[shops2k]

As previously posted in Another newbie,I embarked on a winter project to maintain my sanity during what seemed to be an unusually long winter. I wanted to build a pair of front speakers for my home theater system. I wanted a pair of speakers that would be good for listening to 2 channel music and also had to be visually appealing to my better half of 24yrs.Additional pictures of the build can been see in "Another newbie" thread.
Concept,
Layout,
Installed arborite(plastic laminate) on the fronts and prepped the cabinets for the 3/4" solid cherry sides.
Laminating process,
Rough after glue-up,
Sides and top after initial sanding,
Finishing the feet,
Stained with the feet attached,
Prepping the grills,
Showing the backs,
Spraying the finish, 2 coats of sealer, 3 coats lacquer,
The finished pair,
With the grill cloth,
Finally back at home,
Mission Accomplished,

I hope I posted enough pictures of the process...Mark
Pssst...golfing is just around the corner:yay:
For Information on the drivers and other photos http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/diy-speakers/16395-another-newbie.html

 

[Mike P.]

Awesome looking speakers!

 

[robbo266317]

I cannot see it in the picture, did you kerf the sides to bend them?
A very nice job you have done.

 

[shops2k]

No Robbo, I glued-up the sides just like the stave's of a barrel. Each piece of cherry was about an 1 5/8" wide with a bevel of around 4*. When you clamp them they just want to close on the radius. The radius of the side is 24".

 

[shops2k]

BTW, Thank you guys for the compliments on the speakers. They really were a labor of love. I really enjoy the woodworking aspect now that I don't do it for a living. What surprised me was how much there is to know about building speakers. Now the challenge is to convince the wife to upgrade all the surround speakers.:spend:

 

[JCD]

OOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!! I must NOT be jealous!! :hissyfit: :drool:

Awesome work on those cabinents. That's just.. really really really good! :hail::hail::wow:

Next step is to post some REW charts.. addle:rder:addle:

And then, a trip to Northern California..

 

[jvcustom]

wow! very nice!

 

[fbov]

Not to throw a damper on what is clearly a beautifully executed design, but I have to ask, did you fill the sides?

I'm seeing curved spacers between what I assume is an MDF inner box and the cherry outer side panels (3rd photo). These cavities present a great opportunity for damping enclosure resonances, or if empty, a great opportunity to create a bunch of new ones. If you don't hear anything untoward in loud, low frequency sweeps, I'd leave them alone. If you hear resonances, I'll suggest an injection of self-expanding foam to fill the cavity and damp any resonances.

Beautifully executed, otherwise!
Frank

 

[shops2k]

In response to the question of the space behind the solid cherry and the mdf, I was told that because of the curved surface and the flat surface opposing each other no standing waves of consequence could be produced. I was also told that because of the minuscule area involved if there was something produced a bee fart would sound like a fog horn in comparison. I honestly don't know because I don't know if I will ever get the chance to really let them out at really high volumes. I really haven't heard any difference since testing them when they were just square tuned boxes. I know the sides built this way are much more rigid and massive( heavy ). Maybe that is a question for the experts on this forum to discuss.

Mark:scratchhead:

 

[robbo266317]

With the internal bracing and the external moulding strips they are attached to It's unlikely to be a problem.

 

[jeremy7]

great build!

thanks for all the pictures.

 

[ripcard]

Gorgeous cabinets Mark. You should feel a little better with the weather now. It was beautiful today. Compared to last year this March has been a lamb.

 

[maxserg]

Superb work!

2 questions

1- How did you glued your laminate to get that shape? I love the way it looks! If I had to make an enclosure for mains and center chanel this should be the WAY to do it!

2- Why so much spacing between the speakers components, they seem to be far apart? Have reasons for that(Xover points, listening distance, baffle step compensation network, imaging, dispersion)

Thanks for your reply and congrat for your finished work!

 

[shops2k]

Thanks guys for the compliments on the cabinets.
Maxserg asked

How did you glued your laminate to get that shape?

You build the sides out of small pieces 3/4"X1 5/8" with a small bevel to the edges like building a barrel as you clamp it across the width it naturally wants to curve downward towards the surface of the cabinet. Then it is just a matter of planning, scraping, and sanding to finish.
Maxserg asked

Why so much spacing between the speakers components

The software WinISD determined the interior volume for the twin woofers to have a tuned cabinet, volume of internal bracing,a sealed enclosure for the midrange and tweeter, plus I didn't want a cabinet to be too deep determined the height. I figured why squish them all together on the front baffle.
Crossover points are 600 and 5000hz,6/ 6/ 12 slope per octave low mid high.(pre-fab crossover by Phillips)
I have no equipment for measurements other than my ears(they might be questionable) and what others have said so far.
Ripcard...Thanks, I am feeling much better now(that flu hit me hard and I had a flu shot..go figure) Like you said there is a lot less snow to get rid of this year, I even heard that Mapleview golf in Perth might open in another week :yay2::yes::yay2:
Thanks again for the nice comments, Its nice to hear when you put so much time into something.

Mark

 

[fbov]

In response to the question of the space behind the solid cherry and the mdf, I was told that because of the curved surface and the flat surface opposing each other no standing waves of consequence could be produced. I was also told that because of the minuscule area involved if there was something produced a bee fart would sound like a fog horn in comparison. I honestly don't know because I don't know if I will ever get the chance to really let them out at really high volumes. I really haven't heard any difference since testing them when they were just square tuned boxes. I know the sides built this way are much more rigid and massive( heavy ). Maybe that is a question for the experts on this forum to discuss.

Mark:scratchhead:

You and robbo are right that this is far more bracing than in most DIY, and probably all but the best commercial speakers. Whenever I see a double wall design, I also see an opportunity for a constraint layer damping system. Dead boxes seem an obvious advantage, but I can't claim any objective results. That said, the flat surfaces most DIYers eliminate through curved sides are the internal surfaces, to prevent standing waves inside the box. It took me a bit to understand what you were doing.

My comments aren't really fair, since the project is done and the results are beautiful and their sound pleases you. My apologies for addressing a non-problem.

Have fun,
Frank

 

[Anthony]

Very nice woodworking there. Those turned out great!

 

[ktaillon]

My jaw is on the floor!!!! Nice job... I bet your happy..

How long did it take to accomplish?

 

[shops2k]

Thanks Ken,
As I said it was a labor of love. There is probably somewhere in the range of around 60 hrs around 5 weekends and a few evenings and that doesn't include the months researching DIY on the web and reading a thousand or so posts all before starting anything. It's hard to put straight time in on something like this with 2 teenage kids and a wife always wanting to go somewhere. But you know when I sit down and listen to and old Pink Floyd song or some finger picking by Mark Knopfler and see what a person can create, the sweat equity is worth it.

Mark:bigsmile:

 

[johngalt47]

What did you stain them with?

 

[stnick]

Well Mark , you have spent a long time on this , but I hate to say I've seen better , and heard better too. but it's a good first try.