If you can do grill cloth, you can do tolex. It's not very hard. There are several people on here who can help you out with the corners, which are the only tricky part. And they aren't hard once you know the secret.

"You can't tell where you're going if you don't know where you've been"

Psssttt...someone tell me the secret to corners. I'll keep it under my hat, promise.

Corey_Y wrote:

Psssttt...someone tell me the secret to corners. I'll keep it under my hat, promise.

It's more a technique than a secret.

Here's a thread I did to try to show how to do it. I should have used more pictures. Note Rough tolex is MUCH MUCH easier to use than the smooth stuff in the demo.

https://surfguitar101.com/forums/topic/16565/?page=1#p217504

"You can't tell where you're going if you don't know where you've been"

Helpful info Chris, thanks man. I'll have to have a good sit and think about whether or not I want to try laying tolex on something I want to keep for my first try. I might need to build something else small and practice on it first.

My chassis and guts are coming back to me on Monday, so I'll at least be able to make some progress getting everything roughly assembled and tested.

I've not seen those pix. The idea of pinching the corners may well beat my doing two diagonal overlapping cuts with a single edge razor blade to get that edge seam. I use pinching the corners together on the back plate panels. Then I cut them with a good pair of scissors forcing the edges together tight. I also have a long wooden wedge with rounded corners that I use to force the Tolex into tight places. I then use the blunt end to hammer the seams together. That works surprisingly well. 10-4 on letting the adhesive dry. And use the real thing.

Here are a couple of pix of my special "Tolexing tools." The wood right angle is used to trim the side pieces offs at the same preset point on every panel. An indexing straight edge so to speak.

Reverbs,

ed

Traditional........speak softly and play through a big blonde amp. Did I mention that I still like big blonde amps?

I have similar tools Eddie - a bike tire lever for tight spaces and inside corners. My blue ruler lines up perfectly to cut off the excess - I just need to line it up for each one with another block, but the same idea. I like yours better - I may have to construct one.

I saw the pinched corners trick on a youtube video of a guy recovering a Hammond cabinet.

I've tried 3 kinds of tolex glue. I bought the "real" thing from Mojotone, and I've tried Dap Weldwood contact adhesive, both the normal, and water based. I actually prefer the water based Weldwood over the other two. I can buy it everywhere, and it isn't smelly, and I think it works better than the stinky stuff in the long run. I bought a case of cheap chip brushes at harbor frieght for like $8 (each brush ends up costing less than .25$) and I use a new brush each time. Oh, and I cut out the material with a drywall straightedge, that way everything is square a true to start with -

"You can't tell where you're going if you don't know where you've been"

This post isn't meant to be the definitive answer but rather a general answer to all who question whether this is right for them to try. The link I have provided is a quick overview of the process. I'm going to list components and prices and then a few statements that aren't covered by the video. First: Surfy Bear kit, $62 ( all prices USD), Amplified parts order:
P-RMOD-4AB3C1B horizontal mount tank, $18.50, 3 P-K314-1-A knobs $4.95, S-H273 cable $3.50, p-H261-set Fender handle if desired $6.75, shipping for order $12.00, 12v power adapter from Amazon or ebay $10 plus shipping, Low temp solder for electronics, I used RadioShack .032 diameter 60/40 rosin core solder around $8 a roll. Carling 15 amp toggle switch $7, pilot lamp of your choice $5, total: $142.70
The enclosure can be almost anything as you have seen in this thread. This time I used a free dead power supply from a computer. Tools needed: pencil tip soldering iron, vom meter, wire crimpers, needle nose pliers, diagaonal nose pliers, drill and some bits, a few screwdrivers, measuring tools. Make sure you understand soldering before attempting this. When installing the jacks for the tank cables and guitar inputs, make sure they don't short out between the insulators provided on them. Decide if you only want 12 volts inside the enclosure. You can do this by using the 12v. receptacle on the enclosure and only plugging the 12v adapter to it. Be careful of your sequence of operations so all parts can be assembled after they are soldered together. The 12 volt receptacle is one that needs attention because of where the nut is. Layout and measuring before doing anything else is very important. Once again, this isn't comprehensive, just an overview.

Last edited: Apr 17, 2016 16:20:03

Thank you, Eddie. I believe what you are referring to is my 1968 Taco model 44 mini bike but I have done go karts before and have one to build from scratch later this year. If it has wheels and engines, I've been involved with it.

I got my FET Reverb circuit board back from getting wired up. Got it all hooked up, not in a box yet, and it sounds great! I am really impressed and satisfied. Now I've got to hurry up, get it mounted in the box I made and finish it all up.

By the time I get mine together I'll be so excited I'll probably end up throwing it in a cereal box!

Cheers,
Jeff

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