Cabinet Plans From My 800c

Hi all!
I've been meaning to do this for quite some time and now at the 1st "birthday" of my 800c, I thought it as good as time as any...Happy Birthday!

The facia (front trim) was the most difficult and suggest practicing on some lesser wood stock until your Fisher faceplate fits just right. Mastering the miter joints is critical...unless your fond of wood putty.

I hope someone gets some use out of these.

If there is enough interest, I documented (with photos) the approach I took to build mine and would work up some sort of presentation.
It would be long and not for the faint of heart.

Thanks again for all the help.

Martin

P.s. I just took a bias reading the other day for the first time since last august...only V10 was off and just a tad at that. :thmbsp:

Nice plans. Now I just need a shop and tools.

Thanks for posting these, BTW. If I ever decide to replace my original case with something a bit snazzier, I'll use your plans!

-D

Martin,
Happy amp birthday.
Very generous posting. Thanks.

Excellent! I'll have to check my R-200 chassis and see if it'll fit this cabinet.

Excellent drawings to boot--we were never taught how to draught in university, but in college there were three courses I took in technical drawing. It's still a very practical skill, in my opinion.

Thanks for sharing!

Wow, I've been looking for this for quite a long time!

Thanks!

Most Excellent!!

Very timely posting! I'm starting to think about a cabinet build for my 800c. I'm still recapping and I'm just about to move onto restuffing the Top Cans but not far behind that is the woodwork. Thanks for the detailed post!!

One question: If I'm reading your plans correctly, what you call the "facia" is 1-1/2" wide. Yes? What I really want to know is the width of the groove between the facia and the main body of the cabinet. (I've circled it in your plans.) I'm going to be using the wood from the console my unit came in which already has a beveled edge. I'm thinking I might be able to cut that slit with a fresh spanking new Forrest blade I have. Otherwise, the smallest router cutter I have is 1/4". I could either use that or just cut the groove with blade depending on how wide that groove is.

I know I only said one question, but here: What did you use to cut the channel for the ventilation screen? I might have to spring for a bit or take the top down to a custom cabinet guy not far from where I live and just have him cut it for me saving me the step. I'm not likely going to be able to get to the woodwork for another month or so but I want to be able to start visualizing the construction now. Thanks!!!

BTW: I greatly appreciated your 800c restore post; I referred to it constantly in doing my own restore. :thmbsp:

Nice drawings! I would love to see complete documentation with photos. I was planing on building one for my 400.

The Groove between the FASCIA and the cabinet is approx the thickness of a credit card and about 3/32" deep on the factory cabinet. Using a trim circular saw with a thin kerf blade and a fence should do the trick.

Larry

Hey guys...

It's my first chance to get back to the thread. Thanks for all the positive responses...really appreciate it!

First thing to keep in mind is these plans were not copied from an actual cabinet. I took all the written and photographic documentation I could find and proceeded from there.
The only shortcut I took was with the feet. Making the 2 side feet as one piece seemed too difficult...no matter how much brain power I threw at it.

The fascia and the case are two seperate pieces. So, to create the groove I just beveled both pieces before I joined the 2 together. I'm sure my groove is much shallower than an original. But I didn't have an original to look at and felt I had troubled everyone enough at that point. It works for me.:yes:

Notdigital...glad the other thread is helping. I have read your thread and all I can say is hang in there. If no one seems to be around to help, it just means it's time to study more. Being your new to this like I was (am), I really recommend getting the metalbones kit with the upgrade. Good documentation and instructions. It'll help you understand a bit more while your doing your restore.

As for the groove for the vent screen. Dremmel makes a small circular saw blade. Worked perfect.

Thanks again guys...good luck.

martin

I was just at my friends cabinet shop today checking on some windows he is reproducing. I have taken a few Phase Linear amps and my Fisher KX200 to have him map out and make me cabinets for. He has all those fancy cad woodworking tools so once he gets all the measurements in he can pop them out pretty easy. I have some pretty nice exotic veneers which I plan on using to finish them with. I am not that good with wood working but plan to watch and help with making the cabinets. Your plan looks great, I wonder if all of the Fishers use the same size cabinets or are they all different sizes?

Most excellent, Martin!

Got a pic of the cabinet with your lovely 800C to show?

Martin: I decided to bypass the kits and freelance it! Crazy, I know but with the help of fellow AKers and lot's of stuydying, I'm progressing nicely.

I didn't think about the dremel for the screen groove. I'll see if I have the circ blade you mention. It'll save me some $ if I could use that instead of having to buy a router bit for one cut!

As far as cuts are concerned: Thanks Larry, as always. I'll run a piece of scrap throught the table saw and see how it looks.

Ken...IIRC the the 400, 500 and 800 all use the same cabinet

Bruce...thanks for the nod :thmbsp:
How are those AR3's doing for you. Any farther on the 3a's? I have an extra set of pots if you have need.
Of course I have photos..

Here's a link to my finished 800c...
http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=389557

notdigital...here's the dremel tip.

Blessing on ya'!

martin

Stunning! I just bought a reproduction cabinet for my 400 as I lack the skills to build on myself. You sir, are quite talented. :thmbsp:

I have to agree, that is really nice!

marloubow said:

Bruce...thanks for the nod :thmbsp:
How are those AR3's doing for you. Any farther on the 3a's? I have an extra set of pots if you have need.

Click to expand...

Wow!!! Martin, I hope you have a very special place for your lovely 800. Is it driving your AR3a's? That's a really nifty Drimel - I need to get one. They seem to do so much and perfect for our applications on receivers & amps.

Many thanks for the offer on the pots. Another AKer came to my rescue and they're on their way. I'm really enjoying the sound of my AR3s but everyone seems to think the 3a's are even better so anxious to have them working. The cabinets could use some help - wish you were my neighbor

That's amazing work, and you have inspired me to have a go at making a cabinet for my 500c. Do you know if the cabinet dimensions are the same for the 500c as for the 800c?

How did you produce the bevelled front pieces and what type of wood did you use?

I was thinking of using some standard profile hard wood that DIY stores stock for window mouldings etc to make something similar looking but if there's a way I could use my router to produce the same profiles I think I might give it a go.

Thanks in advance for any advice given

David

David. The 400-500C-800C all use the same cabinet. Depth of the actual chassis is different on the 400 (shorter), but other than that they are all the same.



Larry

Thanks Marantzfan and Ken. The case took quite a bit of planning. I had to make the back case smaller than the fascia because of the veneering that would eventually cover the back case...that was tricky.

Bruce...I'm actually running the 800c with a pair of JBL 4410A's that I've replaced the tweeters with some soft domes. The 3A's have really great bass extension, but couldn't quite squeek out enough high end...pretty much a toss up really. I switch back and forth from time to time...it's all good.
Wish I was your neighbor too...at least for a while. I've never been to the UK.

Moko...Thanks for the nod. :thmbsp:
The fascia profile is cut on a table saw in three cuts...really slick.
The angle is cut first, then two passes to remove the rest.
The photo shows the 2nd of the three cuts.

thanks guys
Martin