ampage Tube Amps / Music Electronics	For current discussions, please visit Music Electronics Forum.

ampage archive

Vintage threads from the first ten years

previous: Bruce Are you going to use solid wood or ... -- 8/7/2000 12:42 AM

Re: begginer finger joints

8/9/2000 9:52 PM
Peter S	Re: begginer finger joints I always did my joints with dowels until last week when Eric H. pointed out that in an amp of the caliber that I'm building dowels are a pretty sleazy way to go. Well I guess he was right even though I felt pretty dumb after building nearly 100 amps this way, so I built a cab using finger joints. It was alot of work....I still have the blisters on my hands from the chisel and hammer. It came out great though and looked pretty cool. I've always covered my amps with leather, but I like the look of laquered wood, so I'm going to be building nitrocellulose laquered hardwood cabs for while. I noticed a considerable improvement in tone since there's no leather to dull the resonance of the wood now. The cab "sings' quite a bit more, which IMHO is mark of a really great amp. Anyway, I bought a dovetail jig a couple days ago because I thought that the dovetail saw, hammer and chisel were just a bit too much work. I practiced on some scrap for about an hour and figured out how to use the Dovetail jig. Then I built a head cab using the new jig. This IS the way to do it for sure. It was easy, much easier than making the doweled buttjoints by hand like I've always done or the handcut fingerjoints. The dowel jig saves me alot of time, the joints look great, they are strong, and I don't have blisters. I also really love the sound of the uncovered wood and I don't have to fork out a bundle for leather covering material. I see a price reduction in my amps coming soon. Peter S

8/9/2000 9:52 PM

Peter S

Re: begginer finger joints

I always did my joints with dowels until last week when Eric H. pointed out that in an amp of the caliber that I'm building dowels are a pretty sleazy way to go. Well I guess he was right even though I felt pretty dumb after building nearly 100 amps this way, so I built a cab using finger joints. It was alot of work....I still have the blisters on my hands from the chisel and hammer. It came out great though and looked pretty cool. I've always covered my amps with leather, but I like the look of laquered wood, so I'm going to be building nitrocellulose laquered hardwood cabs for while. I noticed a considerable improvement in tone since there's no leather to dull the resonance of the wood now. The cab "sings' quite a bit more, which IMHO is mark of a really great amp. Anyway, I bought a dovetail jig a couple days ago because I thought that the dovetail saw, hammer and chisel were just a bit too much work. I practiced on some scrap for about an hour and figured out how to use the Dovetail jig. Then I built a head cab using the new jig. This IS the way to do it for sure. It was easy, much easier than making the doweled buttjoints by hand like I've always done or the handcut fingerjoints. The dowel jig saves me alot of time, the joints look great, they are strong, and I don't have blisters. I also really love the sound of the uncovered wood and I don't have to fork out a bundle for leather covering material. I see a price reduction in my amps coming soon.

Peter S

Replies:

rich i was thinking of getting a dovetai... -- 8/9/2000 11:35 PM