Grill Cloth Installation - Guitar Amplifier - Cabinet Building - DIY Stretching Speaker Baffle
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- Опубліковано 8 тра 2021
- Grill Cloth Installation - Guitar Amplifier - Cabinet Building - DIY Stretching Speaker Baffle
If you've got a ratty, saggy, grill cloth or are building an amp cabinet from scratch this video will show you how it's done. Straight lines and tight cloth are the jam. It doesn't take many tools or much time at all to get perfect grill cloth.
You'll need:
Speaker baffle
Grill cloth
Straight edge ruler
Boxcutter
Stapler
Heat gun
Sturdy work surface
Eye protection
Have fun and if you mess it up just take out the staples and try again!
#grillcloth #speaker #guitaramp
This is a very informative video. Since I am 70, I will have to improvise on the jumping up on the table part.😃
It's the falling off that's worse than the hopping up! Thanks for watching!
Thanks to your video I was able to do a professional quality job on this 1969 Guild. Thanks!
Tightening up the grill cloth with a heat gun is a master hack! Great video!
they look great !!
I followed your directions and got a great result, so thank you. The heat gun trick is the bomb! 🙂
Thanks for watching! I’ve seen so many “boutique” builds that have terribly crooked and loose grille cloth! Glad these tips will keep your stuff looking sharp and pro.
You're amazing bro. Thank you!!
Great work. Very helpfull. Thanks.
I just did a very sloppy version of this, wish I would've seen your video before I started! Great tips.
These videos you've been doing on amp head, combo amp and speaker cab construction along with videos on all the other components are excellent! Very cool and helpful. If you could do a video on amp maintenance around deoxidizing pots and other components where that's needed and dealing with tube pins & tube sockets or anything else you tend to do more on amps you've had for a while, that would also be very cool. I'll try to help get the work out on your vids as this is all great for interested folks like me and I don't see anyone else going into this level of detail.
Thanks so much for watching! It's been busy and I'm a one man shop but I plan on putting together something every week. I'll definitely keep those in mind!
Good tutorial. Thank tou
Excellent, best tutorial, thank you!
Very kind! Thanks for watching!
Great vid, thanks!
Thanks for watching!
Nice job! You’re a pro!
Thanks!
Great tutorial! I’m doing this for the first time on an amplifier project, and I never would have thought to use a heat gun as shown in the video.
Heat gun is the indispensable tool for tolex! That and a sharp razor blade. Go with titanium blades if you can because they don't dull so fast. Just be careful with the heat gun not to overdo it and melt something. Always better to start on low and take longer than to go double-barrel and melt something. Thanks for watching!
Thx again for great vid👌
Thanks!
These videos are a bit like Zen and the Art of Amplifier Maintenance :)
Best one yet, thanks friend for the help. I might test my heat gun on scrap so I can work up the nerve to shrink the real thing.
Thanks for watching! Just take it slow and keep an even distance. If you stop in one spot or you're too close it can melt.
Thanks i was surging for a video , i want to change my grill for a Marshall Woburn , good tips thanks , from the Netherlands
Thanks! The hardest part is making sure the vertical lines don't move while you're working. That's why I put my wight on it. Good luck!
This was really helpful. I've hot rodded an '89 Peavey Rage. OHHHHH, jealous. It was free. I have much better amps. There are much worse too. It's good for what it is. Painted turquoise, corners ivory, screw heads gold and all glossed. Amp was free and grubby. Rust, etc. Bugger was getting the powder coat off completely from the metal parts. Bought an off cut of Fender style silver face cloth for $20...vs $170 for a square yard. Last step before re-assemble was grill cloth. I couldn't kneel on it as the baffle is too small and crappy. It might break. But I managed otherwise and got a pretty square and tight result. Some waviness, but it's fine. Didn't know to shrink. Looks rad, sounds okay. Thanks.
What fortune that I watched this, yesterday I removed the ripped up grill off of a 63 reissue reverb tank, didn't think there was a front or back, but now I know (thanks:). But as for hopping up on the thing and holding it down with my knees, that couldn't happen if there was a gun pointed at my head (I have arthritis:) But I will seek to figure out a way to clamp it down firmly to an object while I staple. I would always install the staples side to side not vertically as that's how the factory staples were in it, as well as every baffle board I've ever examined.
Note about the Reverb tank: There was an inch wide area under the staples with heavy contact cement, I don't know what kind of jig Fender had to use that glue but I'm not going to try it, besides I doubt vintage reverb tanks had it. 2ndly I found that the cushion they used to suppress the springs in the event of it being bounced had devolved into a chunk of crumbling cake..that's right, it needs to be replaced and I think just about any foam of the correct dimensions would have been better than what was in there, what were they trying to save 2 cents per unit?
i like the fact that luke's lightsabre is just chilling on the mantle.
Even more shocking is where it came from: ua-cam.com/video/3wYqEl3PHtk/v-deo.html
Nice work! Thanks for the tips on corners especially.
One question, why did you orient your staples perpendicular to the edges rather than parallel?
Again, great vid thanks!
What a great video, thanks! May I ask what temperature you set your heat gun to?
There are these things called “clamps”, that pull things tightly together so you don’t have to clomb on a table!
Thanks so much for this video, man. I had no idea the cloth would shrink a little with a heat gun! This is very timely, as I just received cloth to put on my Showman cab. What about lacquering or repairing tweed amps that are getting ragged, but keeping it original as to not lose value?
Sweet! Glad you got something out of it. You don’t have to pull crazy tight. Doing that makes it harder to get good lines. Just make it snug and focus on making it even. Then hit it with the heat gun. Take your time and don’t melt it. It will shrink and look great.
I’ve got videos up about recovering, covering, and lacquering tweed. I’ll try and get one up soon about making repairs and about restoration.
Thank you for making this. I’ve been building custom cabs for people lately and this video has helped me immensely with my quality control.
I still can’t get non-nylon, non-fender style grills like Orange/Basketweave or Marshall-Style to shrink with a heat gun even after spraying with water. Am I doing something wrong?
Do you have a print out on how to do the end corners?
I hope to learn the way how to Curved Grill Cloth Installation like Zeppelin Wireless.
Ned Flanders knows his sh*t!
Okally-dokaly on the compliments, neighbor!
Hi, thanks for the video. In what power do you have the Heat Gun, is it on 1 or 2?
Have you ever removed vintage fender grill cloth and re-installed it on a new (NOT CRUMBLING) baffle board successfully? From what I understand Fender installed the cloths by placing the cloth on a frame and stretching it pretty taught and then the baffle was placed on top of that and pressed down into it while secured with staples. I have a vintage 1965 pro reverb that I want to put a stronger modern baffle in to hold more heavier modern speakers and honestly want to keep the cloth original as it is quite aged and is a big part of the look of the amp. Know of anyone who has done this or can point me in the right direction?
I'd build a replacement baffle out of void free baltic birch. Mojotone makes a good looking "aged" blackface grill cloth. Just stash the original baffle and cloth if you ever sell it. Thanks for watching!
Outstanding! Can I get a link to get that grill clothes?
Here's a good source: www.mojotone.com/cabinets/cabinet-parts-hardware/grillcloth
What color did you use for the small front panel? I need to replace the grill on a 63-64 bandmaster head (with black knobs) and I want to do it as original as posible. Thank you! Love your videos
ampwares.com/amplifiers/fender/bandmaster/fender-blonde-bandmaster/
The tweed stuff usually gets oxblood with a gold stripe. www.mojotone.com/Fender-Style-Oxblood-w-Gold-Stripe-Grill-Cloth-36-W
That bandmaster had either oxblood (w/no stripe) www.mojotone.com/Fender-Style-Oxblood-Grill-Cloth-36W
Or it had wheat:
www.mojotone.com/Fender-Style-Beige-Brown-Grill-Cloth-36-W
Does it have smooth tolex or rough?
@@FreshOldSchool but which one did you use on the video?
For the blonde head I used the wheat cloth and for the two tweed cabinets I used the oxblood with gold stripe. You said you wanted accurate so that Ampwares link should tell you which is right for your application. They used all three over differnt years of production. Hope that helps!
@@nicolasvera9537
@@FreshOldSchool mine comes with beige brown with gold stripe, but the one mojotone sells is too yellow!
Hi! Great videos!! Would you mind telling me what type of stapler and staples you use? Thanks again!
I’ll have to take a look. It’s just a standard inexpensive pneumatic stapler. I use different size staples for different jobs. 1/4” will work for grill cloth. Hope that helps!
@@FreshOldSchool thanks for the help greatly appreciated
Where can i source this grill cloth, please? Thanks for sharing the amazing video ❤
Mojotone sells it
Is it a whole bunch of Universal Audio LA-2As in the background???
Ampex 351s. It’s one of the earliest 8-track 1” tape machines ever. 1959.
The salt and pepper grill cloth from tubes and more says it's made from treated paper. I have a feeling that it won't shrink like the others. Do you know anything about that or have any tips?
It is possible to dampen it ever so slightly by misting it with water. I wouldn't soak it. Just ever so slightly damp. Then hit it with the heat gun. Patience is key. Don't over soak or overheat.
@@FreshOldSchool thank you!
ARE THE BOARDS YOU ARE USING 1/2 INCH PLYWOOD ? I AM JUST LEARNING HOW TO MAKE THEM. ANY HELP WOULD BE THANKFUL.
I use 1/2” Baltic birch plywood for speaker baffles. It is made with 13 layers and the voids have been patched to make it void-free. It’s the gold standard for resonance. It’s the kind of thing you have to get from a specialty wood supplier in your area. Probably won’t be in Lowes or Home Depot. Woodcraft should have it if you don’t have a cabinet building supply house close by.
I may be a little slow here but what does the heating physically do? And that effect remains when it cools down again? Thanks
The high heat causes the plastic threads to tighten and draw up. It removes all the slack and unevenness left after stretching. It stays forever. The trick is to not over heat and melt any threads. Stretching alone will only get it so tight and even. So the idea is to get it lined up and moderately stretched and then heat it the rest of the way. Then you’ve got a pro installation.
@@FreshOldSchool brilliant - thanks for sharing your craft.
I ordered some bamboo for a mesa cab
The bamboo is not straight. It's really stiff and dry feeling and scared to work with it. Took a month to get here. Should I return it?
You have to soak the bamboo grill material in hot water for 15 minutes or so, then apply it. It will shrink as it dries and become tight.
@Utah Prepper Awesome I think I found that tip from somebody else it worked in the cabinet looks phenomenal!
@@Mesa3077Boogie Adding a little bit of glycerin to the water also helps a lot. I use this technique for replacing pressed-in sheet cane on chair seats.
Can you share the model number of the staple gun you are using.
Thx!
It’s just a cheap one off Amazon. They make better but this one has held up for 15+ years so….
How many Watts is that heat gun? Or make/model#? On a previous build, I have accidentally melted the grill cloth using a heat gun .. horrors! >:-( I wonder if a hair dryer would work?
Not sure of the make and model. It’s hot tho and could totally melt the plastic grill cloth. That’s why I keep a distance and keep it moving. I’ve melted a few but once you go that far a few times you find out what NOT to do. Haha.
@@FreshOldSchool Well, it seemed to work well for me! Thank you for posting. I can't help but wonder why I've never heard of this technique before :-)
Are they actually designed to be heat shrunk? Or is it more of a trick?
Great question. Not sure actually. It's just how it's done. It's impossible to stretch it and make it look perfect without the heat!
@@FreshOldSchool I’ve been making it happen with a combination of glue, staples and stretching… but man am I looking for an easier way lol. I need to experiment with the heat gun technique. Thanks for putting this out. 👍🏻
@@DanielPelletier1 The two main tricks are using your weight to fix the first leading edge and then not trying to make it too tight and make it wavy but make it snug and tighten with heat. Just don't melt it with the heat gun. That's easy to do if you're not careful. Take your time and it will shrink and be even and perfect. Thanks for watching!
Safety Goggles are for protecting the hair now?
Haha. At least I was wearing steel toed socks.
Clamps