# First Time Cab Build 2x12 From Rough Sawn Pine



## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

Decided to try my hand at building a cab. Not much science to the dimensions - I took the size of my VOX 2x12 and made it a bit bigger. This thing ain't moving anywhere so size is not an issue. Started with rough sawn 1x12 pine and ran it all through the planer / jointer to get it to just shy of 3/4" thick.










Had to make a box joint jig for the table saw. Learned the hard way that the YouTube videos that show using a spacer block to offset the joining pieces are wrong - just use the piece you just cut. I don't have a proper throat plate for the stacked dado, so we went without a helmet and seat-belt on these cuts.










Test fit everything - need to leave the "fingers" a bit long to sand flush later.










After routing a channel 1" inside the front edge, a final test fit before glue-up. This step required stopped dados with the router (freehand) so the fingers don't get blown out.










Learned the hard way that my 30 year old router is losing it - collet was worn and the bit came loose, working its way deeper as I moved along the piece. Good thing I bought and planed a bunch of extra wood.










All the clamps that would fit for the glue up. Final dimensions came out to 241/4 x 27 x 11. Rounded over the outside corners with a 3/4 roundover bit. Inside of front face with a 3/8 roundover. This will receive some sort of a fabric grill cloth when I pick one out.










Finally the first coat of finish after a ton of sanding - I only went to 180 grit. Using Schooner spar varnish - it will get six coats before its complete.










More to come when I have a little more progress.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

awesome,. looks great so far


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## MarkM (May 23, 2019)

Learned the hard way that my 30 year old router is losing it - collet was worn and the bit came loose, working its way deeper as I moved along the piece. Good thing I bought and planed a bunch of extra wood.

I have had that happen to me before, recently on my Covid cabinet. I was fortunate enough to cut off a 1/2" and put it in my router table.

The cutting deeper and sanding off the excess is a great tip as well, even a 32nd is good.


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## MarkM (May 23, 2019)

Well show some more progress?


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## Jimmy_D (Jul 4, 2009)

MarkM said:


> Well show some more progress?


Yup


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

BlueRocker said:


> Learned the hard way that my 30 year old router is losing it - collet was worn and *the bit came loose*, working its way deeper as I moved along the piece.


That would scare the heck out of me!!!


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## MarkM (May 23, 2019)

greco said:


> That would scare the heck out of me!!!
> [/QUOTE
> Well it should, I do most of my corner rounding in a router table. When it comes out of a hand router, shit gets real!


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

MarkM said:


> Well show some more progress?


Update coming later this week.


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

Here is the promised update. Cabinet took six coats of spar varnish before I was happy with it. Ultimately the trick to applying it was to use a foam roller and tip it off with a foam brush to avoid the sags and such. Sand in between with 300 grit sandpaper, rinse and repeat until the final coat.

Got around to wiring today. I had previously tried a pair of greenbacks in it when it still had an open back, but decided to mount a pair of Eminence Texas heats that I had spare. Here are the supplies:










Two 8 ohm speakers wired in series for a 16 ohm load. Should be good to 150 watts. I didn't want to wait for a fancy input jack for the back, so I bought one for a guitar at L&M and used that.



















The final product (without the grill cloth which I don't have yet). Apologies for the poor picture here.



















My original thoughts were that this would be the wife-friendly setup for our living room (during the winter when my shop is too cold). She likes the blue light from the Hughes & Kettner, and it seems to suit the cab. How does it sound? I give it 7/10. The Texas Heat speakers sound great at higher gain, and seem to me very midrangey to me. The cab has a good bass response with the closed back and everything seems to sound better a little off axis from centre. I think the greenbacks are a better fit for this cab, but I haven't tried them in it yet with the cab complete.I'll probably try them and some V30's when I get the ambition to pull some other cabs apart.

For those that are interested, the cab was constructed with only wood, glue, and varnish. The only mechanical fasteners are holding in the speakers and the input jack.


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## SaucyJack (Mar 8, 2017)

Nice!


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## Mikev7305 (Jan 6, 2020)

Looks great! I wish I could have a 2x12 in my living room


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## aC2rs (Jul 9, 2007)

Great build thread, and, your finished cab looks awesome!


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## gtrguy (Jul 6, 2006)

Great looking cab! Were the Texas Heat's already broken in? If not, maybe give them a little bit of time before swapping them out.


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

I think the guy who originally bought the speakers used them for an hour and decided they are not his thing. I'll give them a good break in and see if things change.


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