Cabinet re-tolex in MD?

[TheDialog]

Anyone in MD ever re-tolex, recover a cabinet? I'm looking to pay someone to recover my new '69 810. If anyone is interested in doing it PM me or comment.

Thanks!

[TheDialog]

Anyone?

[beans-on-toast]

I recently finished recovering my 71 SVT.

If you're paying someone to do a restoration, it is going to be fairly expensive. This is the cost of keeping it as original as possible. On the other hand, you can buy an SVT repro head box from Fliptops.net for about $250. This is the most cost effective approach.

Like any restoration, the cost can vary depending on the extent of the work needed. In my case, I first removed the metal corners and was careful to preserve the nails because I wanted to reuse them. The tolex was removed and the old glue cleaned up. The cabinet was in rough shape and required a lot of work. There were gouges, holes, some edges needed rebuilding and there were imperfections in the wood that needed fixing. This was the most time consuming part. The better the wood prepatation, the better the finished cabinet is going to look. Next, the tolex was applied. I used contact cement and glued a section at a time. A good upholsterer can do this for you. If you use a hot hide glue like they did originally, the application process is faster. This method takes a lot of experience to pull off well because you have only a short time to apply the tolex before the glue hardens. The last step was cleaning the back grille, and sanding and buffing nails for the metal corners and the metal end caps on the handles. I replaced the metal corners because the old ones were too far gone. I still need to replace the cloth on the front but want to hold out for some of the stuff that Ampeg is using on their Heritage amps.

[lbwdog]

Check with a furniture restorer/repairer. Most are experienced in covering furniture of all shapes. A cab or amp would be simple.
Also, an automobile/boat trim shop may do it as well.
Just shop around online for your best deal on the actual Tolex material you desire.

[TheDialog]

I already ordered a headbox for my '69 SVT, so that when I gig with it I won't tear anymore of the tolex and what not, but what I want to have recovered is a '69 flatback 810.

[beans-on-toast]

Oh man! That's what happens when you've been working all night.

My comments about re-tolexing a head cab apply equally well to a speaker cab. Only the 810 is much easier to re-tolex than a head.

The eight metal corners cover the difficult areas. If you are replacing them, get them from fliptops. They are the closest that I've found to the originals and they fit perfectly.

Wood prep is still the most important part. Once all the preliminary work is done, applying the tolex relatively fast and inexpensive.

[stiles72]

+1 to using contact cement as David mention. I had given up hope of ever being able to do tolex work myself, but I followed David's advice and got some contact cement from Home Depot. I used DAP Weldwood with a red label, brushed it on both the tolex and the wood, and let it sit for 20 minutes. Came back, and it went on without a hitch. Prior to using the contact cement, I had used various glues reccommended by the local upholstery shop and I had horrible results. Might have just been user error - who knows. But aftrer using the DAP stuff on my V4BH head and how well it worked I'm going to re-do my other heads and a couple of cabinets. Thanks for tip David

[My name is Mudd]

Originally Posted by beans-on-toast

OT'ing to ask what those green thingies are...

[beans-on-toast]

I wish that I could say that it was something more interesting.

It's a foam interlocking floor mat. I have the amp sitting on a Hammond organ that I didn't want to damage. Makes a great coaster.

Sometimes I use these mats, cut to size, to provide a bit of isolation of the head from the cab.

[beans-on-toast]

Good to hear that your re-tolexing went well Clint.

I've used both the regular (red label) and the water based (green label) DAP contact cement. I favor the water based one these days for tolex. It works well, has no harmful solvents and cleans up easily with water. I think that the red label one provides a stronger bond. I use it when laminating plywood veneers onto baltic birch.

David

[TheDialog]

I'm going to take pictures of the cab later today.

[My name is Mudd]

Originally Posted by beans-on-toast

Sometimes I use these mats, cut to size, to provide a bit of isolation of the head from the cab.

That's a nice idea.

[Spinal Tapper]

I recovered my SWR 2x10 (yeah, it MUCH smaller of a job than an 8x10). I am very happy with the way it turned out. Got all my materials for around $100. It's shabby in a few places, but it's a gigging workhorse, so it's going to take a beating anyways...

[spellcaster]

Sending PM

[whitespikebass]

Looking to recover my SVT head and V4 412 cab. Any idea what a pro would charge?