Built Myself An Orange-Cab-A-Like 1x12
Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2013 10:57 pm
Hey all!..after buying a Tiny Terror and gigging/rehearsing with it, I decided a 1x12 cab would be a spiffing idea to accompany the little beauty!
I (as usual) couldnt stump up enough dollar (£218) for a new Orange PPC112, so i thought Let's build a fecker! A friend had a surplus Celestion 60W G12 Vintage 30 in 16 ohm kicking around after a cab build that never happened, so after £40 changed hands i had my speaker...
I popped down to Wickes Diy, and picked up an 18mm ply board for £10 which was big enough to make all 4 sides without too much waste..
My plans were based partly on my Fender Super 60, and also the Orange PPC112..and it had to be Orange-A-Like!!
I was going to take the time to dovetail the joints, after finding out on Youtube how to do it using home made jigs etc, but decided against it, as no one would see once covered with material...so i simply countersunk and glued/screwed all pieces together, and then routed the edges..The PPC112 has an angled lip on the front, so to re-create that i used a table saw and cut 45 degree angles in some maple offcuts i had..Getting the angles to butt-up and glue into place was tricky, but i got there in the end..
Stage 1 The Build..
A bit of filling and sanding was needed to get everything level and smooth, and i even used a coat of sanding sealer to stop any glue soaking in..it was worth the effort to get it as smooth as possible..a quick blast with a can of matt black spray sorted the inside out...
Then onto the covering!!
I settled on Orange Leatherette, purely as i was having a hard time locating proper Orange tolex, and also to keep cost down, as it was only £6.50 for 1 metre x 137cm thru Ebay
I have no problems using it as its fairly tough, and have used it twice before on other cabs ive made, plus you get plenty of fabric incase of usual feck-ups 
..
Stage 2 The Cover-up..
After cutting the fabric down so that i'd have a 2" flap all round, and a 3" flap for the front, i got to work spraying a section at a time, and folding the edges and rolling the sides with a rolling pin just incase there were any air bubbles...i then stretched the fabric flaps into the inside of the box, and stapled the edges...
The corners are a tricky thing to get right, but i found if you place two pieces over one another, and then make a diagonal cut, you can then peel away the two portions you dont need, leaving a (usually) perfect seam..almost invisible ha ha!! If youre having a go yourself, check out YouTube for tips, and try on scrap fabric first...
Stage 3 It's A Bit Baffling!..
I decided on an open back cab, due to limitations with material, and also because i usually build closed back cabs so i thought id do this one differently..
The speaker baffle i cut from surplus MDF, and used a router jig to cut the hole, before blasting it with matt black...I had to make small battens to screw the upper and lower back plates onto, and also blasted them with a bit of matt black to tidy things up..
Stage 4 Grillcloth..
Hhmmm what could i use for grillcloth, that would be cheap enough and have the same sort-of-looks-a bit-like the PPC112?..HESSIAN!! 1 Metre x 54" for £2.19..Ebay bargain again!!..I even steam ironed it flat, and then easily stretched over the speaker baffle, before folding and stapling it along the edges..tickety-fuckin-boo!!
Here's what it looks like compared with the PPC112...Whadya think??..
Stage 5 Assembly..
Fitted speaker, wired up to a spare 1/4" jack, and pre-drilled and screwed back plates on using jappaned black screws...the hardware corners, handle etc came from Ebay again, bargains..
Stage 6 The Reveal..
Well it sounds fab, seems really loud even on 7watts (maybe its something to do with the 16 ohms?)...looks the business..and all in it's cost me £38.66 for materials, £40.00 for the speaker, so £78.66 total which is a saving of £140...happy happy joy joy
Cheers...Johnboy...
I (as usual) couldnt stump up enough dollar (£218) for a new Orange PPC112, so i thought Let's build a fecker! A friend had a surplus Celestion 60W G12 Vintage 30 in 16 ohm kicking around after a cab build that never happened, so after £40 changed hands i had my speaker...
I popped down to Wickes Diy, and picked up an 18mm ply board for £10 which was big enough to make all 4 sides without too much waste..
My plans were based partly on my Fender Super 60, and also the Orange PPC112..and it had to be Orange-A-Like!!
I was going to take the time to dovetail the joints, after finding out on Youtube how to do it using home made jigs etc, but decided against it, as no one would see once covered with material...so i simply countersunk and glued/screwed all pieces together, and then routed the edges..The PPC112 has an angled lip on the front, so to re-create that i used a table saw and cut 45 degree angles in some maple offcuts i had..Getting the angles to butt-up and glue into place was tricky, but i got there in the end..
Stage 1 The Build..
A bit of filling and sanding was needed to get everything level and smooth, and i even used a coat of sanding sealer to stop any glue soaking in..it was worth the effort to get it as smooth as possible..a quick blast with a can of matt black spray sorted the inside out...
Then onto the covering!!
I settled on Orange Leatherette, purely as i was having a hard time locating proper Orange tolex, and also to keep cost down, as it was only £6.50 for 1 metre x 137cm thru Ebay
I have no problems using it as its fairly tough, and have used it twice before on other cabs ive made, plus you get plenty of fabric incase of usual feck-ups ..Stage 2 The Cover-up..
After cutting the fabric down so that i'd have a 2" flap all round, and a 3" flap for the front, i got to work spraying a section at a time, and folding the edges and rolling the sides with a rolling pin just incase there were any air bubbles...i then stretched the fabric flaps into the inside of the box, and stapled the edges...
The corners are a tricky thing to get right, but i found if you place two pieces over one another, and then make a diagonal cut, you can then peel away the two portions you dont need, leaving a (usually) perfect seam..almost invisible ha ha!! If youre having a go yourself, check out YouTube for tips, and try on scrap fabric first...
Stage 3 It's A Bit Baffling!..
I decided on an open back cab, due to limitations with material, and also because i usually build closed back cabs so i thought id do this one differently..
The speaker baffle i cut from surplus MDF, and used a router jig to cut the hole, before blasting it with matt black...I had to make small battens to screw the upper and lower back plates onto, and also blasted them with a bit of matt black to tidy things up..
Stage 4 Grillcloth..
Hhmmm what could i use for grillcloth, that would be cheap enough and have the same sort-of-looks-a bit-like the PPC112?..HESSIAN!! 1 Metre x 54" for £2.19..Ebay bargain again!!..I even steam ironed it flat, and then easily stretched over the speaker baffle, before folding and stapling it along the edges..tickety-fuckin-boo!!
Here's what it looks like compared with the PPC112...Whadya think??..
Stage 5 Assembly..
Fitted speaker, wired up to a spare 1/4" jack, and pre-drilled and screwed back plates on using jappaned black screws...the hardware corners, handle etc came from Ebay again, bargains..
Stage 6 The Reveal..
Well it sounds fab, seems really loud even on 7watts (maybe its something to do with the 16 ohms?)...looks the business..and all in it's cost me £38.66 for materials, £40.00 for the speaker, so £78.66 total which is a saving of £140...happy happy joy joy
Cheers...Johnboy...
