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You know how when you watch those home reno shows on HGTV, they demo a wall and find a problem, and then they have to call the home owner to tell them it is going to be a really expensive fix?
I did the amplifier version of this.
I decided to replace the cabinet on my Fishman Artist, which was getting torn and frayed, despite my being very conscientious when taking it out of the house and not banging it on anything. (Cheap-a** vinyl covering on an otherwise excellent amp.)
My plan was to replace the sides, back and bottom with 5/8 inch Baltic Birch plywood, which would be strong and attractive. First I did take the cab apart, which was very difficult, because it was glued together like nobody's business. I was left with an top and front piece which held the speaker and wiring rig.
I needed to trim off a little bit of the edge of these panels, because there was some extra material there (tongue and groove construction). I decided to run it through the table saw. Big mistake.
My table saw is called a SawStop, which has a module that monitors voltage across the blade and will trigger the release of a spring-loaded brake into the blade if something grounds it, like a finger. I did not realize there was a little shred of aluminum foil shielding on the wood piece, and when it contacted the saw blade, the brake engaged. This ruined the blade and brake.
Cost of birch plywood: $40. Cost to replace the saw blade and brake: $147. Experience value: priceless.
(In retrospect I probably just should have recovered it with Tolex.)
I will post some more pics when I (hopefully) get further down the road.
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01-08-2019 03:03 PM
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I've done s*** like that before. You end up thinking: <What the f was I thinking?>
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ps - While you're at it, can you tell what kind of tweeter they use? Something of their own creation?
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Originally Posted by Woody Sound
I will say it is a very sturdy cabinet--well put together, and ordinarily would not fall apart even with a fair amount of abuse. The electronics are well-done as well. I only hope I can finish constructing the new cabinet, because I destroyed the old MDF pieces taking it apart.
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I wish Sawstop would do something like what Bosch did for their ReAxxx saw. Unfortunately, the Sawstop/Bosch lawsuit killed the Reaxx line. As far as your problem, join the club. As one who grew up with tools and have done my own home remodeling, I've lost count of the boneheaded and subsequently expensive mistakes I've made over the past 50 years. For example, routing the hinges on the wrong side of the door, accidentally reversing the hot/cold lines after a backbreaking under the house soldering job, laying out and installing a utility closet without enough depth for my washing machine necessitating buying a smaller front loader so I could close the doors Blah,Blah, Blah
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Hey Doc,
How many fingers did you have when you woke up this morning.........and how many do you have now? Ten you say, sounds like you're having a damn fine day. $187 ain't nothing man.
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Originally Posted by rob taft
And I know from experience any project involving tools (applies to guitars as well) will result in unexpected complications, take 3 times as long as planned, and require a half dozen trips to a woodworking/home improvement store.
You know how to tell the good cabinet makers from the bad? It's not that they make fewer mistakes, it's that they know how to cover them up much better.
Originally Posted by whiskey02
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Working around table saws and band saws will definitely focus the mind. I worked in a piano shop where we repaired and rebuild, duh, pianos. Cutting out a new piano pin block--10-18 ply hard maple--requires a good, sharp saw and a keen eye.
You can cut off digits in the blink of an eye. The maple goes through the band saw like butter, man.
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Too late now but for $50 + shipping both ways Fishman would have recovered it with the new material.
My Mini quit (out of warranty) + the covering was beat up. For under $100 total it was replaced.
I considered building a new box for my Mini before it quit, but with Fishmans great customer service there is no need.
Sawstop blade and brake replacement way cheaper than missing fingers.
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Many of us have had problems trying to resolve other real or perceived problems. Mine often occur when I'm rushed or distracted.. actually my usual state ha ha. Chalk it up to experience nothing ventured nothing gained.
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Rushed and distracted are dangerous states. "The hurrier I go, the behinder I get!".
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Originally Posted by BBGuitar
Here's a prior upgrade I did, to give you an idea of what I'm planning:
Originally Posted by Woody Sound
Originally Posted by sgosnell
I think the desire to clean up the edges as quickly as possible with a rather unorthodox technique contributed to the mistake. I started out with a handplane, which is how I finally removed the tongue part of the edge, even though it took a long time. I could have used a belt sander as well. (Come to think of it a router will clean up an edge like gangbusters.) But a table saw is made for one thing--sawing boards straight and true. Any deviation from that purpose is likely to lead to disappointment.
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My Fender Sidekick 65 was too heavy for this old body so I did some surgery. I cut down the amplifier chassis to as small as I could get it. Then built the box. Spray on truck bed liner is the coating.
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Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
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Originally Posted by BBGuitar
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My first exposure to table saws was the job I had while in college. It was a cabinet shop that built retail display cabinets -- so we would make a lot of the ugly bastards. One of the operations required using a twelve inch industrial radial arm saw with a twelve inch dado set that would cut an inch and-a-half wide dado. (Two 12" circular saws with six chipper blades sandwiched between them.) When you turned this thing on the noise it made could only be described as pure evil. And when it started cutting, it was pure mayhem.
It only took about 6 seconds of this thing "singing" its way through a 2X4 to realize it needed to be given absolute respect. This was my introduction to woodworking 50 years ago and what I learned from that saw has left me with all my fingers fully intact despite thousands of hours of using cutting tools.
(Now the four spindle shaper with an 1.5" arbor and collars, well suffice to say we left the building whenever we turned it after a new shaper set-up.)
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It ain’t got no body, but it’s on its way...
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Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
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To late for this, but did the thought ever cross your mind to expand it slightly to substitute a 10" speaker?
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Originally Posted by Woody Sound
Seriously, I'm sure it would sound good, but this speaker/cabinet combo is pretty darn good, in fact VERY LOUD. So I don't really see a need for it. If necessary I could run it into an external cabinet.
I'm just doing this for the aesthetics.
Alnico 2 vs Alnico 5 tone
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