Help With Tolexing a Head Cabinet

[scstrummer]

Hi fellow squawk box/MLPr's.

I need some help/input on tolexing a head cabinet. Particularly with a front panel that has two legs that surround the front of the amp control panel. How do I wrap the inside radius? See example in the pic below

http://www.greeramps.com/Images/amps/desc/special_desc.gif

This is the panel design I am using.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Head cab is for my new Phaez

Thanks

 

[Dwin]

If I had to guess, I'd guess that its wrapped as close as the person can get to the amp, and then the piping covers the imperfections.
But I don't know anything for sure, just a guess.

 

[randelli]

That panel radius is VERY difficult to wrap! I have a similar one on my HELLFIRE and it was a bear to wrap without tearing. You just have to get as much wraped as you can before cuting a relief into the corner. I would suggest not cutting a single into the corner, but a double, so that there are 3 parts to the corner.

 

[hipofutura]

I don't have a tolex cab at the moment to show you, but I do have one in tweed. It's the same thing, except the tolex is easier to work with. You can stretch tolex, You can also heat it if you need more give.

Just wrap the tolex around the inside corner and slit it in several spots on the back side of the panel. Pull it around tight and let the adhesive do its thing.

Sorry for the fuzzy last picture. I tried to get close so you could see what I did.

 

[randelli]

Picture = 1000 words

 

[aneas fool]

Hi fellow squawk box/MLPr's.

I need some help/input on tolexing a head cabinet. Particularly with a front panel that has two legs that surround the front of the amp control panel. How do I wrap the inside radius? See example in the pic below

http://www.greeramps.com/Images/amps/desc/special_desc.gif

This is the panel design I am using.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Head cab is for my new Phaez

Thanks

I do the Phaez Head Cabs and have done some 200 plus toulex cabs ..inside rad corners on the are the hardest to do nicely ..if the tolex is stretchable with heat it will cover the rad surface ...if it doesn't cover up the rad area by stretching glue a small piece in the rad area and when you pull the tolex around the small cut in the rad area won't show bare wood ..before doing on the finished cab practice with some scrap on test inside rad ...out side corners are a matter of being neat doing the 45 degree cuts on the corners....time and neatness will get a good result ...as for the glue I use both water and solvent based made by DAP wellwood contact cement....Good luck with your project....JIM

 

[aneas fool]

I don't have a tolex cab at the moment to show you, but I do have one in tweed. It's the same thing, except the tolex is easier to work with. You can stretch tolex, You can also heat it if you need more give.

Just wrap the tolex around the inside corner and slit it in several spots on the back side of the panel. Pull it around tight and let the adhesive do its thing.

Sorry for the fuzzy last picture. I tried to get close so you could see what I did.

Nice job on the Cab DON ....looks neat....I see a small wrinkle on the cloth grill the lines are crooked ...thats not like you....JIM

 

[hipofutura]

Nice job on the Cab DON ....looks neat....I see a small wrinkle on the cloth grill the lines are crooked ...thats not like you....JIM

I hadn't noticed it until I took the pictures. When you're looking down at the cab, it's not so obvious. I hate working with patterned grill cloth as it's a real pain to get it perfectly square.

 

[aneas fool]

I hadn't noticed it until I took the pictures. When you're looking down at the cab, it's not so obvious. I hate working with patterned grill cloth as it's a real pain to get it perfectly square.

The method I use to get the fabric straight is I place the cloth face down a a piece of wood keeping the lines straight with the edge of the wood and then staple the perimeter and keep checking to make sure everything is perfect ..I then use contact cement on the wood face plate and when it gets sticky not set yet I place it on the cloth alined to the wood edge the cloth that is stapled to and I put a heavy weight on the face plate for pressure ..when the glue has set I remove the staples and wrap the cloth around the back side and staple in place ...because the cloth is glued it remains perfectly straight...easy peesy

 

[scstrummer]

Thanks to all who have responded so far. You have given me some options to consider. One other question... Would I be better of starting with the radius when I begin actually adhering the tolex to the panel? In other words, for the rest of the cab I have been gluing the flat surfaces first, then coming back and gluing the edges, corners, etc. I wonder if I start with the inside radius will I have a little more "wiggle room" if nothing else is glued down yet?

Thanks again

 

[aneas fool]

Thanks to all who have responded so far. You have given me some options to consider. One other question... Would I be better of starting with the radius when I begin actually adhering the tolex to the panel? In other words, for the rest of the cab I have been gluing the flat surfaces first, then coming back and gluing the edges, corners, etc. I wonder if I start with the inside radius will I have a little more "wiggle room" if nothing else is glued down yet?

Thanks again

You start as you said with the large flat surfaces first and do the wrap around next finishing up doing the corners and the inside rads...being it your first time doing tolex practice with scrap on a test piece to get the feel of doing tolex...another thing, you can speed up dry time on the contact cement by using a hair dryer ...My first box took me a full day to complete but after doing many it takes me 2 hrs to finish a box now. I speed up the dry time with a hair dryer....good luck

 

[hipofutura]

The method I use to get the fabric straight is I place the cloth face down a a piece of wood keeping the lines straight with the edge of the wood and then staple the perimeter and keep checking to make sure everything is perfect ..I then use contact cement on the wood face plate and when it gets sticky not set yet I place it on the cloth alined to the wood edge the cloth that is stapled to and I put a heavy weight on the face plate for pressure ..when the glue has set I remove the staples and wrap the cloth around the back side and staple in place ...because the cloth is glued it remains perfectly straight...easy peesy

Jim, that's fantastic. Thank you for the tip! I've always stretched the cloth so it is tight. Sounds like that isn't necessary. It's the stretching that makes it difficult to keep the lines straight.

 

[Lyle Caldwell]

Hip, you know the trick of putting the grill cloth on kind of tight but not really taut, then spraying it with a mister and leaving it to dry in the sun? Tightens right up and it does it evenly.

 

[Skeletor]

I recently did a couple of tolex jobs (a head cab I built for a combo I converted and a Marshall 4x12 slant cab). Got some good tips out of these links:

Marshall 4x12 slant cab recover 101 - The Gear Page
How to Apply Tolex to a Guitar Amplifier Cabinet | GuitarKitBuilder.com

The first one is quite a long thread - but if memory serves someone asks basically the same question you have (the inside radius) and he demonstrates a method.

 

[donw]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxeGKn0AdTo]Amp Tolex - YouTube[/ame]

 

[hipofutura]

Hip, you know the trick of putting the grill cloth on kind of tight but not really taut, then spraying it with a mister and leaving it to dry in the sun? Tightens right up and it does it evenly.

Lyle, that's something I didn't know. All these years (and cabs), and I've been doing it the hard way. I'm working on a new build now, and I'll try your tip.

Thanks Lyle!

 

[aneas fool]

Lyle, that's something I didn't know. All these years (and cabs), and I've been doing it the hard way. I'm working on a new build now, and I'll try your tip.

Thanks Lyle!

Don this is a great trick many have used to make it taunt, it shrinks the cloth ,and thanks to Lyle for the reminder...I have used this on random pattern cloth to tighten up ....but I find my method on cloth with straight line patterns such as Salt & Pepper works best for me ..this pattern with Hoz. and vert lines will look like shit if they get twisted....another thing I do with cloth that is transparent/see through, is to paint the wood with latex a color to match the cloth it gives a nicer finish a more solid color ...don't use oil based paint the contact glue will soften it...I guess every body has their own tricks

 

[hipofutura]

Don this is a great trick many have used to make it taunt, it shrinks the cloth ,and thanks to Lyle for the reminder...I have used this on random pattern cloth to tighten up ....but I find my method on cloth with straight line patterns such as Salt & Pepper works best for me ..this pattern with Hoz. and vert lines will look like shit if they get twisted....another thing I do with cloth that is transparent/see through, is to paint the wood with latex a color to match the cloth it gives a nicer finish a more solid color ...don't use oil based paint the contact glue will soften it...I guess every body has their own tricks

Thanks Jim. I'm going to try your method on the front panel for a head cab I'm presently building. I just started a thread for it. If it ends up being loose, I'll try Lyle's shrink trick. I'll report my results in the thread.

Thanks for all the help and great tips!

 

[scstrummer]

Thanks for everyone's input, help and links. I tackled the interior radii today. Used a combination of some of the ideas. Two slits per curve and also some small patches to cover the exposed wood. I'm pretty pleased with how it has turned out so far. This considering it's my first head cab build and cover.

Thanks to all and happy playing and building!