Union Jack cab musings

[Geeze]

The fixture that works strikes again! Cutting bits on a third side.

Getting somewhere...

The bits dyed blue to see how it looks...

Don't forget the sides - the outsides will be blue with the thin white stripes up against the red center. I may rub it out a bit for a faded look that will work better with the natural wood colors.

Next will be sanding level and cutting to size for fingerjoints.

I was teased at the shop today about building a union jack whilst I'm in 'Merica. So I got an idea for the - yes, you guessed it - next cab. An American flag where the white stripes are open and I suspect I'll have a buddy with a CNC flatbed cut the 50 stars out on a blue field. Just thinking about doing that by hand gives me the willies.

Russ

 

[fitz288]

mmmm, jig porn.
That blue looks perfect.

 

[Maggot Brain]

Looking amazing! I love the whole idea and really enjoy seeing your progress.

I had a wild hair about a year or 2 ago to learn some wood working. A couple of wobbly & janky tables and one wonky head shell later I got intimidated. I have so much respect for anyone that can make something useful or beautiful out of wood. I was definitely over confident and underestimated the skill it takes... Your work is always impressive!

 

[BlueX]

This looks great, Russ! Colours match really well, and so do the machined parts.

So glad you already have an idea for the next cab. Will that be a Fender, Mesa, or other US brand?

 

[Geeze]

I had a wild hair about a year or 2 ago to learn some wood working. A couple of wobbly & janky tables and one wonky head shell later I got intimidated. I have so much respect for anyone that can make something useful or beautiful out of wood. I was definitely over confident and underestimated the skill it takes... Your work is always impressive!

Thank you! My favorite quote about woodworking came from my buddy who taught himself how to make acoustic guitars from scratch. He was asked how did you learn to build such beautiful things? 'Because I'm willing to f*ck sh*t up on the way to here.'

Yes the early ones were rough as were most of my early attempts. Learning how to make square cuts and how to flatten the planks was the biggest hurtle. Jigs are a lifesaver - I hate cutting angles for cab corners that's why I do finger joints while they are more of a pain to cut they are easier to fix when things go wrong. A quote from my pro home cabinet building friends - 'The art of woodworking isn't perfection, its artfully fixing the inevitable f*ckups artfully.

Point in case - the horizontal stripes of padauk [orange/red wood] on the sides was the 'fix' for the dumbass move of looking at the wrong cab dimensions when I cut the sides to length. A few power words - you know the ones - later I thought to add the 1.5" back in with the trim wood. F*ckup meet Art. Art wins!

I asked a lot of questions, spent hours / days in my buddy's shop. I also joined a guitar builders guild. Not a big fan of building them - way too many fussy details that can make a guitar unplayable - but they pushed me into more and more artful cabinet builds for when we displayed at shows.

I suspect there are wood working groups in your area - a bit intimidating at first but it's an amazing journey.

This looks great, Russ! Colours match really well, and so do the machined parts.

So glad you already have an idea for the next cab. Will that be a Fender, Mesa, or other US brand?

Thank you!

I have a Satellite Atom in work and while it's his take on an AC30/Marshall love child there made in San Diego. Thats the one for the flag.

Russ

 

[BlueX]

It's a real pleasure to look at your pictures , Russ! Same if it's the finished result or work in progress. I must mention that I find your design very tasteful, and your execution has as high standard.

My favorite quote about woodworking came from my buddy who taught himself how to make acoustic guitars from scratch. He was asked how did you learn to build such beautiful things? 'Because I'm willing to f*ck sh*t up on the way to here.'

I like this quote. For me doing things by hand is learning by doing, and by making mistakes. You can learn faster if you have someone to ask, and even better if you can work together with someone more experienced.

I encourage anyone to try crafting (do you call it that in English?), but also want to remind on safety. Machines, and sharp hand tools, can be dangerous if used incorrectly.

 

[Maggot Brain]

Thank you! My favorite quote about woodworking came from my buddy who taught himself how to make acoustic guitars from scratch. He was asked how did you learn to build such beautiful things? 'Because I'm willing to f*ck sh*t up on the way to here.'

Yes the early ones were rough as were most of my early attempts. Learning how to make square cuts and how to flatten the planks was the biggest hurtle. Jigs are a lifesaver - I hate cutting angles for cab corners that's why I do finger joints while they are more of a pain to cut they are easier to fix when things go wrong. A quote from my pro home cabinet building friends - 'The art of woodworking isn't perfection, its artfully fixing the inevitable f*ckups artfully.

Point in case - the horizontal stripes of padauk [orange/red wood] on the sides was the 'fix' for the dumbass move of looking at the wrong cab dimensions when I cut the sides to length. A few power words - you know the ones - later I thought to add the 1.5" back in with the trim wood. F*ckup meet Art. Art wins!

I asked a lot of questions, spent hours / days in my buddy's shop. I also joined a guitar builders guild. Not a big fan of building them - way too many fussy details that can make a guitar unplayable - but they pushed me into more and more artful cabinet builds for when we displayed at shows.

I suspect there are wood working groups in your area - a bit intimidating at first but it's an amazing journey.




Thank you!

I have a Satellite Atom in work and while it's his take on an AC30/Marshall love child there made in San Diego. Thats the one for the flag.

Russ

That's some great and real info there! Thanks for sharing Russ, I am still very fascinated by woodworking and shall still keep an open mind and ignore the discouragement I felt on past projects. I have to say your work and seeing the process is very inspiring! I can only imagine the sense of accomplishment after you finish.

 

[Geeze]

I encourage anyone to try crafting (do you call it that in English?), but also want to remind on safety. Machines, and sharp hand tools, can be dangerous if used incorrectly.

Crafting is good! Guitarists and pocket pool players need those fingers!

I can only imagine the sense of accomplishment after you finish.

If you ever get to TN let me know.

My build sequence goes something like this -

I'm bored...

What can I build?!?

Oh, what about that?

Is it possible? Do I have the right wood? Do I have enough of the right wood? Do I need to make a pilgrimage to the holy temple of figured wood AKA Jefferies in Knoxville.

Will I have any hair left when it's done?

Then there's several days, weeks, months as I contemplate the design. I usually have to start [AKA jump off the design cliff].

Or the "CUT SOMETHING, DAMMIT!" phase occurs

Then the project muddles along until I hit a snag or an issue that needs to be solved. This may last several days, weeks, months as I contemplate my design navel.

The mind works the problem on it's own and will present a solution.

Back to work!

There may be several iterations of the last three steps along the way.

Is it done yet? Can I sand it yet?

If it's a big project - dressers, chests, tables, headboards I sometimes pause when I get to the 'Jesus, isn't this damn thing done yet? Where are those matches and accelerant?

Is it done yet? Can I sand it yet?

Lacquer time.

Bolt in the bits, feet handle and such.

Done - usually with a sense of relief for about 5 minutes. I do tend to touch cabs and such as I walk by.

Then the process starts over.

Besides the flag cab I'm also in the contemplation phase of a 2/3 scale sculpture of a woman's back out of curly maple - a big departure for me.

Russ

 

[Geeze]

Top and sides trimmed and flattened ready for finger joints.

Backup quad of EL84s came in today - I didn't have any and live in mortal terror of receiving an amp with a dead power tube.

Russ

 

[Geeze]

Finger joints cut. I had to shim one end of the top about .010" for the red stripe to line up - I'm a bit fussy about that.

I was contemplating doing a full bottom of maple and a red strip but two things happened - I considered the alignment of the stripe and didn't want to fool with that again and most importantly I didn't want to push off cutting finger joints another day - the real reason being the impatient bugger that I am.

Tomorrow will be sanding to the correct thickness and gluing and figuring out the bottom plate and fake fingers.

Regards,

Russ

 

[Geeze]

Looking toward the faceplate. I could do the iconic logo we all love [well most of us, the rest of you will have to shape up!] on the horizontal stripe. But I thought blah maybe something celebrating the 60th so the first rough sketch. The union jack is the existing colors, the 60 would be dark and the M would be white or gold.

What thinks you?

Russ

 

[PowerTube44]

Can you make the pictures a little bigger? We can barely see them.

But seriously, nice work.

 

[BlueX]

I like the "M over 60" logo. Since this is the diamond anniversary I would choose white instead of gold. Could be cool to have something diamond related, though. (by the way, I also like the iconic logo)

Nice line up of the red and white stripes!

 

[Geeze]

Bottom edges cut, finger jointed - takes a bit of alignment fussing to ensure they're straight.

Sanded to .740" as I cut the finger joints to .750". I usually go to .770" but didn't.

I plan to glue in a piece of BB ply in the middle and do some fake fingers here

The next issue to solve is a handle or no. The last open top cab I did one of the cross members served perfectly as a handle. Here's a handle posed - I'm not feeling it no matter what color it would be.

I can stick fingers in the small triangles [I plan to round most of the edges] to pick it up not ideal but also not a design wrecker. Another option would be to cut in finger slots on the sides about an inch below the top. Not real excited about that either.

Any crazy ideas?

Russ

 

[BlueX]

Another option would be to cut in finger slots on the sides about an inch below the top. Not real excited about that either.

Why not? Cut finger slots seems like a good way to make a handle that's not too visible. Another option is put two handles, one along each side on the top "VOX style".

Handle in the middle of the flag might look cluttered, particularly if you also put a logo there.

 

[Geeze]

Slots like this

Russ

 

[paul-e-mann]

Slots like this

Russ

This is a good idea, and provides more ventilation, doesnt look bad at all!

 

[junk notes]

Another option is put two handles, one along each side on the top "VOX style".

..and Marshall

 

[paul-e-mann]

..and Marshall

For a head box I think I like the holes better.

 

[Geeze]

After looking about and spending some time meditating on the porcelain throne the slot needs to be a chevron at 31° in keeping with the design,

I have a poke saw, a coping saw and a dremel with a plunge base. I thought about doing two on each side opposed but it's doing to be a job of work to cut them in artfully and low noise which eliminates a full router.

Russ