And the last and most important thing ever with woodworking, is MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE.

It is reallllly easy to get confused and cut the sides or top an inch too short. I was working really fast on the cratehead and i actually did that yesterday. Luckily, like i said, i was building out of trash so it was no loss, i just cut them down to the size i needed for the sides and cut new top/bottom bits.

But yeah, you will want to be taking more time than i was yesterday. Take it slow, take it careful, measure twice, cut once. Be extremely careful working with powertools, don't allow any distractions, don't talk to people while you are working(unless you are talking to someone who is helping you do the work!)

You can save yourself many many headaches, just by working slowly and thinking everything through as you go.

I just keep on thinking of shit you are going to need to know.

If you are going to try to make the cab a tight fit around the chassis, make sure that you account for tolex thickness when you do your measurements.

When i built the Cratebox, i knew i was going to paint it, so i gave myself a little extra on the inside dimensions, but paint isn't so thick, so it wasn't a ton. I think it was 1/8 total or something? Before paint, the thing fit in loose and easy. After it was painted, the chassis fit was VERY tight, and actually scraped the paint a bit on the inside.

Tolex is a lot thicker than paint, so make sure you give yourself enough space. (i.e. you want to think of the chassis not as say 19" wide, but as 19 1/8" or 19.25" wide or whatever)

LAST thing. I was just looking at a tape measure, and 5/8" is fine for a smaller head, but on a bigger chassis like yours you might want to go 3/4" or 1" thick, just for visual/scale purposes.

As a point of reference most commercial guitar cabs are usually about 3/4".

On a big/tall/wide head the 5/8" might look a little thin. When you look at what is available for wood, you will probably be able to see what looks "right" fairly easily.

And of course, if you go with 3/4" just make sure that you adjust the measurements for the thicker wood, before you buy/cut anything.

Also, you should seriously consider covering it with astroturf.

Now the only question that remains is... Purple or black tolex?

I'm not cool enough for astro turf

Depends on what shade of purple and what colors your chassis and faceplate are.

Purple tolex can look sweet, but i personally like it most when it is the darker bluer purple, rather than the more pinkish/pastel purple.

I think its either going to be plum or black... most "purple" tolex is too neon 80' looking for me, plum seems to be what I'd be interested... I think I'm favoring black right now though...

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/sho ... olex/page2

that's kinda nice... matches my all black 2x12 too...

piss poor cuts = A LOT of sanding Somethings you just learn the hard way...

Do you feel that you will emerge victorious?

I may have not one this battle but I will win the war... I scraped the initial attempt but I learned enough to be able to get it right this time... I also have enough wood left over that I'm not losing a lot of money by having to buy a little more

What are you using for a saw?

Just a jigsaw similar to the one below. I underestimated the necessity of making a really good straight cut and overestimated my ability to make a decently straight cut

Ah yes, it can be difficult to do these sorts of cuts with a jigsaw. If you have clamps and patience, i would suggest clamping a 2x4 to the wood and using it as a straightedge guide.

Actually, it is often easier (for me) to make these types of cut with almost anything other than a jigsaw. The jigsaw blade kind of moves around too much for my liking. Depending on how you guide the saw(and what you are cutting), the blade can also bend slightly and make a cut that is weirdly convex and not very useful.

Actually, i might be inclined in that case, to use a normal old handsaw. Ideally with a miter box, but alternately with a 2x4 clamped as a guide, or just with careful pencil markings and taking the cuts slowly and carefully.

Fuck cutting 2x4s with a jigsaw. At least, any sort of long piece somewhere in the middle. Unless that shit is clamped down it is like trying to cut a diving board someone is jumping on.

Bouncy bouncy!

might have been easier with a blowtorch and/or a goat to make a straighter cut.

Does the jigsaw not have an edge guide?

It does but its not long enough...

Pics coming soon... right tools make the job quite easy

As an addition I have 4 sheets of 8x4 18mm ply in my "workshop"