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Customizing your cabs

Piggy8692

Piggy8692

Oct 2, 2010
265
23
Northern Utah
#1
So I'm playin on a Carvin stack and have some sort of carpetish felt covering all around them. I've been doing more moving around lately and have a few places where the seems are coming apart. Mostly on the corners.

I had an idea to get some diamond plate aluminum or steel. and cut pieces to go around the all the corners and 90 degree angles. My head is protected on the corners but not the cabs. :confused:

So is this a good idea? Has anyone else tried this? How will this effect possible re-sale?

I'd probably be doing most of the work myself to cut down on cost. I'd need to know where I could get the materials and what tools I'd need. If anyone else has done something similar to this.
 
#2
TL606nTL806cabs.jpg


TL606nTL806cabsrr.jpg


Here's the 2x12 and RH450

RH450nmy2x1201.jpg


I laminated ABS to 3/4" birch plywood. These cabs are about 12 years old now, and still looking good on stage!


I recommend aluminum for 2 reasons:

It's lighter in weight than diamond plate steel,

And it's far easier to work with (cutting and installing).

IME/IMO/YMMV
 
#3
Nice. That's pretty much what I'm looking for. Would any local hardware store have the metal all ready to cut and everything? What if I could get that diamond plate in aluminum? Would just straight be better?

Secondly, for the life of me I can't figure out what YMMV is.
 
#4
"Your Mileage May Vary". :D

Home Depots and stuff have some aluminum angle like that, but it's likely going to be more affordable getting it from a local metal/welding shop, especially if you need a lot of it. Add up the length along all the corners on all your gear and it's going to be a lot of feet, probably more than you think.

Might be abke to use your current cab corners over the aluminum, or maybe not. Never found a good local source for that kind of hardware, woukd likely have to be ordered online, or maybe through a local speaker/amp repair shop.
 
#5
My cabs don't have anything over the corners. I'd need to find something to put over them too. Scott, did you use screws or would I need to look into doing rivets?

Maybe a metal shop could just do it for me? If the price is reasonable. I don't have any metal cutting power tools at my immediate disposal.
 
#6
I bought all my hardware from Reliable Hardware, because they are close... However, you can purchase from them online and have it shipped...

I used screws. I have a lifetime supply of some screws I inherited from my father, who worked for fastener manufacturers for many years...

A small hack-saw and a miter box are relatively cheap, and quite helpful. You'll spend less buying the tools and doing the work yourself than having it done elsewhere... Plus the major kudos factor of doing it yourself! Feels good when you say "that's my handy-work!"

Jus sayin...
 
#7
You could use screws if you wanted. The rivets give a smoother outside edge and don't catch on stuff when moving them around.

For just a few bucks, you can get metal cutting blades for a skillsaw or jigsaw and a file to smooth the cut edges. Aluminum is easy to cut, a simple hacksaw doesn't take much elbow grease even, much easier than cutting steel. If you use rivets, you may want a handheld grinder to clean them up on the inside, although that would never be seen by anyone and wont affect the performance of the cab at all having the ends of poprivets in there.


Nice work by ScottTunes there. Those things look very professional...and like you just made them yesterday.
 
#8
Yeah, Those look really good. I was just thinking that I'm working with a stack (4x10 cab on a 1x18 cab). Is there a way to have the bottom of the top cab and the top of the bottom cab 'snap' together.

I had a GK backline before this amp and they had a cool little feature like that on theirs, but this more expensive rig has nothing of the sort.
 
#10
Piggy8692 said:
Yeah, Those look really good. I was just thinking that I'm working with a stack (4x10 cab on a 1x18 cab). Is there a way to have the bottom of the top cab and the top of the bottom cab 'snap' together.

I had a GK backline before this amp and they had a cool little feature like that on theirs, but this more expensive rig has nothing of the sort.
Click to expand...

My little DIY rig latches together like that and becomes it's own transport dolly with a handle on the top cab and 4" wheels cut into the bottom back corners of the bottom cab.




36342B0C-orig.jpg




I used some fairly sturdy latches I harvested off an old beatup rack case, one each side about 3/4 of the way to the front and one center on the back.

These are pretty light 112 cabs. A rig like yours, I'd use more, and/or heavier duty latches, maybe butterflies, but it certainly can be done and it's not difficult. Put a screw or rivet just to the left and right of where your latches will mount to make a really solid mounting area and position them so when they are latched, there is a bit of tension on them, not enough to bend up the latch, but hold things together solid.

A 410/18 rig, I'd put swivel casters on the bottom cab and maybe not do the tiltback and roll thing? Your call there.
 
#11
Piggy8692 said:
Also, the only problem I see with using screws is that if the screws ever come out. I'll have to do the whole thing again and drill new holes for the screws to go in once the wood on the cab is stripped out.

Or, would that even happen?
Click to expand...


Dip some wood matchsticks or toothpicks or something in some glue, enough of them so you have to force them in the screw hole a little bit. Break them off in there, let glue dry, run in new screws. Do it all the time, it works. Speaker mounts, door latches or hinges in your house, kitchen cabinet hardware that's worked loose over the years, pretty much anything.
 
#13
It might be simpler/easier to carefully cut the carpet away at the edges, then glue the edging on.

I've glued aluminum angle onto my home made plywood rack boxes and it's been holding up well.

Lowes stocks aluminum angle and flat pieces in 3' and 6' lengths, 1/8" and 1/16" thickness, and widths of 1/2", 3/4" and 1".
 

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