Keeping the cabinet square

[SoundInMotionDJ]

I have a T39 that is twisted 1/4" out of square from corner to corner. A combination of shaving the high corners, and padding the low corners has gotten it "flat enough" to not wobble when it is in a stack.

Two rear wheels and a front-center pad cures this one.
My T39 has the same symptom, and the triangular footing is a quick fix.

The alternative is shimming the offending front left or right foot.

The "twist" is on the sides, not the bottom. I shaved down the corners with a plane & chistle...and padded out the opposite corners with some 1/16" pine shims. That was enough to get the plastic corners to be "level."

--Stan Graves

[Tom Smit]

On my first O10.5 the horn plates and baffle plates didn't line up very well. When I put the top on, there was a generous eighth inch gap between it and the inside horn plate which got filled with PL and a paint stir stick. You can't tell now though.

[rogerc]

I don't know why this has been moved to "Everything Else" as it refers specifically to the Jack.

Just to make it clear the "plans" I am working to are the revised Jack with the phase plug. These call for the baffle, horn throat and mouth to be assembled to the base of the shell, then the top to be fitted, the horn edges to be trimmed and the sides fitted last. Unless you build a large fixture to hold everything in place I can't see that it is possible to get the top fixed in line so the sides fit square.

This is a fundamental flaw in the construction sequence in the build instructions. It would be better to fit the sides and hold these square with "guide boards" and fit the top last. At least that way the top could be cut out oversize and planed to fit once it is all assembled.

A proper set of plans would help too. The Sketchup model is OK but such a pain to work with - proper dimensioned drawings are what is really needed.

I hope the end result sounds OK. If it is as good as the instructions I will be disappointed

[WB]

A proper set of plans would help too. The Sketchup model is OK but such a pain to work with - proper dimensioned drawings are what is really needed.

I've built a whole bunch of these plans (though not the Jack yet) and haven't once looked at Sketchup. How is it possible you don't have the dimensioned drawings? I agree it would be a royal pain without the drawings.

[Radian]

I've built a whole bunch of these plans (though not the Jack yet) and haven't once looked at Sketchup.

+1

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

A proper set of plans would help too. The Sketchup model is OK but such a pain to work with - proper dimensioned drawings are what is really needed.

I hope the end result sounds OK. If it is as good as the instructions I will be disappointed

You have 30 plus pages of instructions with 60 odd diagrams and fully dimensioned drawings. What else would you like?
As to the build sequence, no one else has had a problem with it. That's because, if you follow the plans and adhere to the construction techniques in them, it works.

[jswingchun]

I love the Sketchup models, I refer to them all the time. They have saved me from making mistakes on more than one occasion. That said, I can't imagine trying to build anything with only the Sketchup.

rogerc, please confirm if that's what you are trying to do.

PS - I am currently building four Jack 110s. I was leery about attaching the tops too, I was scared they wouldn't square up with so little to go by. I just measured exactly where the baffle was attached to the bottom, and transferred those measurements to the top. I then set the assembly onto the top upside down and screwed guideboards to the top to guide the assembly back into position so I could remove it to apply the PL. I then dropped it into the guideboards, clamped it down and nailed it from below. I only nailed the baffle and the throat panels from below. I then flipped the whole thing over and pushed or pulled the horn mouth panels a smidge to get them to line up with the corner of the top, clamped them down and nailed them. They all came out right on the money.

[SeisTres]

This is a fundamental flaw in the construction sequence in the build instructions. It would be better to fit the sides and hold these square with "guide boards" and fit the top last. At least that way the top could be cut out oversize and planed to fit once it is all assembled.

What the....?? Wow, this is a first. I've seen people get confused by the plans but when they ask it's really more of a question to help them understand the plans, it's never really been that they thought the plans were "flawed".

And remember, these plans are designed in a way that 99% of the user, with only a few tools, are able to build them without any major difficulties. As long as you reach the end result just like everyone else, you can actually use whatever method you think it's best.

And seriously, I have the whole cd, and unless Bill goes to your house and holds your hand draws all the panels and tell you how to feed them into the table saw, I don't see how they could be made even simpler.

Sure the plans could always be improved, and that's actually why Bill keeps updating them on a constant basis. Forum users put out ideas, which if work well enough, get added to the plans. So please keep in mind that these plans are basically the collective knowledge of Bill and just about every great builder here.

But still, like I said above, if you find a better way, feel free to that and let us knows so it can help out future users.]

Don't just bitch about it...

[Harley]

I hope the end result sounds OK. If it is as good as the instructions I will be disappointed

Oh dear!

You've bought a set of plans for the price of a couple of Big Macs that have plenty of pictures and full instructions that will produce a cab that's twice as good as its competition for less than 1/3 the price.

No one before has found the plans flawed.

Confusing at times? Possibly to the newbie, until they read them through properly a few times and realise the answer has always been there.

Best to get the attitude in check before you commence any further, otherwise you definitely will be disappointed, but through no fault of Bill's plans.

[SoundInMotionDJ]

Just to make it clear the "plans" I am working to are the revised Jack with the phase plug. These call for the baffle, horn throat and mouth to be assembled to the base of the shell, then the top to be fitted, the horn edges to be trimmed and the sides fitted last. Unless you build a large fixture to hold everything in place I can't see that it is possible to get the top fixed in line so the sides fit square.

You can build that fixture you were talking about.
You can use a pair of framing squares to position the top prior to fastening.
You can use your eyeballs to get the top aligned over the bottom.

The horn assembly involves several parts, with margins of error on all of them. Building the horn slightly oversized allows it to be trimmed to size. Because of the amount of "touch labor" invested in the horn...this is a far more valuable piece than the top, or sides - and it is critical to construct it in a way to make it usable across a wide range of shop tolerances, tools, and skill levels. That means it is MUCH better for the horn to be 1/4" too large than 1/4" too small. Cutting the top and bottom to the same dimensions allow them to be used as references for trimming the horn to size. The sides are trivial, and can be adjusted to accommodate the horn.

This is a fundamental flaw in the construction sequence in the build instructions. It would be better to fit the sides and hold these square with "guide boards" and fit the top last. At least that way the top could be cut out oversize and planed to fit once it is all assembled.

The great thing about DIY is that if you (think you) have a better idea...you can try it. I would recommend that you build at least the first cabinet using the directions in the plans. That gives you some basis to think through improvements.

Take lots of pics, and post the resulting instructions to the forum. If your idea is indeed better, do not be surprised to see that technique adopted by other builders, and perhaps incorporated back into the plans.

[jswingchun]

I'm betting the guy was working from the Sketchup model, didn't even realize he had the plans and now is too embarrassed to post again.

[David Carter]

I'm betting the guy was working from the Sketchup model, didn't even realize he had the plans and now is too embarrassed to post again.

If that were the case, how would he know that the plans say to do it in a sequence that he didn't like? I'm wondering if his computer wasn't displaying all the images in the plan document. He seemed to know the recommended steps but said something about there not being detailed drawing with measurements. Either way, the bottom line is that the recommended steps work fine for most everyone, but anyone is free to do whatever they want (at the risk of being told later that they should have followed the plans if things don't turn out).

[Harley]

I'm wondering if his computer wasn't displaying all the images in the plan document.....He seemed to know the recommended steps but said something about there not being detailed drawing with measurements..

By detailed drawings, he was probably meaning fully dimensioned plans, elevations, end elevations and section details with each of the parts fully dimensioned as well, like in the fearful cabs' drawings for example.

He'd made enough steps in construction to suggest everything worked as normal in his plans doc.

When you have plans, you should read them through several times and follow them step by step. The point the OP has missed is that many people have built these cabs successfully and if the plans were indeed flawed as he has alleged, then there would have been some grumpy customers well before him - but there weren't.