Swollen baffle - flood

[lowell]

This is a silverface twin reverb. The baffle is pretty screwed and swollen... and warped. Clearly a victim of flooding. Speakers may very well fall out at some point. For now it's functional but not promising...Would y'all try to replace the baffle and maintain originality or just get a new cabinet? It's a glue in baffle so I imagine it's quite a pain to remove.

I found a replacement from mojo for $350 shipped. I'd imagine price wont be much different if it's repaired but the cabinet will be original.

Thoughts?

[nosaj]

This is a silverface twin reverb. The baffle is pretty screwed and swollen... and warped. Clearly a victim of flooding. Speakers may very well fall out at some point. For now it's functional but not promising...Would y'all try to replace the baffle and maintain originality or just get a new cabinet? It's a glue in baffle so I imagine it's quite a pain to remove.

I found a replacement from mojo for $350 shipped. I'd imagine price wont be much different if it's repaired but the cabinet will be original.

Thoughts?

Check with these guys they are in Marianna almost to Tallahassee.
Sour Mash Guitar Cabs

If it were me I'd pull it out trace it onto another piece of wood put the grill cloth back on. Seriously if the plywood frame is good and the baffle is shot I'd replace the baffle. You have the tools right? If not I do.


nosaj

[olddawg]

It's a Silverface... not particularly valuable or collectible. If the speakers work the baffle probably wicked up from the floor and they didn't get wet. If it were mine. I would disassemble the thing and make a new baffle from particle board or plywood, whatever they used. A circular saw and a saber/jig saw helps. Not difficult. Mostly time.

[The Dude]

I'd just replace the baffle with plywood myself. And, I wouldn't worry the least about originality.

[J M Fahey]

People worry and despair about "collectibility/Mojo/resale value" but truth is that unless it is directly associated to some Guitar God or very very famous act (so about 0.02% of them) , all others are plain old amps ...... at least in the eyes of average buyers.

Less than a week ago I read at some Forum that "it´s impossible to sell a Twin nowadays, NOBODY wants them, except maybe a couple Steel Guitar players"

About a year ago somebody mentioned getting in a Music Shop, where there were half a dozen fender amps: Super Reverb, Twin, etc.
Shop personnel complained they were taking floor space for over a year and nobody even asked about them, average Customers (90% of them young people) were interested in Tiny Terror, Egnater, Night Train, most of them modern high gain low power relatively low cost ones, not interested even in modern Fender (think Deville and such) or MB ... "old guy amps" ....

[The Dude]

I look at it like this. Collector value (if there was any), in regards to the cabinet, went out the window when the baffle got hosed. So, that is no longer part of the decision. I would base my decision on the most cost effective way to repair the problem without doing something half-assed. IMO, that is replacing the baffle only. And, while I'm at it, I'd use plywood. It's lighter, stronger, and less likely to get f'd up again. My $.02 anyway.

[Chuck H]

Collectibility hell... The amp wasn't sold with a water damaged baffle board.

As long as the baffle is removable (in some SF's they aren't and I'm not experienced enough to know which) then DEFINITELY replace it.

I agree with the dawg. If the baffle is swollen and the speakers are fine then the water was wicked up into to baffle. Otherwise the speakers would be toast too. Unless the speakers have already been replaced and mounted on the distorted baffle.?. You could probably tell if that's the case. MDF sucks up water and swells like crazy, so the situation suggested by dawg is very probable.

Don't use MDF (original material) because no one is sweating THAT particular aspect of originality Go with plywood like Dude suggested.

[Mick Bailey]

+1 on a ply baffle. You may need to make up a frame - I can't remember if the cabs on these are rebated and the baffle fitted before final assembly. Some black paint and you won't know any difference.

[teemuk]

As long as the baffle is removable (in some SF's they aren't...

This.

If the baffle is "dadoed" to the cabinet structure then only way of disassembling it is tearing the cabinet apart.

[Justin Thomas]

If the baffle is particle board and already warped, I'd remove the speaker, chassis, etc, then jus t wet the baffle so it softens, pull it out, clean the mounting channels for a new baffle, etc. As olddawg said, more of a TIME issue than difficulty or cost... I don't see why the whole cab would need to be torn apart, but I'm not that familiar with late silverface combo cabs.

Justin

[Mick Bailey]

I've never had to tear one apart. Here's how I do it: Cut out the old baffle as close to the cabinet as possible then remove the remaining material with a mortise chisel. Then measure the depth and width of the slot. I then line this out with timber, such that the new 'frame' protrudes into the cabinet by about 1.5x the thickness of the baffle board, more if it's a thin board. I then mark a line around the cabinet and rebate the framework pieces to 1/2 the thickness of the baffle board and down to the line. Now when the pieces are fitted there's a step all the way round. Cut the new baffle board to the inside dimensions of the cabinet. I then use a router to rebate the baffle board around the edge to 1/2 its thickness, and the same depth as the step in the framing. Make it a nice snug fit. Now glue in the frame and then glue in the new baffle board (remembering to do the cutouts first). The finished job positions the board exactly where it was originally.

It sounds lengthy, but in practice it's fairly quick to do. I use a router table, but table saw can be used or just do it the old fashioned way with a rebate plane (I used to do this with Record #78 plane)

Edit: Here's what it looks like in section;

[olddawg]

I wouldn't get that fancy. If the baffle was daddoed I would just cut it out flush to the cabinet sides with a saw. Use some scrap sheet metal and Gorilla tape to protect the tolex. Then glue and screw a frame out of 1.5" x 1.5" stock where the back side off the dado cut was. Spray paint it with flat black paint. Then cut and paint a new baffle out of plywood and screw it on the frame. You can probably reuse the original grill cloth and put T nuts on the front of the baffle so it can be screws on from the back side. I've done this before. Looks original if you take your time.

[lowell]

Thanks for all the input. And just to be clear I don't give 2 craps about originality. I care if it works and sounds good. That's it. Keep in mind with these amps they're still valued around here in NW FL. Like country music, aol, and stopping when a traffic light turns yellow.

[nosaj]

Thanks for all the input. And just to be clear I don't give 2 craps about originality. I care if it works and sounds good. That's it. Keep in mind with these amps they're still valued around here in NW FL. Like country music, aol, and stopping when a traffic light turns yellow.

You got that last part wrong you floor it when it's yellow.

I think it was Depeche Mode when they came here years ago they dubbed Pensacola the Redneck Rivera they should've come Memorial Day to the Beach.

nosaj

[Chuck H]

I'm with olddawg here again. But I do it differently. (I hope this isn't confusing.?.) I cut out the old baffle as close as possible, then I use an orbital sander and course paper to smooth it down flat. Then I cut the new baffle and it's speaker holes. Then I screw and glue 1"x1" rails for mounting the new baffle. If the rails interfere with speaker rims I just omit the rails in those small spaces so the frames are clear. Done it a few times this way. Easy.

EDIT: Adding a graphic if it helps.