Guitar Building

While waiting for the parts to arrive for my 1/4 sized cab, I started my 1/2 sized version. I decided to pop home via a DIY store and pickup some 12mm hardwood ply. I drew out the plans onto the 12mm (using a separate section for the back panel, baffle, batons to the rest). This way I could set the widths on the bandsaw fence once per section. Batons were cut from the ply, however it isn’t the straightest ply and thus the buttons are slightly bent at times.

I glued on the horizontal batons to the top and bottom pieces. Working with 12mm ply is very different to the 3mm and gives a better feel for the end task. I decided to go with the Speakon connectors and the Jensen 6″ speaker. I had to pause on this as well, as I don’t own any clamps longer than 200mm! I’ve ordered some clamps big enough for the final project and these should hopefully be here for this weekend.

The box is glued together. For the real thing, I will need around 4 clamps of sufficient length. At this scale some small weights and a little clamp did the job well enough. Vertical batons are needed, however the dark/rain arrived, so they will have to wait till next weekend. In the mean time, the next task is to de-solder the speaker from the Marshal MS-2 and look into how I can mount it to the baffle.

I’ve ordered a 3.5mm socket (a full 6.5mm would drown this scale model). I’m considering using Speakon connections for the real thing, to avoid the potential damage to an amp by mixing up a guitar and speaker cable (as they are visually identical). I think I am going to move the next model up to a 6″ speaker, as the 5″ Jensen mod speaker is listed for acoustic guitars, while the 6″ looks like an upgrade for a Fender Champ.

A band saw is a little overkill for this job, however it is the only thing I have with a fence, so off to the band saw it went. 10mins later, this is the end result (held together by friction). Lesson 1, draw the speaker alignment after cutting pieces. I set the fence once (which worked very well for ensuring all pieces match), however I didn’t take into the thickness of the blade at this size, 5 cuts later the drift is quite large. Hence the redrawn hole.

Internal batons are going to 6mm x 3mm strips of plywood cut off the waste.

I then glued on the horizontal batons (I’m skipping pins at this size). It was going to be too annoying to clamp properly, so some heavy glass tea light holders plus a random tin of coins as a clamping force. These set the front and real panels – so their positing is important. For the next build I’ll take more time over this stage, ensuring the batons are flat and true, placed in the correct position.

Taking the back of the MS-2, my plan is to remove the speaker and move into the next cab. If it goes well, I may rehouse the rest of the components into a little head – depending on time.

I’ve decided to make a 1×12 speaker cabinet next. Due to their size, I’m going to practice on a few scale versions. First up is taking a Marshall MS-2 and turning it into a little head / cab. It has a 3″ speaker, so this will be a 1:4 scale model.

If this goes well, I’ll build a 5 or 6″ speaker. Jensen seem the only manufacturer that makes speakers that small, so it’ll be a Jensen MOD speaker.