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considering cutting my 8x10 in half

C

charliefreak

Jul 28, 2009
207
3
Speedway, Indiana
#1
what up tb?

I'm tired of trying to haul around my old swr workingman's tower 8x10 and I've been trying to get it traded for a better quality 410. unfortunately, nobody else wants an 810. So now I'm thinking about simply sawing it in half so i'd have a 410 for small gigs and an extension for larger gigs and outdoor gigs. Does anyone know what I'd have to watch out for in this process? I'm really going to be winging this and attempting to wire the spare four to speakon input jacks, as they are now. Any tips, comments, or concerns would be swell!

peace
wes
 
#2
I wouldn't do it. I'd rather buy a 4x10, used if budget requires it, or repurpose the speakers in an empty 4x10, rather than attempt to saw the original cab in half. You might succeed in rewiring it, but can you seal it as tight as the original? And how many cubic inches of air is in there? Is it the appropriate amount? I'd worry about all these things, plus the things I didn't even know to ask.

If you do it, good luck! I'd be interested in hearing how it goes.
 
#3
Is this a ported cab or a sealed cab? Sealed will be easier because you won't have to recalculate/re-engineer the proper porting.

Also, better be really good with wood joinery, regardless of what type of cab it is. The cab's integrity will hinge on how good you are with those skills and with the tools that go along.

And you must be able to saw straight across the cab. I mean straight. This is much more difficult than it sounds. Not a job for hand tools.

For resale down the road, take lots of pics during the process, because once it's covered in whatever you're going to cover it in, there'll be no way to prove to the buyer you make a good job of it.
 
#5
nashvillebill said:
IMHO it's easier to make a cabinet from scratch than to cut an existing one in half.
Click to expand...

Word. I did that once, 20 years ago with the help of a knowledgeable friend. Made me an 18+2x10 cab--totally sealed off from each other. The 18 was ported (I called up an engineer from the speaker manufacturer and figured out how to do this to make it "tuned" to a certain frequency. The 10s I left sealed and airtight. As I recall, it worked really well.

I'd sooner do that again than undertake sawing up an existing cab that was in perfect working order.
 
#7
much thanks for the warnings everyone. I'm going to be conservative and say I am under educated and under prepared to undergo such an operation. I'll consider halving it into separate cabs and even yet hold out for a better 410 cab. My local shop guys also warned me of breaking the impedence and wattage and totally blowing it out with my amplifier due to improper mathematics. I wouldn't have guessed that either!
 
#8
scottfeldstein said:
Word. I did that once, 20 years ago with the help of a knowledgeable friend. Made me an 18+2x10 cab--totally sealed off from each other. The 18 was ported (I called up an engineer from the speaker manufacturer and figured out how to do this to make it "tuned" to a certain frequency. The 10s I left sealed and airtight. As I recall, it worked really well.

I'd sooner do that again than undertake sawing up an existing cab that was in perfect working order.
Click to expand...

I did the same thing! Was it a Peavey cab? I doubt I got the 18 right as I didn't have that info, though...
 
#11
scottfeldstein said:
I wouldn't do it. I'd rather buy a 4x10, used if budget requires it, or repurpose the speakers in an empty 4x10, rather than attempt to saw the original cab in half. You might succeed in rewiring it, but can you seal it as tight as the original? And how many cubic inches of air is in there? Is it the appropriate amount? I'd worry about all these things, plus the things I didn't even know to ask.

If you do it, good luck! I'd be interested in hearing how it goes.
Click to expand...

yep...

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