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Hello all. I'm trying to restore a particularly battered front ported SE4122. It originally came with a grab-bag of celestions and a non-original front panel covered in some cheap plastic grill cloth. Yesterday, I scored a $250 LA412 with fanes, so I'm planning to rehome the speakers and purloin the name plate for the SE4122. All I need is the dimensions of the cross brace for the old beauty. I've scoured the net looking for pictures of the panel construction, but have come up empty-handed.

So, I'm asking if there are any kind souls out there who would like to help me out. Any photos and/or measurements would be greatly appreciated. I'd love to get this cab back to its former glory. I want my 73 DR103 to sit proudly atop something which looks worthy enough.

Thanks!

Are you referring to cross bracing for the baffle or the grill panel?

If the latter, it's a fairly simple construction. I don't have access to my front-loaded cab at the moment, but would guess all pieces are about 1 1/2" wide, being made from 1/2" ply. The edges are braced at midpoints. Here's a picture of mine. It wasn't taken for this purpose, but you should be able to see the frame through the grill.
Hope this helps.

Dave

OldSchoolDave wrote:Are you referring to cross bracing for the baffle or the grill panel?

If the latter, it's a fairly simple construction. I don't have access to my front-loaded cab at the moment, but would guess all pieces are about 1 1/2" wide, being made from 1/2" ply. The edges are braced at midpoints. Here's a picture of mine. It wasn't taken for this purpose, but you should be able to see the frame through the grill.

Grille_off_2.jpg

Hope this helps.

Dave

Thanks so much Dave!
The grille panel is what I'll be building, so that photo helps a lot. What confused me is whether the pieces which cross in front of the cab were narrower than the ports or not as none of the pictures I've seen really allow me to see. However, with your measurements I think it'll be fairly straightforward. You don't happen to have any rear shots, do you? I'd like to mirror the construction as closely as possible, so I'm itching to see what kind of joints they used.

Again, thanks a lot. I really appreciate it.

I'm looking forward to hearing the "true" hiwatt sound when the Fanes arrive. The cab is an aesthetic thing, but the sound is where it's at.

clothears wrote: You don't happen to have any rear shots, do you? I'd like to mirror the construction as closely as possible, so I'm itching to see what kind of joints they used.

No, sorry .

The joints are simple butt joints, stapled together. Going from memory, I think the vertical center support was one piece and the horizontal brace was made of two pieces. Can't say for sure, but the outside verticals may be full height,with the outside horizontals fitting inside (which would be the stronger option).

It's not the sturdiest construction. Once the grill is stretched and stapled, it becomes a diaphragm that pulls all the pieces together.

Dave

OldSchoolDave wrote:

clothears wrote: You don't happen to have any rear shots, do you? I'd like to mirror the construction as closely as possible, so I'm itching to see what kind of joints they used.

No, sorry .

The joints are simple butt joints, stapled together. Going from memory, I think the vertical center support was one piece and the horizontal brace was made of two pieces. Can't say for sure, but the outside verticals may be full height,with the outside horizontals fitting inside (which would be the stronger option).

It's not the sturdiest construction. Once the grill is stretched and stapled, it becomes a diaphragm that pulls all the pieces together.

Dave

That's fine!
Butt joints eh? My kind of woodwork It'll be a lot more straightforward than I was envisaging then!

I'll be sure to do some before/after photos.