Switching grill cloth on current Ampeg SVT cabs

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Additional Pictures

 

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More Photos

 

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I just did mine with Oxblood grille cloth (gold striping), and it's a keeper.

 

[swsmusic]

Update: I sent the grill back to Fliptops and they made me another grill. Fits much better than the 1st one. Excellent customer service and a speedy turn around. Sorry for the bad photo, it was taken with a bb.

I also have a 410HEN / AV Cabinet that has the blue/silver grill cloth. It has some major stains on it that I have not been able to remove and I am going to replace the grill cloth on it. My luthier is finally caught up and I should have it by the end of this week.

 

[Mikeeeeeee]

Johnk_10, I know this is an old post but the links for the cloth you used doesn't exist anymore. That site you listed does have 2 Ampeg clothes, one is called SVT blue and the other is called black and silver. Can you tell me if the "blue svt ampeg cloth on that site is what you used? Your cabs are beautiful! Thank you!

 

[JimmyM]

Black and silver is what the new and 60's Portaflex cabs use. Blue and silver is what the SVT-VR and AV cabs use.

 

[Mikeeeeeee]

Thanks JimmyM, so from what your telling me the the blue and silver is correct? it just didn't quite look right in the small sample photo online.

 

[JimmyM]

Yep, blue and silver is correct for an SVT.

 

[Mikeeeeeee]

Thank you sir!

 

[Lesserclaypool]

Hi folks, hope you're all well. I just joined the group , the amount of info here is outstanding.


Sorry to dig up an old thread. I'm embarking on swapping out the grill cloth on my SVT410HLF to this stuff here: Invalid Link Removed , as per johnk_10's recommendations. All of your conversions look fantastic by the way.

My frame/baffle is all prepped and ready to go, I added 1/8" strip on the bottom and one side, sanded smooth and gave a quick re-paint coat. The cloth is here and ready to go.

My question is this: what did you all use for re-stapling? I have an electric Arrow stapler which uses T50 staples. I bought 3/8" staples, they are not going in to the wood. What do you guys recommend? Thanks in advance,

Terry

 

[JimmyM]

I forget what kind I used but you need pretty thin ones.

 

[Lesserclaypool]

Did you end up using a hand stapler or an electric or pneumatic one?

 

[Vintage-Blue]

For several years I used 1/4" staples and an older Arrow electric stapler when doing my grills and it worked okay. About a year ago it finally burned out so I went looking for a new one. I found a comparable model at Home Depot, got it home, and found out it wouldn't drive the staples in. I returned it and started doing more research online. I eventually found a "heavy-duty" stapler (I forget the make) that was highly rated for upholstery work; it was also quite expensive ($200-$300). The results weren't much better than the previous stapler, plus there was a lot of "bounce" or recoil after pulling the trigger. The staplers seemed to do okay on solid wood but not well on plywood, especially the baltic birch ply that I use. I finally decided to try a pneumatic model, since I already had a small compressor for use with my other nailers. I picked up a Porter Cable US58 stapler and the difference was like night and day. I use 3/8" crown by 1/4" leg, 22 gauge wire staples and the stapling is almost effortless now. As an added benefit my grills seem to be coming out straighter and tighter as well. I think it's because I no longer am fighting the stapler while stretching/aligning the cloth. If you don't already have a compressor and would only be using the stapler for this project, it might be too expensive a solution. If you are getting the staples "almost" set with an electric or manual stapler you can always drive them home with a hammer and be done with it. I just know that, for me, my new stapler is one of the few new tools that I have actually been excited about, due to the difference it has made in the ease and quality of my grill work.

 

[beans-on-toast]

It is my impression that pneumatic staplers are quieter. The electric ones can be very hard on the ears.

 

[Lesserclaypool]

The noise won't be an issue for me, as I'm only doing the one grill. The staples were basically folding over...if they even went in slightly I suppose I could gently hammer them in the rest of the way - but they pretty much get destroyed trying to go into the ply. I thought it might be the wood; I blasted dozens into a regular spf 2X4 and they work beautifully.

I suppose I need to find someone with a pneumatic stapler that does smaller gauge. Thanks for all of your help and suggestions.

I am just itching to get this done!! Seeing all of your finished projects gets me so excited.

 

[beans-on-toast]

The noise won't be an issue for me, as I'm only doing the one grill. The staples were basically folding over...if they even went in slightly I suppose I could gently hammer them in the rest of the way - but they pretty much get destroyed trying to go into the ply. I thought it might be the wood; I blasted dozens into a regular spf 2X4 and they work beautifully.

I suppose I need to find someone with a pneumatic stapler that does smaller gauge. Thanks for all of your help and suggestions.

I am just itching to get this done!! Seeing all of your finished projects gets me so excited.

The staples do not go fully in if the stapler recoils when stapling. It bounces upward. If you press downward firmly on the top of stapler when firing them, the stapes should properly seat themselves all the way in. This is needed to properly hold and lock the grille cloth in place.

 

[Vintage-Blue]

The staples do not go fully in if the stapler recoils when stapling. It bounces upward. If you press downward firmly on the top of stapler when firing them, the stapes should properly seat themselves all the way in. This is needed to properly hold and lock the grille cloth in place.

I think that's why I do better now with the pneumatic stapler. With the electric stapler I was using my second hand to do what I needed to do with the cloth in addition to using it to keep extra down force on the stapler. Even then it was hit or miss with the new staplers as to whether they would fully set the staple in plywood.

 

[Lesserclaypool]

The staples do not go fully in if the stapler recoils when stapling. It bounces upward. If you press downward firmly on the top of stapler when firing them, the stapes should properly seat themselves all the way in. This is needed to properly hold and lock the grille cloth in place.

I found that even when firmly pressing down to eliminate recoil , the staples still didn't go in. They just bunch up and get mangled. Weird.

 

[beans-on-toast]

I found that even when firmly pressing down to eliminate recoil , the staples still didn't go in. They just bunch up and get mangled. Weird.

It is strange.

I use Arrow 1/4" tang staples, they are sharp and heavy duty. A smaller gauge staple like ones used for paper will bend easier.

Some staplers have settings for how far they are driven into the wood.

 

[beans-on-toast]

I think that's why I do better now with the pneumatic stapler. With the electric stapler I was using my second hand to do what I needed to do with the cloth in addition to using it to keep extra down force on the stapler. Even then it was hit or miss with the new staplers as to whether they would fully set the staple in plywood.

They talk about pneumatic as shooting nails or staples. The manual and electric pounds. Maybe that's the difference.