Building an amp!

[Cagey]

Very interesting. I went and found a bunch of YouTube videos showing that amp off, and it's a surprising little beastie. Gets me thinkin'...

 

[MN_JDTele]

cranked it drives like a mofo.  very impressive for such a small amp.  Soon as I finish the head up, I'll post some video

 

[Wana_make_a_guitar]

Hey, what kind of a jig did you use to make those fingerjoints, i'm trying to use fingerjoints for a school project using a bandsaw and chisels and can't help thinking there is is a much easier, accurate way.

 

[swarfrat]

firefly's are cool. The only reason I haven't started one is I'm kinda stuck in the middle of an amp project (work and life interferring) which is a self split EL-84 design.

 

[mayfly]

I want to do one as a rack unit that drives a dummy load.  All in a 1RU rack.  That would be kinda neat.

 

[swarfrat]

yeah - firefly into a reactive dummy - wouldn't have to be much. In fact,  my head hurts when I try to think it through, but I suspect you might could (actually I know you can, because its been done) do a transformerless dummy.

 

[MN_JDTele]

Hey, what kind of a jig did you use to make those fingerjoints, i'm trying to use fingerjoints for a school project using a bandsaw and chisels and can't help thinking there is is a much easier, accurate way.

Both were done with a dado blade in the table saw.  I made a jig using a table saw sled and some scrap lumber to do the 3/4" joints.  For the smaller amp head joints, I used an adjustable jig deisgned for cutting finger joints.  I know they make router jigs for cutting them perfect every time, but what's the fun in that! 

 

[Cagey]

Both were done with a dado blade in the table saw.  I made a jig using a table saw sled and some scrap lumber to do the 3/4" joints.  For the smaller amp head joints, I used an adjustable jig deisgned for cutting finger joints.  I know they make router jigs for cutting them perfect every time, but what's the fun in that!  

Nice thing about the router jig is you can do dovetails, which look even cooler, especially once they're rounded over.

I have one of these units...

Which is arguably the best "portable" unit there is. You can also do dado and finger joints in various sizes depending on the templates. But, make no mistake - they're no panacea. It's still pretty easy to screw things up.

 

[MN_JDTele]

I thought about dove tails, but like the looks of these  :icon_thumright:

 

[Cagey]

The finger joints are not only very strong, they're very attractive as well, no question about that. I was just pointing out that dovetail jigs aren't the crude things they used to be. First one I had years ago I suspect was part of an ill-conceived communist plot to turn the entire US inventory of hardwoods into sawdust and firewood on my dime <grin>

 

[Patrick from Davis]

To chime in on the AX84 stuff, I built a High Octane and it is an impressive little beast.  I did find that the UF (UF4007, or UF5408) series of diodes made the rectifier sound much less fizzy.  Really neat to see how loud such a small amp is.
Patrick

 

[MN_JDTele]

The finger joints are not only very strong, they're very attractive as well, no question about that. I was just pointing out that dovetail jigs aren't the crude things they used to be. First one I had years ago I suspect was part of an ill-conceived communist plot to turn the entire US inventory of hardwoods into sawdust and firewood on my dime <grin>

LOL!!  I won't show a picture of the amount of scrap lumber I made setting up both jigs 

 

[MN_JDTele]

Sad to say, I still have not finished the head unit for my amp  :tard:  Once spring/summer hit, I moved on to other projects.  Getting cold here in MN again, and I have decided it is time.  I needed a special jack to split between 8ohm and 4ohm output when running one cab or two, so I ordered that this afternoon.  Should have the wiring done this weekend, and hopefully get back at the cab for the amp.  It is glued, routered, and sanded...just need to drill holes to mount the amp in the enclosure, and square away the plexi glass for the front.  Thinking a 15watt head and 2-4x10 cabs might be in order this winter  LOL

Jack - 1/4" Mono, 2 Conductor, Transfer Circuit

 

[MN_JDTele]

Good god I need to finish this.  I have had the head cab routered and sanded for almost a year now!  Just need to drill out the mounting holes for the amp and varnish.  Having made this post, I now plan to finish this in the very near future!!  This weekend is looking fairly open.  Too many other projects taking up my time!

 

[fdesalvo]

Man, gorgeous work!  My neighbeor back home had a wood shop he'd let me use if I brought my own lumber.  Used to make cabs for my amps, but your work is so much nicer!