Thiele Cab

faramir

faramir

Active member
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.
 

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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.


 
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.
 
Uncle Doug's is probably the best Tolexing video I have seen. Tolexing cabs gets easier with practise! And using actual Tolex makes the job easier too. A lot of vinyls designed for upholstery are too thick and makes covering a cab much harder than it needs to be. I also prefer to use the smelly contact glue over the water based one because the thinners in the smelly contact evaporate much faster than the water based glue does. I have a garage which I can open at each end to let a breeze through which helps me stay healthy.

I love building cabs but the tolex is the part i enjoy the least. That's a really nice cab BTW! That's how I used to make mine before I got a table saw.
 
HamishR said:
Uncle Doug's is probably the best Tolexing video I have seen. Tolexing cabs gets easier with practise! And using actual Tolex makes the job easier too. A lot of vinyls designed for upholstery are too thick and makes covering a cab much harder than it needs to be. I also prefer to use the smelly contact glue over the water based one because the thinners in the smelly contact evaporate much faster than the water based glue does. I have a garage which I can open at each end to let a breeze through which helps me stay healthy.

I love building cabs but the tolex is the part i enjoy the least. That's a really nice cab BTW! That's how I used to make mine before I got a table saw.
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Thanks! I used MOD Electronics tolex glue which I got from Amplified parts. It was easy to use and didn't have any smell but definitely did not clean up with water. Lighter fluid did take it off without harming the tolex in my case.
 
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