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I recently bought a 4x12 which going by the date on the Fanes is an early 74. The wiring and insides look untouched so I'm confident the speakers are original to the cab.

The cab has castors fitted which I had presumed were fitted later. They are the type that push into a plastic tube that fits into a hole drilled into the cab. There are also short wooden "skids" on the bottom which run front to back. Having never seen an original before I wasn't sure if these were original.

The front grill had been replaced by a black cloth that had been tacked to the front baffle, presumably because the original had been damaged and removed. I decided to strip the cab down and replace the grill.

When I took the back off I noticed that the hole for the castors had been drilled up through the battens that the back panel screws to. A real neat job which was obviously done carefully to ensure the castor has the maximum support. Trying to take the front baffle off, I noticed that the castor inserts on the front were drilled up into the front baffle.

I have never seen an original cab before, but when I took off the black grill cloth I was surprised to see 2.5"x 0.5" battens running around the outer edge of the front baffle and another going horizontally across the middle.

Due to the large rounded profile of the cab edges, the castor inserts have to be set back 1.5" from the edge. Without the extra battens around the front of the baffle which effectively moves it back .5", the inserts would not be held adequately by the baffle.

I am told that castors were not fitted as standard. Were they an option? I feel that if these were fitted later, they would have used the cheap type with the plate and four holes that screws to the cab.

Are the 2.5" battens standard construction?

Thanks for your input

Everything you describe is consistent with what I have seen in original Hiwatt cabinets. I have cabinets with the same plastic inserts and assembly technique. I don't know what casters were actually used with those cups.

The batten running horizontally across the middle supported the nameplate, which would have been riveted on.

If your cab has original '74 Fanes, it is certainly worth the cosmetic facelift effort.

Dave

P.S. Welcome to the Vintage Hiwatt Convention forum !

Welcome to the Vintage HIWATT Forum!
Black could have been original in 1974. It would have been the original S&P, that was sprayed black.

Thanks for the replies, the black grill was not original, it had been tacked to the front baffle. Having taken the cab apart, the original s&p cloth is still there at the edges and this is what I will use.

The battens are all nailed to the baffle, no sign of rivets.

The castors have a vertical shaft coming down to a yoke which holds a black hard plastic or nylon wheel with a light grey hard rubber tyre. The shaft is tight within the plastic insert but can be pulled out. I will post a photo.

I would be interested to know whether castors were an option or as supplied and whether the batten construction was common to all cabs.

Thanks for the welcome, nice to be here and I look forward to being able to contribute again

PhilUK wrote: The battens are all nailed to the baffle, no sign of rivets.

The rivets I referred to held the badge to the batten.

Here's a pic of my "ugly duckling" cab. Note where the badge used to be and the holes for the rivets that held it:

Dave

Thanks Dave, the Hiwatt badge was screwed on but I guess that was because the grill had been replaced.

Here's a photo of the castors. The centres are marked Flexellon and made in England.

I have seen those on HIWATT cabs before. I can't say for sure if they were original or added later.
Or that it would matter.

judging by your speaker post, I am betting that your cab is from 1979 and would have had a black grille cloth.

HIWATT Amplifiers and Speaker Enclosures had separate serial numbers.

What is the serial number?

OldSchoolDave wrote:

PhilUK wrote: The battens are all nailed to the baffle, no sign of rivets.

The rivets I referred to held the badge to the batten.

Here's a pic of my "ugly duckling" cab. Note where the badge used to be and the holes for the rivets that held it:

SE412_front.jpg

Dave

Damn Dave, that really has some mojo, doesnt it

Hamtone wrote:Damn Dave, that really has some mojo, doesnt it

The world has had its way with that cab . Yet, it sounds great.

One of my "when I have too much time on my hands" projects is to recover and re-grill it.

Dave

Phil are you the one i know from MLP?

No Hamtone, sorry. What is MLP? The speaker query has nothing to do with the cab. The black grill was nailed to the baffle. The remains of the original S&P material was still there tacked to the baffle when I took it out.

Does anybody have any of these Flexellon casters that they would want to let go??? I only need one but will gladly buy a set if that's what I have to do. Email me at:
jswoquinn AT sbcglobal DOT net or call me 773-259-six nine two six
Thanks! Baz