XF 212 Guitar cab building odyssey

Post your build odyssey here.
Message
Author
User avatar
Bbr6704
Posts: 78
Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2010 3:04 pm
Location: Redon - Bretagne - France

XF 212 Guitar cab building odyssey

#1 Post by Bbr6704 »

Hi everydody, here is the first post of the topic were I will show you my progression through the build of a XF 212 guitar cab, slightly modded to my tastes and needs.

I think I'll also share my ideas and questions here, and will post pictures of the build.

The wood is ordered (15mm okoume plywood, 7 plys). It's told to be a good grade plywood, voidless, and has equal thick plys, so everything should be fine.

I also found some PU expansive glue, wich is not that easy here in France as Pl premium is not sold. But the one I found was sold in a shop that only sells wood (where i aloso bought my plywood), and expands as it cure, so it will do the job.

I'm now waiting to get my plywood sheet, but it will be cut to the dimensions as I haven't got a table saw, so they will make the big cuts for me, wich is fine!


As I'm reading and reading again the plans, I have a first question coming, as I don't get a thing... To make the butt joints, Bill suggests usin a scrap plywood piece to make an assembling jig (page 2 in my plans).

As I understand how it would work, I'm still afraid of havin the jig glued to the assembly once the glue has expanded and cured...

I know I don't need to put a lot of glue, but I think that whent I'll press the two parts to glue them, the glue will go everywhere, so it could go on the jig...

Have you an idea on this particular point? How to be sure that glue won't touch the jig?

Thanks in advance!
Last edited by Bbr6704 on Sun Oct 11, 2015 7:05 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
LelandCrooks
Posts: 7244
Joined: Thu May 04, 2006 9:36 am
Location: Midwest/Kansas/Speaker Nirvana
Contact:

Re: XF 212 Guitar part building odyssey

#2 Post by LelandCrooks »

wax paper
If it's too loud, you're even older than me! Like me.
http://www.speakerhardware.com

User avatar
Tom Smit
Posts: 7457
Joined: Sat Jan 05, 2008 1:24 pm
Location: Sarnia, Ont. Canada

Re: XF 212 Guitar part building odyssey

#3 Post by Tom Smit »

LelandCrooks wrote:wax paper
+1
TomS

User avatar
Bbr6704
Posts: 78
Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2010 3:04 pm
Location: Redon - Bretagne - France

Re: XF 212 Guitar part building odyssey

#4 Post by Bbr6704 »

Build has begun!!!


Day 1

I found some nice 15mm plywood, from a good grade, voidless and with some consistent layers, so I think I'll be fine with it.

Image

Once the wood at home (which was epic, as the first cut was made by the seller in a wrong sheet (bad bad quality plywood)), I began the drawing and first steps of the build.

Day 2

Instead of using screws or nails, I decided to use swivel, to attach the parts together, as they will be routed in the corners.

I think that will make the cab stronger, and wanted to work this way... ;)

I have a tool that helps a lot for this jobn so it's very easy!!!

So here are the folloing steps :

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

This way, I can check and be sure every part goes fine with the other ones :

Image

Day 3

I began gluing the parts :

Image

Image

Image

Image

Tonight, I made the drawing on the baffles, but I'll cut them later, as I'll miss time this week, and I have to be carefull with the cut, I don't want to do anything wrong with my circular saw...

So far so good, and I'm with the build! :)

To be continued...

jimbo7
Posts: 849
Joined: Fri Dec 28, 2012 10:45 am
Location: St. Louis

Re: XF 212 Guitar part building odyssey

#5 Post by jimbo7 »

Is that wood actually 4-ply? I know the plans say "5 plys" and everyone always says "equal plys". I've bought mine at Menards and they have 5 ply with thin veneer on outer.
BFM builds:
XF212
T24 BP102 24"
2x SLA's 6-5" mids, 9- gt-302's
2x AT 14" MCM 55-2421
TrT 5" MCM 55-2421
AT 18" JBL GTO804
2x OT12 flat array
2x SLA Pro 2-Alpha 6's 2-Goldwoods
2x T39 24" 3012lf
Simplex 10 BP102

User avatar
Bbr6704
Posts: 78
Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2010 3:04 pm
Location: Redon - Bretagne - France

Re: XF 212 Guitar part building odyssey

#6 Post by Bbr6704 »

Hi Jimbo,

It's actually 5/8 plywood, whith 9 plus that I use. The outer plus are thinner than the inner plys, ans that's why I use swivels.

I think yours can do the job, but you may be better if you use screws, nails or swivels. :)

User avatar
DJPhatman
Posts: 5412
Joined: Mon Aug 14, 2006 5:08 am
Location: Warren, MI
Contact:

Re: XF 212 Guitar part building odyssey

#7 Post by DJPhatman »

Quite honestly, Bbr6704, you are wasting a lot of time doing dowels and holes. But, C'est la Vie! If you are most comfortable working this way, then keep going!

For wood adhesive, look for Soudal type 60A, SIKA or here's a link (in french) to an acceptable one: http://www.rectavit.be/fr/prd/158/structan.aspx
I know money often seals the deal, but seriously, quality is an investment, not an expense... Grant Bunter
Accept the fact that airtight and well-braced are more important than pretty on the inside. Bill Fitzmaurice

User avatar
BrentEvans
Posts: 3044
Joined: Thu Oct 09, 2008 10:38 am
Location: Salisbury, NC

Re: XF 212 Guitar part building odyssey

#8 Post by BrentEvans »

DJPhatman wrote:Quite honestly, Bbr6704, you are wasting a lot of time doing dowels and holes. But, C'est la Vie! If you are most comfortable working this way, then keep going!

For wood adhesive, look for Soudal type 60A, SIKA or here's a link (in french) to an acceptable one: http://www.rectavit.be/fr/prd/158/structan.aspx
maybe not... look at his wood. It's got veneer layers. Good quality ply, looks nice... but that outer ply is still super thin, as are some of the inner plys. The dowels are probably a good idea... although screws would be faster. Dowels look nicer though...
99% of the time, things that aren't already being done aren't being done because they don't work. The other 1% is split evenly between fools and geniuses.

User avatar
Bbr6704
Posts: 78
Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2010 3:04 pm
Location: Redon - Bretagne - France

Re: XF 212 Guitar part building odyssey

#9 Post by Bbr6704 »

Thanks Brent and DJ for your advices,

As said Brent, as some of the plys are thinner, I prefered to use the dowels, I know screws would have been faster, but, I'm not in a hurry, I like to work this way as I don't find it that difficult, and the most important to my point : I'm gonna route the corner to make them round, so the screws would have been an issue IMO.

I called a lot of wood suppliers, and It's a very hard quest to find the good wood! If they have equal plys, there dirty cheap and low quality woods with voids. If you want voidless plywood, there are thinner plys... I called 5 wood suppliers, and the answers were everywhere the same!

Thanks for your links DJ, they seem to be good products! But for th PU Glue, I found this one at the wood supplier that sold me the plywood : http://www.emfi.com/en/produits/produits.html?cp=50040A.

It seems to work as requested : It's monocoponent PU glue that expends, and it's a gel, so it's easy and clean to use. I'm happy with it (and asI can't find PL premium, I have to do with what I can find...).

User avatar
Bill Fitzmaurice
Site Admin
Posts: 28620
Joined: Tue May 02, 2006 5:59 pm

Re: XF 212 Guitar part building odyssey

#10 Post by Bill Fitzmaurice »

Members near you might help with supply sources, but you don't have a location in your profile. :confused:

User avatar
DJPhatman
Posts: 5412
Joined: Mon Aug 14, 2006 5:08 am
Location: Warren, MI
Contact:

Re: XF 212 Guitar part building odyssey

#11 Post by DJPhatman »

Agreed, Bbr6704. The product you linked to appears very similar to a brand called "Gorilla Glue" here in the USA. As long as the bonds are air tight, there should be no problems. I merely suggested the glue linked as it has been used successfully by others.

As for the plywood, inquire at any custom cabinet maker/manufacturer shop, as they will no doubt have a source for Baltic birch, also known as Russian or Finnish birch. Look/ask for sheets that are 1525mm by 1525mm by 12mm thick. Since you arrear to have excellent woodworking skills, you could use 9mm thick plywood.

Anyways, keep up the construction, and enjoy the process! :hyper:
I know money often seals the deal, but seriously, quality is an investment, not an expense... Grant Bunter
Accept the fact that airtight and well-braced are more important than pretty on the inside. Bill Fitzmaurice

User avatar
Bbr6704
Posts: 78
Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2010 3:04 pm
Location: Redon - Bretagne - France

Re: XF 212 Guitar part building odyssey

#12 Post by Bbr6704 »

Thanks for the kind answers, and sorry for the location, that's now done!

For the custom cabinets makers, It may have been to some, but I'm not sure there are many little workshops around here : oftent there are big companies, that only sell and install, but the cabinets are made in factories...

Anyway, I'm quite confident in the wood and the glue I've found, the whole thing should be ok!

User avatar
Bbr6704
Posts: 78
Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2010 3:04 pm
Location: Redon - Bretagne - France

Re: XF 212 Guitar part building odyssey

#13 Post by Bbr6704 »

Hey, it's been quite a while, and the build ain't going as fast as I'd like... but it's still going, that's the most important!

I missed time the two last weeks and weekends, as I wasn't much at home, or too late at night to use my circular saw... :oops:

I've also had problems with my circular saw, so I had to find another one. A neighbour lent me one, and it's working fine, so that's great!

And as maths and geometrics aren't that much of my thing, i made mistake cutting my first baffle that took time to solve : As my cab is taller than bill's desing, the angles to cut the baffle are different from the plans (baffle diagram one, page 7).

So the first baffle I cut wasen't fitting the cab (the gap was around 1/2 inch... something like 4 or 5° of difference, due the the differrence in height of my cab vs the plans).

Anyway, I've found an easy solution to get the right angle (not pictured, but I took two metal saw blades, attached with a screw and a nut, to get the right angle from the cab, and reported it on the baffle to cut.

It's also useful to tilt the circular saw blade, as the saw I have only has 15° indications (0, 15, 30 and 45°). I forgot to, but I'll picture you this usefull and free "tool" made from an idea I found on the net.

And as the angles are good, the cuts are good two, so the first baffle now fits the cab!

Image

Image

The baffle isn't atached yet, i put it in place just to check it was correctly fitting the cab.

Tonignht, after rehearsal, I hope I'll be able to cut baffle 2, then, I'll have to drill the holes for the speakers, and I hope to be able to glue the baffles this week-end...

As always, to be continued!... ;)

User avatar
Bbr6704
Posts: 78
Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2010 3:04 pm
Location: Redon - Bretagne - France

Re: XF 212 Guitar part building odyssey

#14 Post by Bbr6704 »

Second baffle cut and trimed! Tonight I cut the holes for the speakers, and prepare the hole thing for painting and gluing this week-end!

As the time to put the speakers in place is nearer, I'd like to have your opinion on this kind of product : I ordered that with the tolex and grillcloth, as I thought it could be a good thing :

http://www.tube-town.net/ttstore/Haut-p ... :4065.html

Do you think it's a good thing to put them between the speakers and the baffles, or is it useless, or even worse thant nothing?

User avatar
Bbr6704
Posts: 78
Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2010 3:04 pm
Location: Redon - Bretagne - France

Re: XF 212 Guitar part building odyssey

#15 Post by Bbr6704 »

:feedback:

Post Reply