Turning combo into head/cabinet... suggestions?

This sort of stems from a problem I had not too long ago with my RT30 (Randall Class A AC30 clone). A resistor fried, and in removing the amp from the combo cabinet in order to diagnose the problem, I realized that it would be cool to build a head and cabinet, and mount them separately instead of as a single combo amp.

My question is, how many of you have done something similar, and what's the best way to go about it? Is something like the poplar boards at Home Depot okay to use for this, or should I go with a type of plywood? Do the sides/top/bottom need to be dovetailed, or can they be butted together and braced from the inside?

Is there a place to get Tolex/speaker cloth/amp hardware at a reasonable price? Should I even bother, or should I just do a nice sanding job and light finish on the wood I use and call it quits?

It's quite doable. I did it with a combo many many years ago.

What it will get you: Different sound. The typical open-back combo sound changes when you put the speaker(s) in a closed cabinet.

I'm doing exactly the same to my Mesa Nomad.

I have just bought the Mk4 wideboy chassis, which I'm gonna chop in half & add a few extra & generally customise it to look like a pimps wardrobe.

If you want the classic look, you can go for the natural wood foinish. If it looks odd, then you could always cover it in tolex after.

Theres a handful of places on ebay that sell sheets of tolex, that are roughly sized for either a cab, head etc.

I did this to my Vox AD30VT. I also added an FX loop. I used a Hellatone 12" speaker for the cab. I'm able to use it as closed back or open back. This setup certainly is much better sounding and more versatile. I only play at home. I can have the head with me while the speaker is across the room. I also use the speaker for my acoustic amp. It's a win, win all around.

I recently built a stand to get the cab off the floor by about 12". This really cleans up the bass; tighter.