Tensioning Grille Cloth?

[steveh]

Hi all,

Just got some "Salt n Pepper" style grille cloth today, for a Marshal style cab I'm putting together.

This material is much heavier than I'm used to (previously mainly done Fender style cabs), how to people tension this cloth? It looks like it's a cotton/hessian type of material, can you pull it tight then spray water on after stapling to get it really tight?

The last cab I did ended up with kinda baggy cloth after a few months, so keen to get any top tips as to how people get their cloth properly tensioned.

Any hints appreciated!

[BBQLS1]

With S&P, I think you can just staple a dowel to the end and pull it tight. I don't think you have to wet anything until you get to basket weave.

I'm not the expert though.

[Zemaitis]

I read somewhere they used a space heater in a rotating motion to tighten up the cloth.

Never tried it though.

[jjk1000]

lightly praying with water the blowdrying has worked for a couple different cloths for me.

[1950]

I dont believe that praying with holy water's gonna do the trick
Try make a seperate removable front (frame) board, which ataches in front of the speakers mounting board, then future adjustments to cloth tension can be done when needed

[Broz]

I've had good luck with both the salt and pepper and cane cloth by using somebody's method of stapling one edge of the material to the frame and then clamping (with several small c-clamps) the far edge of the material between a pair of plywood strips about 1"x the width of the material and using the clamped ply strips to lever/pry the material around the far side of the frame before stapling. I've also used the light water spray afterwards to tension further, but test on some spare material first to make sure the color is fast. The water also won't help with synthetic materials.
Broz

[JoeV]

Heat gun works wonders. Just KEEP MOVING.

[MikeJH]

Hi Steveh

About 12 months ago I covered a baffle with Salt & Pepper grille cloth, and you’re right, it’s not the easiest stuff to work with. I would also add that mine was the genuine Marshall item – their factory is close to me and I bought it directly from them.

On my first attempt I pulled it hand tight and stapled it into place – not good enough – too floppy! On the second attempt I dampened it with water. This made it softer and more flexible. When it was stapled in place I used a hot air gun to dry it and, hopefully, shrink it a little. It seemed to work; it was nice and tight. The next morning it had ‘relaxed’, and was too loose/floppy.

Before the third attempt I spoke to some people at Marshall and asked how they do it. They told me they do not dampen the cloth, nor do they use heat, they simply pull it tight. What they really said was, that they pull it very, very, hard! Pull hard, until you think it’s about to rip. It’s tough cloth, so it shouldn’t rip. In respect of dampening the cloth, they also told me that this was definitely not the right thing to do. Those rather heavy weight threads from which the cloth is woven are partly held in place/stiffened, by the light application of an adhesive during manufacture. It is presumably water based, hence you should not dampen the cloth. If this is the case, then it explains why my cloth loosened up after I dampened it, although I do appreciate other people here have had the opposite experience.

Anyway, on my third attempt, I pulled seriously hard on the cloth (gripped it with a large pair of ‘nail pincers’ to do so). I worked systematically around the frame, stapling a few inches at a time. It finished up tight as a drum skin. 12 months later it’s still tight!

Just one more opinion based on a little experience – hope it helps!

(Steve, as you too are in the UK, give Marshall’s Spares/Service department a call – I have always found them very helpful – just remember to tell them you are refurbishing one of their speaker cabinets – as opposed to something of your own)

Mike

[Chubsman]

Check this out:
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showth ... p?t=446688

[ChrisU]

MikeJH is quite right. When fitting the Marshall heavy cloths the only sure way is to pull it tight. I staple all of one edge first, pulling it tight from the side, not so much that the weave is distorted. I staple from the middle to the edges alternately. Staples are 2 - 3 inches apart. Then I pull tight over the opposite edge and repeat. You do need to allow 4 inches or so of overlap to allow a good hand grip. I also wear a rubber grip glove otherwise it gives me a sore hand. Then I start one of the other sides keeping the weave straight with the edge but ths time I start in the middle and pull tight and staple the opposite middle, then alternate either side of the middle pulling it tight and keeping an eye on the weave. You can now feel it has tightened up. Slight adjustments can be made now by removing staples and straightening where needed. Now I staple in the gaps still pulling it tight and it will end up fine. If you do the job in a cold room it will tighten up even more at normal room temperature. Make it to slack and it gets worse in the cold.

[StarGeezers]

We tried something new ... Used Artists canvas stretcher strips for stretching the grill cloth over... The come in 1" increments. many thicknesses, and have a rounded lip so the grill cloth doesn't touch inside the front bar.. Once you get the GC stretched , you can insert little plastic triangles(provided) into the joins for even more tension... Tight as a drum ..
Keeping the lines straight is tricky...

[rexracer]

Gregg said, x F peon, when the grills came in from the maker they had to QC them and sometimes they would use the heatgun technique. They ruined quite a few. I've been using it and it does make the stuff tight and more resistant to puncture. I haven’t used it on marsha type cloth just F stuff. I looked at a bunch of new F stuff and QC would not pass gregg's and gina's old standards, Not very tight at all. Met sunn founder at the swap meet, his stuff ruled and toomanyamps. I think a couple of others too, maybe.

[kd]

I've used some of the methods previously stated using wood or dowel to pull the grill cloth tight. One trick that helps is to use a router to lightly round over the front edges of the frame or baffle board you're stretching the cloth over. Makes it easier to get a tight pull. Sharp corners at times will hamper getting it pulled like you want it.

KenI

[steveh]

Thanks for all the comments guys.

I did finish (well sort of finish, it has been used weekly for over a year but still needs finishing properly with a faceplate etc!) the cab ages ago but forgot to check back on this thread after.

In the end I did radius the front of the baffle slightly, and pulled *hard*. It's still not as tight as I'd like, but it's OK.

Here's a pic if anyone's interested

Edit : attachment was a bit big, now saved at a lower filesize