I've used Sikaflex or similar for making tolex seams. I tape the seam so that it is about 4mm wide, then put Sikaflex over it and wipe the seam with finger wetted with soap water. Then peel the tapes off and you have a nice seam.
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DIY GFRP Sandwich Panel 1x15PR400
- Thread starter astack
- Start date
It took flight (or is that Flite?) for 38 pages. These are often worth the read anyway because you (or at least I) almost always learn something I didn't know before. Besides, having had someone else try it and fail is a good learning experience for two reasons:
1) You will be less likely to make the same mistakes
2) You may see a mistake they made and and be able to succeed where they failed.
KO
MPU said:
Hmm, sorry I don't follow...
I've seen Sika's stuff used to retrofit concrete structures (uniaxial carbon fiber), so I'm surprised to see they make something to use with tolex.
But coming from one of TB's coolest "DIYers", I'm very interested in hearing you out.And, yeah that AoN thread got way awkward in the middle there. Still some good info to learn from.
I use something like this
Invalid Link Removed
or this
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Both are some sort of urethane sealant. They glue the two tolex pieces together and make a 4mm wide "seam" that hides the joint. Works fine.
Marko
Invalid Link Removed
or this
Invalid Link Removed
Both are some sort of urethane sealant. They glue the two tolex pieces together and make a 4mm wide "seam" that hides the joint. Works fine.
Marko
Cool, thanks again Marko.
In other news, some recent, somewhat related thoughts:
DIY composite bass cases. Perfect fitting. Durable. Custom shapes. No need for a huge mold press and ABS sheets. Similar weight to an ABS case. Could do pedal boards, too, I guess. Somebody get on it and let me know how it goes
This pair of the TH500/Faital sounds more "squeezed" in FR than I had expected, i.e. tighter and rounder. Really glad I didn't go for the 3015. Would have been too far in that direction for me. (Not sure how the whole chair-leg-to-the-cone thing may have effected this?) I'd guess this response is very similar to the TC RH450/750 sound, which is funny to me because that head was what started my last gear binge over the last several months after a stagnant 6 years. But the squeeze does just work very well in the band setting (not so much at home, but I direct/through headphones at home usually) and is a good set of compromises, so still happy with it.
Decided on a name:
Thumpmaster 450
As in ~450cc. A part of me likes using the displacement potential or SPL in the name more than the typical thermal power handling or speaker size. Just some TB geekery there. The name beat out Stackliner, Starliner Jr., Stacklite and PortaStack, mostly because it was slightly more original
Also in consideration was something with FRP, because it could be "Fiber Reinforced Plastic" or "Full Range Ported." More geekery. The "-master" is stolen from Fender of course, though.
In other news, some recent, somewhat related thoughts:
DIY composite bass cases. Perfect fitting. Durable. Custom shapes. No need for a huge mold press and ABS sheets. Similar weight to an ABS case. Could do pedal boards, too, I guess. Somebody get on it and let me know how it goes
This pair of the TH500/Faital sounds more "squeezed" in FR than I had expected, i.e. tighter and rounder. Really glad I didn't go for the 3015. Would have been too far in that direction for me. (Not sure how the whole chair-leg-to-the-cone thing may have effected this?) I'd guess this response is very similar to the TC RH450/750 sound, which is funny to me because that head was what started my last gear binge over the last several months after a stagnant 6 years. But the squeeze does just work very well in the band setting (not so much at home, but I direct/through headphones at home usually) and is a good set of compromises, so still happy with it.
Decided on a name:
Thumpmaster 450
As in ~450cc. A part of me likes using the displacement potential or SPL in the name more than the typical thermal power handling or speaker size. Just some TB geekery there. The name beat out Stackliner, Starliner Jr., Stacklite and PortaStack, mostly because it was slightly more original
Also in consideration was something with FRP, because it could be "Fiber Reinforced Plastic" or "Full Range Ported." More geekery. The "-master" is stolen from Fender of course, though.
Cool, thanks again Marko.
In other news, some recent, somewhat related thoughts:
DIY composite bass cases. Perfect fitting. Durable. Custom shapes. No need for a huge mold press and ABS sheets. Similar weight to an ABS case. Could do pedal boards, too, I guess. Somebody get on it and let me know how it goes
Maybe during this winter. I have a headless slim fiver under construction that needs a case.
Marko
My bass is shorter and narrower than usual. I see no sense in dragging a large case which has a small bass inside.
Marko
Marko
Been dragging my feet for a while on adding up all the costs for obvious reasons. 
Well here's the damage:
(Shipping not included in "Grand Total")
I've had the $1k mark in my head for a while and I'm somewhat relieved it's right about there.
I could have saved a lot (upwards of $100 maybe?) if I bought the FG supplies in bulk. When I started, I didn't realize how much epoxy I'd use. And as I've mentioned before, the cost for the glass is MUCH cheaper online.
I think everyone knew this, but not really a budget DIY project.
Disclaimers:
1) I'm not including tools or other non-consumables.
2) May have forgotten somethings.
3) For little things, I didn't track it too closely. +/- $10 it's about right. Otherwise, I did add a misc/contingency amount.
4) For the most part, "experiments" weren't included in this total.
Well here's the damage:
(Shipping not included in "Grand Total")
I've had the $1k mark in my head for a while and I'm somewhat relieved it's right about there.
I could have saved a lot (upwards of $100 maybe?) if I bought the FG supplies in bulk. When I started, I didn't realize how much epoxy I'd use. And as I've mentioned before, the cost for the glass is MUCH cheaper online.
I think everyone knew this, but not really a budget DIY project.
Disclaimers:
1) I'm not including tools or other non-consumables.
2) May have forgotten somethings.
3) For little things, I didn't track it too closely. +/- $10 it's about right. Otherwise, I did add a misc/contingency amount.
4) For the most part, "experiments" weren't included in this total.
5/ there is no allowance made for labour/time.... The luxury of being a DIY builder and not building them commercially.
On second thought, if I think of this as a recreational activity, the longer it took for that amount of cash the better deal I got!
Build a ply cab in a couple weekends. Costs a fraction of FG. But what you gonna do the next 7 weekends? And don't say practice...
Lol.... I agree. I had an absolute hoot of a time building my cabs. But sooner or later someone is going to ask why a cab that costs $1000 in materials can't be produced commercially and sold for slightly more than $1000.
CNC cutting (laser or water jet) would save time and allow for self-locating parts. That would probably be the first step in mass production of composite cabs. Molded parts or custom extrusions might be the next step. But my guess is, the glassing would remain labor-intensive at bass cab quantities.
I think molds would be the best shot at this scale (niche of a niche), considering the cost of machines. That said, in the bay area at least, there are places you can go and use those machines for relatively cheap.
The other low-volume/low-capital method would be to either farm it out to a FG shop or better yet find a supplier that makes FG boxes you can repurpose with minimal work.
An individual will be hard pressed to do it cheaper or better.
TBH, I have no idea how guys made/make money doing this.
The other low-volume/low-capital method would be to either farm it out to a FG shop or better yet find a supplier that makes FG boxes you can repurpose with minimal work.
An individual will be hard pressed to do it cheaper or better.
TBH, I have no idea how guys made/make money doing this.
Oh and 3D printing could only be used for the foam core. The glass fibers can't be pooped out drop by drop like plastics. But that could be part of the puzzle.
Couldn't leave well enough alone and tuned the box higher. From modeling, it looked like everything performed better with a higher tuning. All slight improvements, but in the right direction: Bit fatter low end, few Hz lower f3, better power handling, higher max SPL and less group delay.
I now have the two flare ends coupled directly to each other -- can't be any shorter / higher tuned -- and the tuning went from 35Hz to 39Hz. Still just taped in case I want to go back.
Hmm, but when I went to check the tuning a second time (same method as last time), I was hearing crackling before I got it loud enough to get the rice moving.
Sounds like it's being shaken loose somewhere back in the speaker and grinding/rubbing against something in the voice coil (?) (<-- me talking out of my butt, as usual).
Now I'm playing a mix of bass-heavy to jazz stuff just to see if I hear anything off, fairly loud. No sound of crackle. What gives? Pots are clean, cords good. Glad I'm getting all this trouble shooting practice...
That crease from the chair (cringe) hasn't changed, fwiw.
If I need to just replace this speaker and/or send it off, I might just do that and be done with it. Might be time to take it in.
I now have the two flare ends coupled directly to each other -- can't be any shorter / higher tuned -- and the tuning went from 35Hz to 39Hz. Still just taped in case I want to go back.
Hmm, but when I went to check the tuning a second time (same method as last time), I was hearing crackling before I got it loud enough to get the rice moving.
Sounds like it's being shaken loose somewhere back in the speaker and grinding/rubbing against something in the voice coil (?) (<-- me talking out of my butt, as usual). Now I'm playing a mix of bass-heavy to jazz stuff just to see if I hear anything off, fairly loud. No sound of crackle. What gives? Pots are clean, cords good. Glad I'm getting all this trouble shooting practice...
That crease from the chair (cringe) hasn't changed, fwiw.
If I need to just replace this speaker and/or send it off, I might just do that and be done with it. Might be time to take it in.
