8x10 Ampeg Construction (with pictures!!)

CrustyHustlers · #1 07-01-2011, 07:38 PM

Hello All!
Long time, no post! Well, here is my most recent project, my first cab, the Ampeg 8x10 powerhouse, and a behemoth of a first try! It's been a long and arduous undertaking, but it has been so amazing being able to put this together and watch it grow day by day, and even more amazing to learn to do this all on my own, and have such a good outcome.

I'll start from day one. After a long day of preparing fresh Maine seafood for hundreds of folks, I came home and asked my father for a little help roughing out my pieces. We got both sides, top and bottom, the back, and the angles of the back cut out and dadoed.

That took all of about 15 minutes for my master craftsman father to pound out. The next morning at about 6:30, I awoke to the sound of diesels outside my window, and rose from bed to find out that my father had just had a major heart attack, and after being rushed to the hospital, passed away for 15 seconds before being shocked back to consciousness. With my mother's assurance that dad would be okay, I continued on the project, solo.

On day two, I just had so much on my mind, I did nothing but focus on the project. I managed to get all the pieces glued, clamped, and nailed, all alone, which sounds a lot easier than it is when you're dealing with a cab this size.

There it stands after two days!

^This is just the same time with my speakerboard set in there, also my Bassman Ten head... Good luck finding one... The heads are one in a million. haha

(If anyone doesn't know why, I'll gladly explain.)

This is after I installed the "shelves." The Ampeg 8x10 has 4 seperate chambers of 2x10's, and this helps compress the air, and push the speakers. Fun stuff!

This is the back of the head. The whole enclosure is getting redone, because I totally slacked on the measuring, but everything fit in there, so that's a project for another day!

Primed. This is about the time dad got home from the hospital. In a way, it was good that he had it, because the treatment he got helped solve a lot of other problems he was having with his legs, headaches, etc. and I'm happy to say he's making an awesome recovery!

This is a close shot of the texture. There was no point in doing tolex in something this big for 3 reasons:
1)Cost
2)The tolex will wear out in one day
3)I will never have the patience to apply it perfectly

The secret? Well, without giving too much away, I'm "Getting two birds stoned at the same time," (as Ricky from TPB would say) this paint not only seals the creases that the glue missed, it is super textured, and after about 7 or 8 coats, it was reallllllly convincing.

CrustyHustlers · #2 07-01-2011, 07:39 PM

black paint. I've had every person that I've had view the cab comment on how convincing the texture is. Once it sets, it will be waaay stronger than tolex... it's been a week now, and still not totally dry. Also, I cut a hole in the back, and inserted a brace for my access plate. Sexy looking towel bar (haha) put on, as well as heavy duty casters, both bolted down, they will never come off. But what about those beautiful chrome skid rails on the back of Ampeg's 8x10? I spent hours looking through every marine store, hardware, etc... nothing. So I improvised.

Two pieces of National Steel's 1/2" stock, angled at 45 degrees on either side. I'll probably get on the business end of a grinder and make em look at purdy, but for now.... GOOD ENOUGH!

This is the control plate that I fashioned. My original got destroyed... I severely underestimated the strength of aluminum plate compared to a steel bit... ah well. This is the new one, a slightly smaller, steel box from... you guessed it, your local hardware store! Wish I hadn't destroyed the other, but I'll buy another. (x1) speakon at 4 ohms impedance, and (x2) 1/4" at 8 ohms apiece. The speakon is being replaced by another with a switch that turns on when a jack in inserted. Still waiting on that from USPS.

Control plate and skid rails, starting to look like an Ampeg now!!! And so it sat for about a week. I ordered drivers from Crispdeals.com ... Let me tell you. I was sketched the F*** out! This place has such awesome deals that I thought it was a scam, $54 for drivers that musiciansfriend had for $70 a piece... after shipping I ended up saving about $40, a pretty crisp deal if you ask me, and I only ordered the first half of my speakers. Aaaand, I'm pretty sure if you call them and ask, they ship for free. Highly recommended. Maybe musiciansfriend can price match them, who knows?! Anyway, enough rambling, Those came in the mail today.

Here they are!

Holes all cut, T-nuts put in. If anyone tells you not to use T-nuts for your speakers, hit them in the face, because There ain't no better way! They are, however a huge pain in the ass!

Here they all (almost) all mounted. I'm stoked to play a couple more shows, and get the rest of the speakers, and then start on my GUITAR cab.

If you're interested, my current live rig is a Mesa Big Block 750, run into 1 Mesa 4x10, and a Mesa 2x12. My new rig will be an Ampeg SVT classic!!!!! That will be coming in October, but for now, the Mesa will drive this live, and maybe the Bassman if I can get enough out of it. With 8-10's, I should have no problem driving away my nasty neighbors!

metalinthenight · #3 07-01-2011, 07:45 PM

Great looking build man!

PhiDeck · #4 07-01-2011, 07:51 PM

I misplaced my glasses so can't be sure, but it looks to me like you may have inserted the T-nuts from the wrong side of the baffle.

StereoPlayer · #5 07-01-2011, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhiDeck

I misplaced my glasses so can't be sure, but it looks to me like you may have inserted the T-nuts from the wrong side of the baffle.

They do go behind the "baffle" board. I also do the over kill thing and use a fastner for every hole on the speaker,

Very nice job on the project!

PhiDeck · #6 07-01-2011, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StereoPlayer

I also do the over kill thing and use a fastner for every hole on the speaker.

Yes, using all eight mounting holes will give you a better seal by compressing the gasket more evenly.
Also, if one of eight screws becomes loose the ill effects are far less than for one of four.

CrustyHustlers · #7 07-01-2011, 10:05 PM

Yes, thank you for all the kind words!

I do realize the T nuts are on the outside, I have a lot of sealing and painting to do before this is through, in all honesty I just wanted to get them in there to snap a pic! Haha, I was just to stoked to see what they looked like inside the cabinet. And yes, I am planning on doing all 8 nuts, but I bought out my hardware store on all of their t nuts today and I thought 19 would be an odd number! T

Thank you all for your insight! Please keep the feedback coming, this is a learning process, so all constructive criticism is welcome!

also, I am thinking of taking a cut in power handling and going with Jensen Mods for the bottom section, anybody out there done this? I have seen a few posts, but would like to hear from some people. I have heard good things about these speakers

Stealth · #8 07-02-2011, 03:38 AM

Good build, thanks for posting the pictorial. Looks epic.

On a semi-related note, I hope your dad recovers quickly. Glad to hear the EMTs managed to bring him back in such a short time.

Downunderwonder · #9 07-02-2011, 04:24 AM

Fun times. Great your Dad is recovering well. He's kind of lucky, the most common 1st symptom of heart disease is sudden death.

I'd stick with same drivers.

I hope those t-nuts being on the wrong side works out for you. Something tells me that's a pretty bad recipe for the driver seals.

You might want to countersink the skid rail screw heads before they do some damage to whatever they get skidded over.

CrustyHustlers · #10 07-02-2011, 06:05 AM

Thanks again guys!

Yes, the EMTs were awesome, they got him to the hospital just in the nick of time... and there's no bettter place to have a heart attack than a hospital!

Dunder, I've been on the fence on the drivers, and I think one opinion was all it took to push me over the edge! Haha, same drivers it is! And the T-nuts are getting swapped over the the other side, and all holes are getting sealed, and loktite in the screw holes... I'm not taking any chances! And as for the screws being countersunk, With the material I used, I couldn't possibly countersink them more without running the risk of pulling the screw heads through the steel while tightening them down... I was scared enough putting them in that far! Maybe I'll just drill through the first layer of steel and countersink them in the lower bout of the tubing. Or, I think what I could do is grind for days, and both get those screws even and that rail nice and polished!

Thanks for the feedback, all!

Rickett Customs · #11 07-02-2011, 08:42 AM

Nice build, Crusty

Big_Daddy · #12 07-02-2011, 11:54 AM

Great looking build. Now I want to build an amp!

hyp.spec · #13 07-02-2011, 12:13 PM

Looks great!

Although you may want to look into some better casters... they look a little... puny...

CrustyHustlers · #14 07-02-2011, 12:21 PM

Thank you to Rickett Customs!

Big Daddy, build one! I want to see the progress/learn from you!

Hyp,thank you! The casters are a little small, but If I go any bigger, then they'll hit the ground when it's standing up. It rolls around like and dream and they are wicked rugged!! All the metal is Stainless Steel, as well as the hardware, I don't expect them to shake loose any time soon! at $20 a caster, they had better not!

JimmyM · #15 07-02-2011, 01:27 PM

Wow, that is pretty awesome! Quite impressed! I totally agree that T-nuts are the way to go. Ampeg uses T-nuts in the Heritage B-15 (and so does Mark from Vintage Blue, who redesigned the Heritage cab) and they are a lot better than screwing directly into the wood.

But even better, your dad is going to be OK. My dad's 80 and smokes a pack a day and I worry about that all the time with him.

CrustyHustlers · #16 07-02-2011, 01:42 PM

Thanks Jimmy! T-nuts all the way, but they drove me crazy, I'd mark the holes, drill, then they'd be all wrong!

Yes that is the best news, I was up to two packs a day (more than my old man and mother combined) and quit cold turkey with the whole family, and this cab is what helped me keep my mind off it! 3 weeks and counting without a cig! Some people can smoke forever, but being 20 years old and having a two pack a day habit is a little out of control in my opinion. HA! Never felt better!

I'm going to Home Depot tomorrow to get the rest of my T-nuts, hopefully with the craziness that has ensued over this weekend at work, I'll have the funds to buy the rest of the speakers! Should be all complete in about 1.5 weeks, and YES there will be sound clips.

dhsierra1 · #17 07-02-2011, 01:51 PM

beautiful build, great to see the old school designs still being done, something pretty special about the sound (and visual impact) of 8-10 refrigerators

May I ask what you're using for the texturing and paint? In the middle of a 2 by 1-12 build for a local bassist and since it'll be his touring rig I'd like to try that out instead of what I normally use: lots of rustoleum semi-gloss brushed on in many coats, sanded, then spray the last few, which is pretty nasty stuff.

Glad your dad's doing better, mine went through that a few years ago and he's doing better than ever after a couple of stents and a bovine heart valve replacement. We keep teasing him, though, about his penchant for wanting to graze on the front lawn, though.....

Sartori · #18 07-02-2011, 04:07 PM

That looks great!

In my 2000s cab mod, I used t-nuts to secure the speakers (and did the overkill all 8 holes thing), because I thought that was just how you were supposed to mount speakers to the baffle. People do this other ways?

will33 · #19 07-02-2011, 04:46 PM

I've never had a problem with screwing into wood but I always cut little 1 x1 squares to double the thickness wherever a screw goes, use as many screws as there are holes in the speaker and drill the pilot holes a little small.

Anyway, whatever. The construction looks good, it's good to hear dad's ok and caulk all the seams from the inside and put stuffing in all the speaker chambers before to assemble it for the last time.

Nice work.

CrustyHustlers · #20 07-02-2011, 06:47 PM

dhsierra, It took me a while to think of something, but you can find it in the same isle as Rustoleum. It's Drylok, cement paint, it comes texturized and seals cracks well! ~$25 a gallon, then go over that with X-O Rust. I'd go entirely oil based. On this project I didn't, but I'm kicking myself in the ass for not taking the extra hassle. And yes, Drylok does come oil based.

Sartori, as Will said, that's another alternative, it is effective, but I'm pretty picky! Haha! Whatever works for you is what will always be best. As for the caulking, Will, it is kind of hard to see, but the first application to the creases is visible with the bare wood photos, and then there have been follow ups. I used Liquid Nails Polyurethane; very messy, that's how you know it works! haha.

Thanks again everyone for your feedback!