I was able to move pretty fast using the table saw. But, if you're not comfortable with this, use a jigsaw--it is safer.
I started with a slice. I placed a mark on the fence, so I'd know when to stop the cut. I flipped the board over and made a second slice.
Then I moved the fence and sliced again.
Followed by a sideways move to clean out the narrow strip in the middle.
I free-handed the angled cuts on the table saw. Again, if you're not comfortable with this, use a jigsaw.
Finally, I lowered the blade and set the fence, then raised the spinning blade into the work piece for the final cut.
PassingInterest, what are you using on the fence in this pic? It looks too nice to be a sacrificial surface... HPDE? Nylon? I'm just using a piece of 3/4" ply on mine, and although it's pretty smooth, I bet yours would just glide on cuts. Great projects, by the way!
In a single step, I glued the internal brace pieces together and glued and clamped one cabinet.
Afterwards, I glued together the second internal brace pieces and called it quits for the day.
I used PL Premium in a makeshift grout bag (1 Quart ZipLock freezer bag, with a corner snipped off) to assemble the brace pieces and to install the bracing inside the cabinet.
I used TiteBond II for cabinet assembly and shot some finishing nails to maintain alignment while installing the clamps.
I wanted to see if I could move faster on the second cabinet. I have used a foam roller to spread Titebond before, but today I wanted to see if I could apply PL Premium with a foam roller. The stuff is pretty thick, but that's okay. It went well.
I put some aluminum foil on some cardboard and used that to load a foam roller with PL Premium and it went so well, so fast, that I used it on all the rest of the cabinet assembly. It was much faster than the makeshift grout-bag method.
Black paint on most of the cabinet, with accent panels and maybe a grill. I'm undecided on some of it at this point. I originally intended this to be just a plain, basic cabinet with emphasis on function, rather than beauty. But, I just can't help myself. I like beauty.
I've got a build thread in progress also. Your thread and many others have REALLY nice bracing structures. Mine is not nearly as artistic. Too bad the braces they aren't visible when the enclosures are finishedonder:
I will add some touches to the cabinet and I want to make a grill for it as well.
Once the cab is fully done, I will install the connector cup on the back and run the wires, using hot melt glue to secure the wires to prevent any rattling.
Then I will stuff the cab with polyfil and finally--install the driver.
I used the Grill Guides I got from Parts Express. I didn't get a photo of that. Also, the fabric ring is held in place by screws driven at an angle. I should get a shot of that later. It might help some others to see how I did that.
I love your grill. It would be nice if you could snap some photo of how they go together. They look like to be made of two ring that go inside each other. I may steal from this design!
I'm sorry that I did not take more assembly photos. I always worry that I am going into too much detail and boring everybody.
I took a grill out to the garage to get a couple of photos.
Here is the grill. Obviously, I was not concerned with the appearance of the grill's backside, but you can see the Grill Guides that I used.
Tip: Here is the trick that will make grill installation quick and painless (again, I apologize for not getting step-by-step photos)--Drill the correct size holes in your grill for your grill guide peg or "ball". Then slip a set of Dowel Centers into the holes. They are the shiny silver objects you see in the photo. I wrap some tape around them to make the fit more snug, so they won't fall out when I use them.
Align your grill on your cabinet, then press down to make little dents which will mark where you want to drill the mating holes to install the "socket" half of the grill guides. Do this step without the grill fabric installed, to make it easy to align the inner edge of your grill frame with the driver recess. Then, you just drill the holes for the grill guide sockets and you have NO alignment issues with your ball and socket guides.
Tip: Paint the grill fabric ring a color similar to your grill cloth and don't forget to paint the inner edge of the fabric ring. This will make the fabric ring nearly invisible after the fabric is stretched across it.
Tip: Installing the fabric ring is easy. Just drive the screw in sideways and let the screw head hold the fabric ring in place. But be careful about placing too much tension on the screw head, or you might split your grill ring. In this photo, you can see that I used black screws. The color does not matter, because you can't see them once the grills are on the cabinet. I just used what I had on hand that was the size I wanted.
I don't know if it is helpful to anyone or not, but I'll post a few photos of a previous project which I made grills for. It maybe shows a little more step-by-step detail.
It may be a little hard to see, but the final top ring on the grill, which is actually at the bottom in this picture, is an inch smaller along the entire inner edge. The fabric ring will press against this on the inside. Well, in this case another ring will be between the fabric ring and the outer grill ring. You'll see what I mean in a moment.
A pair of Fabric Rings and a pair of Design Element rings for the grills.
Thanks for sharing that. I think I've now got an achievable solution to building my grills for my project in progress after seeing your previous project.
See: you can never be too detailed in forums like these
What did you do with the tree part of the design? I'm curious how you incorporated that.
Again, these grills were used on another project. I'm including photos here in this thread to show more assembly detail, since I didn't take many assembly photos this time around.
Ready for a finish.
I applied two shellac seal coats, then several coats of Minwax Oil Modified Waterbased Polyurethane--Gloss. In this photo, I am not done yet, but it is coming along.
Design Element ring. The grill and the little tree were made from African Mahogany.
Here, the grill is not assembled yet. I just propped something underneath to check the look.
Sorry to pollute this thread with the grill from another project. I hope the added detail helps someone to see how to make a grill in this manner.
The project for the Tree Grill is on another forum. If you want to see more of that project, do an internet search for Bunker Buster PassingInterest and it should be easy to find.
Okay, someone is going to want to see how the grill looks on the cabinet, so here is a shot of that. I actually made two, but the second one is not done yet. The two trees are mirror imaged with respect to each other. But again, I haven't finished the second cabinet yet.
Anyone who has read my reviews knows I'm instantly drawn to that which is different, and for sure this one qualifies! That is one very unique subwoofer, two thumbs up from me... :TT
I'm not sure what the material is on my Jet table saw fence, but it is slippery. It came with the saw. I haven't changed it.
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