Build Finished – July 2017
This was my first foray into design with 3D CAD packages like Solidworks and Fusion 360. The scope was to build an Aesthetically pleasing wooden box for my MadAmp A15Mk2 Guitar Amp I had built previously.
I wanted to use Solidworks for this project as I love the finished look and feel of well made wooden products, but I do not enjoy the process of woodworking by hand.
The panels were CNC cut from high quality Birch plywood, so I could not specify right angles for the inside corners of the finger joints. Making inside edge curved because of the tool limitations ended up being a choice I was very happy with, and I feel it added to the finished look with the contrasting pattern of the plywood.
I wanted a bright vibrant colour to match the guitars I play, and I really wanted the wood grain to pop out and contrast with the bright colour.
After sanding to the smoothest finish I could manage, I stained the entire box black, sanded this back to just the grain, then stained it red around the edges in the style of the classic Yellow Sunburst Les Pauls. After sanding this back and staining the entire thing yellow, it did not quite look how I had pictured it, but I was more than happy with the result. It certainly matched my No.1 Guitar at the Time, a Semi Hollow PRS-SE with a Trans Orange Flamed Maple Top.
More sanding and several thin layers of polycoat, building up to a thick hard wearing finish, then more sanding and buffing, and I had a beautiful and functional piece of furniture. The poly coat hardened to a wonderful silky smooth finish, with the wood grain just perceivable underneath. I love that it still feels like a natural product, you can feel the wood it was made from, despite the higher tech production methods.
I had fun building this Amp, but plugging it in was something else. 15 W may not seem like much, but with a 4×12″ cab I picked up for £20, this was far too loud for home use, and I quickly built several different attenuators to tame it. I took it into the warehouse one weekend to really open the taps and it left a smile on my face like I was 14 years old, plugging a Les Paul into a half stack in a music store basement for my first ever band practice.
