I had a very good experience building the Percolator kit, and I love how it sounds. I had been thinking about it for a couple years and I’m glad I finally ordered it.
I wanted to savor putting it together, and I used hand tools that belonged to my father when I built the cabinets. I pretty much built it all out on my back porch. Cabinets first, then the electronics.
I wanted it to look sort of old and worn, as if it had been built out of an old church pew. I finished it with “Black Onyx” stain from Zar, followed by a couple coats of Minx Antique Oil finish. I used a different handle and LED.
I mounted some info about the lovely Italian made speaker in the cabinet, along with some other documentation for any future repair person. (I’m a 60 year old guy. The amp will probably last longer than I do.) And added the warnings from the manual about not turning it on without a load to the back of the amp as a reminder to myself since this is the only separate amp/cab that I own.
There was no way I could fit the grill in the amp. I ended up taking the cloth off one side and trimming a bit of wood off with a band saw, (my grandfather’s), then reassembling the grill. I didn’t get it as straight as it had been, but it’s not too bad.