What tools are necessary to build a decent Fitzmaurice Cab?

[Standalone]

What tools are necessary to build a decent Fitzmaurice Cab?

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I think that the website says that a circular saw and a hammer can get it done in a pinch.

But I'm a fan of having the right tool for the job, and wouldn't want to set about it in a way that would involve too many compromises. I'm sure one can also go overboard, and I don't want to do that, either.

I just picked up an inexpensive Skil table saw for ripping some exterior trim, and wondered if I now had a workshop that would be sufficient to produce some cabs.

-----Here's my tool list: What else do I need? Router? Drill Press?-----

Old 7.25" Circular Saw
Old Jigsaw
10" Table Saw 60T blade
Drill
Sawzall (OK, yes, I know I can't build a cab with a sawzall)
Two long clamps and a C clamp or two
Hand Held Belt sander
Hand Held Orbital Sander
Assorted Hand Tools the usual plus good sockets, a bunch of files and rasps

[LelandCrooks]

You're ready. Make a panel jig for the table saw. A router is really useful, a couple more long clamps. They've been built with far less than what you have already. If you plan on a bunch, (once you start you can't stop) a brad nailer and compressor.

[bgavin]

An accurate straight edge is a requirement. I bought a piece of sturdy aluminum bar stock that I've used for years. There are some really nice engineered straight edges, but they are a lot of $$.

I get micro-accurate cuts from my circular saw using a guide edge, and a depth micrometer/caliper from my car mechanic days. Set your guide board, make a clean cut half-way through scrap. Use the depth caliper to measure the distance from both near and far sides of the kerf. Mine are something like 1.465" and 1.585" or something. Mark it on your saw. Retest when you change blades. Scribe a cut line on the work to be cut, locate the guide KERF distance from the scribe. Use the depth micrometer for exact placement. Hold down with c-clamps. Works every time. Slow as hell, but very accurate.

[Tom Smit]

I have four clamps similar to this http://www.irwin.com/irwin/consumer/jht ... Prod100029 as well as four 4" C-clamps. I don't get as accurate as bgavin but close. Most of the time I clamp the saw sled down with the quick clamps, sometimes repositioning them mid-cut. I also have something similar to this which is quite handy.
http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/produ ... 6205525194

TomS

[Standalone]

Great. I as soon as I got that Table Saw I knew I was probably ready to do this. Not a bad investment-- I think I'm going to get a lot of good cabs out of this! I am a bass player and do the PA for my band.

I doubt I'll be getting those kind of awesome tolerances, BGavin, but I will measure out that kerf and adjust accordingly.

Thanks, too, for the links, folks. Those Irwin clamps are similar to the ones I have, TomS. What lengths will I need?

Wish me luck!

[psjon]

For example:

Strap clamps for doing the sheathing

Router for radiusing corners, trimming excess, and mounting tophats for pole mounting

Miter saw for cutting PVC or trimming piezo tweeters

You cannot have too many bar clamps. It's easy to get a custom fit with more clamps before you glue, screw, and/or nail. Here's the cheapest place to stock up on bar clamps:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=96213 I even prefer the 6" version of those over C-clamps as they are much faster to set.

Pneumatic nailer/stapler

I cannot imagine building DRs without the above.

The most bang for the buck you'll get out of your current tools is to build a crosscutting jig for your table saw. It greatly increases the accuracy of your cuts and enhances the safety factor at the same time.

[bgavin]

My plunge router gets a LOT of use.

Combined with a Jasper Jig, it cuts flawless baffle holes to very accurate diameters.
Be sure to use an up-spiral 1/4" bit, as this type of bit cuts MUCH better than a straight edge bit.

I picked up a 1/2" shank trim bit with lower bearing. My plunge router takes both 1/4 and 1/2 bits. The big boys are a bit more expensive, but much less likely to snap. My trim bit has the lower follower bearing (farthest from the router body). I use it to trim external panel over hang. For example, my OT212 has less some bow in the sides, so I fitted the back to the outside of the cab. I left extra overhang, and trim to fit. This gives me a perfect fit for the back panel.

[Rug]

Another vote for the brad nailer.

I'm in the middle of my first build. When I was shopping for my supplies I saw a cheap brad nailer on sale so I decided to go for it. It's turned out to be a huge asset. Highly recommended.

Other than that I'm only using basic hand tools such as a circular saw, jigsaw and drill.

Measure twice, measure again and cut once.

[Standalone]

I can imagine how useful a brad nailer would be, as I just did my roof with a borrowed roofing coil nailer. But that's a bigger project. I could only see getting a cheaper router at this point-- I'm not sure how many more tools I can pick up and still keep the love of my life happy--- I just dropped all my saved gigging money on a Hammond Organ restoration....

I thought knocking together some cabs would be a good way to occupy myself and my proclivity for more music gear without spending a mint.

[Brew]

Routers are very nice and maybe considered an absolute necessity..but I've treated myself to some new blades on the jigsaw, and with patientce, accectablely accurate cuts can be made for the curvey bits and circles. Saves some serious $.

[Rick Lee]

I just dropped all my saved gigging money on a Hammond Organ restoration....

That must've been some serious gigging money!!

[Standalone]

Sure was. Three gigs/ month from April through now. Jazz standards dinner music. www.waterfrontjazzproject.com

"Restoration" might be an exaggeration, though... a full teardown and restoration at this well known shop can run $5k. I sure spent nothing like that.

I had a full retube of the organ and tone cabinet done as well as a recap of the tone cabinet amp, purchased pedals, and had a Trek II percussion unit installed.

They had to do some serious cabinet work on this old model to get at the works-- they had to remove the whole top... all tongue and groove... phew.

[djohnson573]

I'm considering asking Santa for a Delta contractors saw for Christmas. For the purpose of building BFM cabinets, is the cost of the Beisemyer or Unifence over the T2 fence worth the extra expense?

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

I'm considering asking Santa for a Delta contractors saw for Christmas. For the purpose of building BFM cabinets, is the cost of the Beisemyer or Unifence over the T2 fence worth the extra expense?

Yes and no. Get a good fence, mount it on a cheap saw. BTW, most inexpensive saws today are made with built-in rails that don't allow adding a better fence. That being the case used might be the better option.
My personal saw is a $100 Delta, the only one I could find that didn't have non-replaceable fence rails, onto which I added home-made wings to give a four foot wide table, and a $200 fence. A contractors saw is nice for cutting 2x8s, but that's a job done better with a slide miter saw, which also is perfect for melded arrays.

[djohnson573]

Bill,

Thanks for the relpy. That was initially he direction I was going. I don't live in a metro area and have been watching craigslist for a month and seeing nothing but junk. So recently, this is the one I have had my eye on:

http://www.amazon.com/36-980-Horsepower ... 630&sr=8-3

I'm on the 30 day Prime trial so the shipping would be free.

The Unifence is about $100 more and the Beisemyer is about $200 more. Just woundering if the T2 is a decent system. I'm pretty sure this one has the replacable rails because I think (but not sure) that the rails are different for the different fence options.

I plan to build one of those 4 x 8 cutting tables shown in another thread to chop the sheets down to size with a hand saw and guide rail.

I have used a Shopsmith for years and have built some pretty decent furniture wiith it, but that tiny table just doesn't seem condusive to the speaker build.