So I cut a 4x12 in half tonight...

[warlok]

Been thinking about it for a long time because I wanted another 2x12 and have an old Carvin straight cab I don't use. It's ripped up, tried to sell/trade it loaded and empty for really cheap a few times and couldn't get rid of it. Read all the negatives from people on forums to people asking about cutting one, how it'll never sound good cause it was designed for blah, blah, blah... Nobody seems to have tried and honestly it wouldn't have stopped me anyway.. So I grabbed some measuring equipment and saws and went to cutting.. The jackplate and the handles were in the perfect spot in line with the top speakers so the top was the part to build off. Cut along the top of the bottom speaker holes. Then cut the bottom off. Like if you were sectioning a car. Went pretty straight with the cutting. Need to do some cleaning up on the edges and then re-attachment.. Fun so far.. Pics tomorrow...

[VitaminG]

interesting. I look forward to seeing (and hearing) how it turns out

[sixx_ gunner]

Doing the same thing soon. Very interested in your progress pics.

[tonemonster]

yes, this does sound interesting. looking forward to the pics.

[Ward]

Very interesting. I have an old 4x12 that would be much more useful (portable) as a 2x12, but I didn't know how it would sound...

[warlok]

I don't know how it's gonna sound. But it was wasting away in the corner so... Don't forget, I'm trying things as I go. I cut the top for the 2x12's. As you can see, there's about 2.5" above the speakers and only an inch below. So I figured why not try to cut the bottom to see if I can butt them up and even out the space. Here's some pics..
Before - Tape is where I'm cutting

Split and sectioned (bottom is removed to make space even)

The 2 pieces

The general idea if I butt them together..

Gonna clean up the ends and see if it's feasible to butt them together. If not, I can just cut the bottom flat and put it together with more space on the one side. I'll flip the jackplate and handles so the bigger space is on the bottom. But I'm trying it this way first.. Here's the photobucket array for all the pics.
http://s237.photobucket.com/albums/ff246/warlok1469/Cab Project/

[warlok]

Beer and sanding.. Theme of the night. I realized that butting the ends up was not going to happen as it was. My cuts with the circular and jigsaw left a lot to be desired. NOTE: Table saw would be ideal.. But I don't have one or the room in the garage for one.. So, I remeasured and made perfectly straight lines, and bought a belt sander. Figured sand with 40 grit till the sharpie line was gone.. Fuck me.. It worked. Had not perfect, but very acceptable mating surfaces to butt together after about 3 hours of sanding. (1/8" removed almost all the way around both surfaces.. OUCH!!). So, I decided to use silicone caulk (from my building truck/car sub box days) to seal the surfaces. When it dries and I'm less buzzed, (tomorrow) I'll glue and screw in the supporting/stiffening pieces at the inner seams. Without further ado..
Starting the sanding

I like beer.. I really do!!

See how much I had to take off..

And again.. Remember, I like beer. So sand, drink, sand, drink, etc..

After crap loads of sanding, sealing..

Clamped and waiting to dry.

And again

Cavernous innerds!!

More tomorrow when I stiffen the seams and build back up to see how it sounds while I wait on tolex.. Yay!!

[Devotee]

Looking good! I love threads like these.

[MetalMedal II]

Great work! Thanks for sharing! Those carvin cabs look really well-built...a lota ply goin on there.

[veemagic]

Great work! A wise Yooper once told me "You have to piss with the cock ya got!" and man you did great job! Can't wait to see this one move along.

[toejam]

Looking good!

[catzodellamarina]

This past summer I threw out my old 5150 cab. I had it listed for $25 on Craigslist and had only 1 sniff that never came. Now I sorta wish I had thought of this idea but a 5150 cab is not as fine quality as your Carvin. My 5150 was particle board back, rear mount, and had deck screws galore that kept it from farting.

Project looks good. Best of luck!

[Cygnus X1]

Great work! Thanks for sharing! Those carvin cabs look really well-built...a lota ply goin on there.

Ditto, cool project.
MMII, check your PM's, I had a question for you.

[RacerX]

This past summer I threw out my old 5150 cab. I had it listed for $25 on Craigslist and had only 1 sniff that never came.

Coulda listed it here - I am looking for one.

[warlok]

So I'm done with the construction. The mating of the pieces went great. Nice and sealed. Put in support/stiffener pieces with glue and some screws. Painted the baffle with some 500 degree black engine paint I had in garage. Put the handles and the casters on till I get the tolex. Corner pieces are proimered and painted flat black but waiting till I tolex it to put them on. I'll wire it up tonight and see how it sounds.. Have some Eminence Legends (I think, see other thread) and a G12T75 I can try it with.
Stiffeners in.

Painting baffle

Done

Done


Couple things I learned..
- As I pointed out before, a table saw would be ideal for cutting it as you can get very straight, possibly perfect cuts that would mate up better. Then you could possibly use glue instead of sealer. But I built particle board sub boxes 20 years ago that are still running today in perfect shape with caulk instead of glue. So I'm no worried about using sealer in this.
- As noted, This Carvin was built like a tank. But surprisingly, there's things the snobs say "HAVE" to be in a cab for it to be a good cab that are not in this. It is 3/4" plywood. But it is absolutely not void free. I don't know what the wood is but this is the run of the mill plywood you can get for $15 a sheet at Home Depot. And the joints are not anything other than glue and staples. No finger joints or anything like it.. So the "A cab is shit if it's not 3/4" void free birch" and the "must have a joint to withstand a nuclear blast" crowd of snobs can kiss my ass cause this cab is awesome as it was and now is! That stuff is nice but not 100% necessary IMO.
- You can 100% build yourself a great cab for not much money. I think I could do this whole thing from scratch for about $50 plus speakers.. (and beer!!)