December Birthdays 
I want to introduce you to my new Showman single 15" Tone-Ring cab build. You've probably seen similar threads like this a million times, so I hope not to bore you, but I'm so excited with how it turned out and I want to share some blonde yummyness.
I always love reading those detailed drool inducing build logs, so I guess it's my turn.
First of all, big thanks to all the people that helped me decide what path I wanna go to do in this thread.
To summarize: I got lucky enough to get hold of a '65 Showman, mechanically all original and beautiful, but with a horror Tolex job.
After a frustrating fruitless search for a usable 15" cab locally (everybody looked at me like I'm some 0crazy nerd, which maybe I am), I did these things:
- Started an exchange with Robert (Bob) from "Beaver Bottoms", to get most of the parts from him. His help was invaluable, more on this later.
- Meanwhile, so my '65 Showman would function as more than a pretty furniture and I can be calm while I gather the parts, I bought a 2*12 Carvin cab with Celestion V-30's. Pretty cheap, sounds good (this amps is just huge and amazing on anything I guess) and it doesn't hurt having some versatility with a modern, removable-back, light cab on top of the monster I'm going to build.
This was a couple of months ago, I can't imagine not having played amplified for this long, especially since I sold my unloved Blues Junior that just made everything sound like broken glass. - Ordered gold grill cloth and smooth blond Tolex from Mojotone.
- Ordered a Chicago speaker from Weber. I liked the comparison Scotstandard did a while ago, and out of a whim decided to go for it instead of the more popular California, or other choices. Can't use my ears to A/B something I can't hear, 'cos it ain't here.
- Ordered the cab plans from Paul Windsor, Dario's (Gomez) cab builder.
Simultaneously exchanging dozens of e-mails with Bob (Beaver Bottoms), who seems to be the only one who has the Tone-Ring for sale. He also had most of the other parts as well, so I naturally decided to get it all from him.
Now, Bob's service was outstanding. Aside from the wealth of info he'd given me at every step (and I mean many, long e-mails, answering every stupid question I had on every little detail, tutoring me and making me feel good and confident about this project), he ordered the hold-down assembly and legs locally, just so I can receive it all from him in one package. He wrapped all the parts in little marked plastic baggies, so it'd be easy for me to see what goes where. He even sent me nails! (for the cleats). It's not like we don't have nails here, duh, but just to show you the extent of his care, to make it as suave for me as possible. Every thing I needed hardware-wise was in that box, for a very good price. I just bought some metals from him, not even a complete cab, so I hope he made some profit.
Bob's Shipment:
Plus the 15” Tone-Ring.
To top it off, he even sent me some free goodies, just out of good will: an Inch tape measure (so It'll be easy for me to follow the plans), and a 90º square (to make things... 90º square). I was going to get those anyway, but again, it was such a thoughtful and outreaching gesture. Oh, also a cute little baggie with his Tolex and grill samples.
Clearly, he loves his customers and enthusiastic about his profession, and he wholly deserves this plug and much more.
So if you need any kind of cabinet job done - go to “Beaver Bottoms” Bob, he'll take care of you from all angles, with smile, top professionalism, and an honest dealing.
Paul's plans were no brainer to follow. The hard part is doing it well, and that's experience I guess, but good tools and plain common sense (and Bob's tips) get you a long way.
I had to compromise and do the box butt-jointed instead of finger (or dove-tail) jointed. Worked out well, it's straight and strong. I modified the sizes just a little bit to accommodate for the wood thickness I was able to find. Pine jointed-boards for sides, Plywood for back and front baffle.
Just to prove my nerdyness, I did the whole thing in 3D (that's my profession actually) with the (slightly) modified dimensions, just to see how it all works together. Overkill, I know.
90 degrees is crucial:
My long clamps contraption:
Glued, dried and nailed, the frame sits proud and straight.
Cleats glued & nailed in, bracings added for extra strength, ready for routing:
I bought a router just for this job, now I'm in love with this tool. For my next project, hopefully a Reverb unit, I'll use it with a finger-jointing jig.
Routed (I used a 3/8” round-over bit instead of the 1/2” that was used for vintage Fenders, never mind why...), and ready to cover:
I used the regular yellow contact cement instead of the more recommended water based cc. Sticky stuff, pretty hard job laying a smooth thin layer of it, and once it sticks you get no second chance. So I cut the Tolex bits oversize and trimmed them after gluing, like Bob recommended. Holes were made for the tilt back legs, handle and piggyback.
Last piece ready to be glued to the bottom:
Once the Tolex was on and pressure applied, it all flattened out.
The covering looks and feels uniform and all the lines are deliciously straight.
Hardare mounted, that was the most fun (and easy) part of course. Suddenly, it resembles a Fender:
Baffle and back parts cut:
Ready for grilling:
Assembled with Tone-Ring:
Speaker mounted:
The head was previously re-covered hideously, I had to do it right, here's the before and after:
Something strange was that the head's baffle (that the grill sits on) was not plywood, but some kind of particle board that was so old it was disintegrating. I had to restore it with tons of wood glue + lacquer + paint.
The whole shebang:
I had a blast doing it, such a rewarding feeling. Bob's help along every step was awesome. Thank you all for the inspiration to do it, I'm devoted to Surf now.
It sounds huge, louder than my 2*12, much more bottom and more top. The sound is really violent, in-your face but warm, like someone kicking you in the head with a velvet wrapped foot. I need to find some insulation to put in it, it should tame it.
Also, the speaker needs breaking in, which is hard to do in my tiny apartment. Max volume before the windows start rattling and paint begins to separate from the walls is 2.5 - 3.
But it looks amazing, takes up half of the room, and weights like a sofa.
I'm now almost out of excuses... I got my dream gear, now to make something worthwhile with it...
Last edited: Mar 24, 2012 15:50:38
Very cool! When I first looked at the photos, my first thought was, "hey, that looks just like my Showman!" I'm glad to hear it was not a coincidence!
I've tried pinning down the edges and that doesn't always work. Next time, I'll do it your way.
To paraphrase what Leo told DD - "if you approve it, then it's road worthy"... or something 
