Thiele Cab

[faramir]

Something a little different. Decided to build a Mesa Thiele clone for my mini rectifier after I got a good deal on some baltic birch on marketplace. Just did the tolex today for the first time. All in all wasn't too bad to do after watching a bunch of videos. Corners turned out ok, but will cover them anyway for protection. Still have to build the grille, unfortunately I didn't have enough plywood for that.

 

[derevaun]

Nice! What speaker are you planning for it?

 

[faramir]

Probably an Eminence EM-12 unless I can find an EVM12L for a reasonable price.

 

[faramir]

Got the grille done.

 

[spi]

looks great! can you share a tutorial video (or more than one) that you found helpful?

 

[faramir]

I watched a bunch of different stuff but Uncle Doug's tolex videos were probably the most helpful. This is one of them, should link you to the rest in the series in the comments. I also had a really beat up old Thiele cab I was able to use to see how it was constructed.

I will say, constructing the grille frame was probably the most difficult part because there is very little room around the speaker. Also, you have to cut a port hole in it. Having a router circle jig was a must and even then it took me two attempts to get right.

 

[faramir]

Also, I did try to do the Mesa leather corners. I found them very difficult to do, and since I don't love the look significantly more than metal, I just went with metal. One trick I came up with to put the countersink in the right spot: buy an extra corner, and pound the countersink flat. You can use that one as a template to mark and drill the holes for the rest.