5F1 Cabinet Construction - Pre-Build Questions

[Wittgenstein]

I am about to start construction of my first amp cabinet and I am looking for any advise to make the project go a bit smoother. I have a bit of general woodworking knowledge, mostly from my high school shop class and Norm Abrams. I do not have access to a nice shop however so I have just the basic tools. I have someone that will cut the boards to size for me luckily. I bought a half blind dovetail jig from Harbor Freight (Item #34102 Central Machinery Dovetail Jig (Halfblind) $34.99 ($28 after 20% coupon found here) ), which is identical to the more expensive Woodstock W1099 Dovetail Jig. The only difference is the HF model came with a worthless manual, whereas the Woodstock manual is very clear and describes all of the necessary steps to cut HB dovetails (PDF of manual attached below). More info here (thewoodshop.20m.com)

I finally was able to dial in the right bit depth and fence setting to make well fitting joints after a few hours of cutting test boards. I followed the directions in the manual to create a small 4" square practice cabinet and I am feeling a bit more comfortable with that whole processes. I plan on doing one more test box before cutting into my expensive pine. Viewing build pictorials like this one from Rob DiStefano, has really helped me as well. I am using DualTones cab plans (attached below) for all my cuts, but I have a few questions:

1.) Since I'm using half blind dovetails instead of finger joints or through dovetails, wouldn't I need to adjust the width of the side boards to compensate for the "drawer" front and backs that overlap the sides. With the depth that I have the router bit set, the pockets are just below half way up the 3/4 inch top and bottom boards. Would I be correct in subtracting 3/4" from the length of the side boards (11-1/4" instead of 12").

2.) The front of the cab has a slight angle to it, 6-1/2" on top and 7-1/2" on bottom. What is the best way to achieve this? Should I cut the sides to size including the angle before dovetailing and gluing up the cab, or should I just make both 7-1/2" long, build and glue the cab, and then shave off the angle (I have seen both methods used).

3.) It looks like the front "narrow" panels are recessed into the cab. Any suggestions on an easy way of achieving this?

[RWood]

Sorry to see that no one has replied to this.
I'm not a cabinet maker but my friend Dave C. is, and here are some shots that he took while making a narrow panel Princeton. These will show you how he cut for and recessed the front strips.

Dave used finger joints, as you see, and we've both used half blind dovetails on other projects. These are easier to cut (dado blade on a table saw) and easier to measure for. And if you're covering the cabinet you don't see the benefit of the half-blinds anyway. But since you have the jig, you can certainly use them but to answer your question about measurements, you'll need to trial-and-error that unless someone here chimes.

Okay, here's the raw box:



Now sanded:



This one is after the sides have been angled but he's notching for the narrow panels:



Which comes out like this



Then the panel strips get glued in





more in a minute.......

[RWood]

Sides have been rounded over; top and bottom are about to



Now have been, and with baffle-to-be



Which is now cut



and then painted



Now with a tweed jacket



some shellac and a l'il amplifier





I hope this gives you a few ideas,


RWood

[Chuck H]

long dead thread, but... Sweeeet!

[Wittgenstein]

Thanks RWood for the pics. I know that I stumbled upon that thread somewhere but I could not find it. Using a table saw to cut out the panel strips seems like a good way to go. I have been searching for a good low price used table saw on craigslist and the local paper. It looks like he/you built a square box and then cut in the angles. Was this also with the table saw? It seems like it would be easier to cut the angles before making up the box...? Being my fist cab and a scratch build, I am not too concerned if I have to make it non-angled, but it would be nice to have it look as original as possible.

My goal is to have this cab built by Christmas so I can give my nephews (8 & 10 years old) a tweed champ as their first real amp. They currently are using a cheap little $20 solid state amp that sounds terrible. I''m hoping a better tone will inspire them to stick with music. I know that if I had a nice amp when I was younger, I would have used it.

[Chuck H]

It's actually much easier to build a straight box and then cut in the slope. On a table saw you would just clamp or screw the box to a straight board at the angle you want and then run them together down the saw fence.

EDIT: You can approximate the angle degrees for the top and bottom by eye and then fine it in with an orbital sander. I do this when I don't have actual cabinet plans with degrees indicated because I don't have a compass to take an actual measurement. If done carefully it works fine. But I build very few cabinets.

[RWood]

It's actually much easier to build a straight box and then cut in the slope. On a table saw you would just clamp or screw the box to a straight board at the angle you want and then run them together down the saw fence..

Yep, that's how we did it. Don't be afraid of the angle - it is your friend. Leaving it out might just haunt you.

The big boys have 'em too:

[Chuck H]

Those might be the most numerous and prettiest finger joints I've seen. A shame to cover them with tolex

[Wittgenstein]

Update: Ok so I attempted my first half blind dovetail box recently and I though I would share my progress. I still need to cut the cab down to size, add the slanted front, cut out the baffle cleats, and make the speaker baffle and back panels. I did not glue the box up yet, so I was thinking it might be easier to cut the slanted front with the box apart and then glue it up. The dovetails came out pretty decent. The jig had the depth set just a bit too deep on the right hand side, but I will be cutting most of it out when it is cut to size. I will try to post more pictures as the build comes along.

[Chuck H]

Nice. I want a wood shop! The cabs I build are just clamped and glued. Then I drill and dowel every inch or so. As an extra measure I screw and glue a triangular inside corner support. That's what I can do with the tools I have. The dowels look pretty cool when done in walnut or oak. But I always get a kick out of good joints. And those look good.

[Wittgenstein]

Nice. I want a wood shop! The cabs I build are just clamped and glued. Then I drill and dowel every inch or so. As an extra measure I screw and glue a triangular inside corner support. That's what I can do with the tools I have. The dowels look pretty cool when done in walnut or oak. But I always get a kick out of good joints. And those look good.

Thanks! I do not have much of a wood shop however. I bought an old used craftsman 10" table saw ($70), was given an old craftsman 5HP fixed base router ($0) that looks very old but works well enough, and the Central Machinery Dovetail Machine (Item # 34102) which normally sells for around $35, but you can pick one up for $24.74 after 25% off on-line coupon code "65149244" or in-store with this printable coupon (exp. 9/30). This dovetail jig is basically the same as the one sold by Woodstock for $40 more. The Harbor Freight jig comes with worthless instructions that left me clueless on setup measurements, so I found the manual for the Woodstock jig which is much more helpful. Then all you need is the router bit (1/2-Inch Diameter 14-Degree 1/4-Inch Shank Carbide Dovetail Bit) and high precision guide bushing (7/16" O.D. Guide Bushing) ($40-$50) for the router. I might try making a finger joint jig for my table saw next time, but now that I have my jig figured out and setup, I can easily crank out more boxes.