Questions about 2 x 12 Horizontal Recto Cab

I am building an exact replica of a Mesa/Boogie 2 x 12 Horizontal Recto cab. The only difference will be the covering material and, of course, it will not have a Mesa logo. I am using the same materials, dimensions, and construction techniques: 3/4" 7-ply birch plywood rabbet joined for the top, bottom, and sides, and 1/2" birch plywood dado joined for the baffleboard. 1/2" birch plywood for the back as well. I'm also considering ordering a mono/stereo mounting jack plate. It would be cool to be able to run perhaps a Tiny Terror and a Mini-rec through the same cab.
If people are interested, I could start a build thread documenting the entire build with pics and detailed decriptions of the process.
I am a metal fabricator, not a wood worker. All that's fueling this project is common sense and advice from knowledgeable fellows. My wife's grandfather was a wood worker. He passed away a few years ago, and all his high quality wood working tools have just been sitting there all this time. My wife's grandmother told me a while back that I could have it all!!!!
All the tools are top-of-the-line Craftsman. Included in all this is: a table saw with a huge stack of blades and a dado kit, a router and router table, scroll saw, jig saw, belt sander, random orbit sander, planer/joiner, hand planers, chisels, clamps, every imaginable bit, blade, and accessory. Tons of stuff that I don't know what it is or does. And lots of other stuff I've forgotten about or failed to mention.

Anyways, my questions are: Are the speakers mounted in front or behind the baffleboard? Also, what is the horizontal spacing of the speakers?(How far apart are they?)


Here's what I've got done so far:

Although the demand for this thread has been overwhelming, I have obstained from posting the entire process. Here is the completed assembly. Now for the tolex/vinyl and installing the hardware and speakers. I'm gonna make the handles and jack plate from stainless steel.

Looks super nice!

That looks really good, can't wait to see the end results! :wink:

Thanks guys! Since this is my first cab build project, and I am so anal about everything being perfect, it has taken me a really long time. I am gonna order the tolex this weekend. I am stuck right now because without the gasket material for the back, I don't know how far to recess the frame that the back mounts to. I need to know how thick the gasket material is and also how thick the tolex will be so that I will end up with a nice flush back. I also need to cut out the holes and rout for the jack plate and handles.
By the way, I never found out if the speakers are front or rear mounted on the baffle(Mesa Horizontal Rectifier 2x12). I have assumed rear mounted and, right or wrong, that's the way it's gonna be.

All Recto cabs have rear loaded speakers I do believe.

-AJH

Looks amazing so far! Just out of curiosity, about how much do you estimate its going to cost you total (in parts I mean)?

Excellent Job!

Mesa cabs are made from 11 or 13 ply voidless birch plywood, not standard 5 or 7 ply, but awesome job regardless.

Dom

ALL MESA® ENCLOSURES are made using the finest Void-free, Marine Grade Baltic Birch in varying thicknesses of no less than 9 ply and as many as 14 ply.

The local Lowe's store here had Tonmik Top Choice 7-ply Birch plywood. At $47 per 4x8' sheet, I would hope that it's some pretty good stuff. I admit, Mesa's plywood may be a bit better than mine. Really though, I'm sure both are exceptionally strong and rigid enough to transmit a minimum amount of vibrations, ensuring great speaker effeciency. Mesa also uses a CNC router to perfectly cut out every single piece, something else I can't replicate.

I've had this hooked up to my Egnater Rebel 20 now for a couple of weeks and it sounds absolutely massive! I can see why people love Mesa's Recto cabs. I even prefer my Deluxe Reverb running through it, rather than it's own stock Jensen, especially for high gain riffage.
Thanks everyone for checking out my humble build!

That's awesome my buddy did the same thing yrs ago based off my recto 2x12