Cheers @paulnb57 - how's the Firebird sounding? The non-reverse Firebird is an itch I reckon I'll have to scratch at some point! Is it comfy to play?

(I appear to be de-railing my own thread)

It sounds huge and yes, it is comfy….I like it a lot
(The bridge pickup is a bit too pokey, but it will do for now until I swap it for a Duncan JB from another guitar)

BlackbirdCabs

Here's an arty shot of the baffle before the grill cloth is attached......

I really like these old Fender speaker spikes - they a do a great job without being over-engineered.

BlackbirdCabs

Here's the baffle with grill cloth attached. The client wanted something simple and I wanted some texture, so we went for this cool stuff from Tubetown. I really like how it's come out, I think it'll look great against the pine.

This is the part of making guitar cabinets that I'm really enjoying: matching different materials and making them work together. It's something that I didn't have as much scope for in my old days as a cabinetmaker. It's really cool seeing how different fabrics work up against different timbers, especially once you're happy to think beyond black tolex etc.

My poor photography skills have made the edges looked curved - you're going to have to take my word that they're straight!

jasonbone75

BlackbirdCabs said:

Here's the baffle with grill cloth attached. 

That cloth looks great. Like that a lot.

BlackbirdCabs

That cloth looks great. Like that a lot.

It's cool isn't it. I generally don't go for black grill cloth but as soon as you add some texture it really comes alive.

BlackbirdCabs

The cab is done.....

I'm really happy with how this chunky little thing has turned out. I tried a couple of speakers and was pleased with the sound for such a small cab. I also remembered that big alnicos don't sound happy in closed back cabs! The ceramic sounded nice and tight though with the back panel on.

It's also really light, which was a big part of the design brief. I think it's going to have a neodymium speaker in there too.

paulnb57

Very nice, much envy!

uksaint7

Love it! Great job.

mrkb

I like that grille cloth - where did it come from?

BlackbirdCabs

Thanks for the kind words folks

@mrkb - the grill cloth is from Tubetown in Germany.

normula1

Very nice

BlackbirdCabs

Afternoon folks, this is just a quick (and cheeky?) link to where I've been posting my latest builds. I didn't have time to do a 'making of' for my latest batch but do feel free to use this or the linked thread to ask questions if you have any specific woodwork-y queries.

Cheers,

Sam

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/220562/introducing-blackbird-guitar-cabs#latest