5th element said:
Hi 5th,
Walnut is one of my favourites, but it's colour will not (IMO) go well with the black.
Also, I'm limited by what is available through my supplier. I don't want to work with raw veneer, and the Cedan paperbacked veneer is always very high quality. Convenience of quick delivery a day after I order it is also a bonus.
I did consider rosewood (below left). Beautiful colour. Also see next to it the quarter cut makore.
spind said:
Hi Steve,
These speakers sit out away from the wall, and are very visible on all sides. I want them to look as sharp as possible. Considering the work invested so far on these I can easily justify the expense. My wallet has a bottom though.
I'm going to get both the ribbon and the pommeled to do some comparison. I normally don't go in for the highly figured veneer, preferring the straight, clear grain but the sapele knocked my eye out! Obsessed with this now, so I won't be satisfied until I have it.
Attachments
Brett said:
Hi Brett,
One of my favourite woods is maple, and I especially appreciate tiger strip maple. It's a natural figure that I like. This is my attraction to the ribbon sapele, along with the outstanding colour.
As I mentioned above, I will get both veneers and look at them both.
I'm hopeful to have the baffles complete by that time. To this end, I have started work on an amateur spray booth in my garage. It's slow going though, with not much spare time to work on it. I'll probably get a day to work on it this Sunday.
Once finished, it will allow me to spray at any time I want and not worry about dust or insects funking up my finish.
I spent all day Sunday working on the paint room. When I got home today, I put another coat of white primer on the walls and ceiling.
It's nearly done and I expect to be able to use it by this weekend. It comes out 8' x 7' x 10' high. Walls are OSB, which is super cheap here now ($6.50 per sheet).
Lighting is 3 - 48" fluorescent fixtures, one on the ceiling and 2 on the walls (see pic). I figured the most important part was the lighting. If you can't see what you're doing, it's not worth the effort. The white walls and ceiling brightens things up too.
The picture is taken with me standing outside, in the doorway. The outside door has a hole in it for the exhaust fan. Air is sucked from the garage through the openings in the corner. These are made for cheap furnace filters to fit in. These will filter out any dust from the garage. See on the floor the fan that fits in the door. I made a panel to close the hole in the door that the fan fits in when I'm not using the booth.
I did a brief test by spraying some mineral spirits with the fan running, and it works like a charm, quickly pulling the mist outdoors. I could feel a gentle breeze flowing past me.
It's nearly done and I expect to be able to use it by this weekend. It comes out 8' x 7' x 10' high. Walls are OSB, which is super cheap here now ($6.50 per sheet).
Lighting is 3 - 48" fluorescent fixtures, one on the ceiling and 2 on the walls (see pic). I figured the most important part was the lighting. If you can't see what you're doing, it's not worth the effort. The white walls and ceiling brightens things up too.
The picture is taken with me standing outside, in the doorway. The outside door has a hole in it for the exhaust fan. Air is sucked from the garage through the openings in the corner. These are made for cheap furnace filters to fit in. These will filter out any dust from the garage. See on the floor the fan that fits in the door. I made a panel to close the hole in the door that the fan fits in when I'm not using the booth.
I did a brief test by spraying some mineral spirits with the fan running, and it works like a charm, quickly pulling the mist outdoors. I could feel a gentle breeze flowing past me.
Attachments
Info lesson
Hi John,
I have been following your thread for some time now. I have a pair of new speakers that I am about to paint using the WB urethane that you spec'd earlier in the thread. I have the Wagner HVLP gun and the paint. I already used a non-water based urethane to seal the speakers for testing.
I am a fairly experienced woodworker but I have never sprayed anything before except with a rattle can. Given your experience with the wb urethane drying so fast in warm weather, I started to wonder if you take any special precautions to keep the paint from drying in the gun - especially on the tip?
Can you give me a few pointers on working with this paint in regard to keeping it from drying on the gun while painting multiple coats and for clean-up?
Thanks
Mike
Hi John,
I have been following your thread for some time now. I have a pair of new speakers that I am about to paint using the WB urethane that you spec'd earlier in the thread. I have the Wagner HVLP gun and the paint. I already used a non-water based urethane to seal the speakers for testing.
I am a fairly experienced woodworker but I have never sprayed anything before except with a rattle can. Given your experience with the wb urethane drying so fast in warm weather, I started to wonder if you take any special precautions to keep the paint from drying in the gun - especially on the tip?
Can you give me a few pointers on working with this paint in regard to keeping it from drying on the gun while painting multiple coats and for clean-up?
Thanks
Mike
Hi Mike,
I didn't have a problem with it drying in the gun. It has sat for nearly an hour before I used it again without a problem. Cleanup is a snap - rinse out the cup with warm water till most of the paint is gone, then fill it up with water and spray about half of it out to clean the guts. I go the extra step by "percolating" the gun to dislodge anything and flush it into the cup (it coughed out a big housefly one time, damned if I know how it got in there).
After the paint is gone, I put some lacquer thinner in and spray that onto a rag that I'll use to wipe off the outside of the gun. I then put some varsol in and give a quick spray to clear out the lacquer thinner. I leave the varsol in there until the next use. This is important if your gun isn't stainless steel as it will prevent rust, otherwise you can put clean water in there and leave it.
Good luck and show us the results when you're done.
I didn't have a problem with it drying in the gun. It has sat for nearly an hour before I used it again without a problem. Cleanup is a snap - rinse out the cup with warm water till most of the paint is gone, then fill it up with water and spray about half of it out to clean the guts. I go the extra step by "percolating" the gun to dislodge anything and flush it into the cup (it coughed out a big housefly one time, damned if I know how it got in there).
After the paint is gone, I put some lacquer thinner in and spray that onto a rag that I'll use to wipe off the outside of the gun. I then put some varsol in and give a quick spray to clear out the lacquer thinner. I leave the varsol in there until the next use. This is important if your gun isn't stainless steel as it will prevent rust, otherwise you can put clean water in there and leave it.
Good luck and show us the results when you're done.
Thanks John,
Of course I didnt know what "percolating" was, 'cept wif coffee but I found a nice Utube page explaining it. Looks like there are other spray painting lessons there too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0gPk_lSIu8
Will show my work - one day this summer.
Mike
Of course I didnt know what "percolating" was, 'cept wif coffee
but I found a nice Utube page explaining it. Looks like there are other spray painting lessons there too.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0gPk_lSIu8
Will show my work - one day this summer.
Mike
My paint booth is not bright enough yet - needs another 1 or 2 florescent fixtures. 
Also the fan is not quite strong enough. It takes about 50-60 seconds to clear the room when spraying a bigger item. I'd like to cut that in half or more, so I need a bigger fan.
Otherwise, well worth the effort. I've done a couple of things in there and they have come out virtually dust free. I still need to put seals around the doors to make sure it only pulls air through the filters.
As I mentioned previously, I sprayed the baffles with the last of my gallon of black Armorseal. I did this before the paint booth, outdoors. A warm spring day and there was pollen (I guess) in the air, and this landed in the paint - tiny white specks. No big deal as I intended to paint these again anyway.
Well, in a rush to try out my new paint booth, I sanded one of these and sprayed on about 10 coats of clear polyurethane. This was an experiment to see how well the Armorseal looks with a clear.
I let this cure for about a week and colour sanded this clearcoat and polished it. I like the results - the white specks are visible, but they look intentional, as if I meant for them to be there. It gives more depth.
As for the final results - I think I'll be doing it this way for now. The polyurethane polished flawlessly and I'm left with the most reflective surface I've ever achieved. Straight on refection is perfect, no cloudiness or distortion. For speakers, I think this finish is as durable as it needs to be, no need for a 2 part clear.
To this end, I have sprayed the clear on the other baffle and I'm now waiting for it to cure enough to sand and polish. Once the baffles are perfect, I'll order the veneer for the rest of the cab.
Pics soon.
Also the fan is not quite strong enough. It takes about 50-60 seconds to clear the room when spraying a bigger item. I'd like to cut that in half or more, so I need a bigger fan.
Otherwise, well worth the effort. I've done a couple of things in there and they have come out virtually dust free. I still need to put seals around the doors to make sure it only pulls air through the filters.
As I mentioned previously, I sprayed the baffles with the last of my gallon of black Armorseal. I did this before the paint booth, outdoors. A warm spring day and there was pollen (I guess) in the air, and this landed in the paint - tiny white specks. No big deal as I intended to paint these again anyway.
Well, in a rush to try out my new paint booth, I sanded one of these and sprayed on about 10 coats of clear polyurethane. This was an experiment to see how well the Armorseal looks with a clear.
I let this cure for about a week and colour sanded this clearcoat and polished it. I like the results - the white specks are visible, but they look intentional, as if I meant for them to be there. It gives more depth.
As for the final results - I think I'll be doing it this way for now. The polyurethane polished flawlessly and I'm left with the most reflective surface I've ever achieved. Straight on refection is perfect, no cloudiness or distortion. For speakers, I think this finish is as durable as it needs to be, no need for a 2 part clear.
To this end, I have sprayed the clear on the other baffle and I'm now waiting for it to cure enough to sand and polish. Once the baffles are perfect, I'll order the veneer for the rest of the cab.
Pics soon.
I have been overworked and underpaid lately, but I have managed to get some stuff done.
New fan for the paint booth - way more cfm, enough to clear the room in about 5 seconds. Remarkably, the airflow is still within reason for spraying.
I bought another light, a cheap 500watt halogen with a glass lens. This really lights up the room. No more squinting.
I finished polishing the first speaker and have started putting the drivers back in. The second one has not been sanded and polished yet.
I sprayed the centre channel speaker, the one I built over last winter (details earlier in this thread). I couldn't paint it last winter due to cold temp in my garage, so I left it alone till now.
This time around, I used some of my old black solvent based urethane paint for the base. I sprayed on about three coats and the went straight away to the clear urethane.
Turned out nice - sanded and polished. I didn't bother to mask the veneer body, as I will re-veneer these to match the mains (eventually).
New fan for the paint booth - way more cfm, enough to clear the room in about 5 seconds. Remarkably, the airflow is still within reason for spraying.
I bought another light, a cheap 500watt halogen with a glass lens. This really lights up the room. No more squinting.
I finished polishing the first speaker and have started putting the drivers back in. The second one has not been sanded and polished yet.
I sprayed the centre channel speaker, the one I built over last winter (details earlier in this thread). I couldn't paint it last winter due to cold temp in my garage, so I left it alone till now.
This time around, I used some of my old black solvent based urethane paint for the base. I sprayed on about three coats and the went straight away to the clear urethane.
Turned out nice - sanded and polished. I didn't bother to mask the veneer body, as I will re-veneer these to match the mains (eventually).
Attachments
Dcx2496
I have my new DCX2496
Looking through the manual, and playing with the controls, i can see this has the versatility that I was looking for. $220.00 plus shipping.
I haven't had a chance to properly try it out yet, as the speakers are still not reassembled and I lack the amplifiers to drive them. A bit tough to find time this summer, so I'll most likely get it all together in the fall.
I have my new DCX2496
Looking through the manual, and playing with the controls, i can see this has the versatility that I was looking for. $220.00 plus shipping.
I haven't had a chance to properly try it out yet, as the speakers are still not reassembled and I lack the amplifiers to drive them. A bit tough to find time this summer, so I'll most likely get it all together in the fall.
Update:
Nearly 2 1/2 years later!
I found the time over the summer (about 5 months ago) to finally finish these speakers, mainly the veneer and bits and pieces.
They have been my main speakers for the past 3+ years. I can honestly say that I don't believe I would trade them for anything else.
They are actively driven, using my 6 channel Patchwork amp:
My computer is the ONLY source and I use a stock DCX2496 as the crossover.
I settled on Jatoba for the veneer:
and finished it with 4 wiped on coats of an oil/varnish mix. I'm pleased with both the colour and the finish, the texture of the open grain contrasts the ultra smooth black of the baffle.
A shot of the back:
showing the ports, input jacks, rear facing tweeter (this turned out to be an excellent move BTW, it makes quite a noticeable difference) and the 'grill' I fashioned to cover the opened up midrange chamber (another move that worked out well).
A close-up of the grill:
It is 1/4" hardboard, a grid of 3/4" holes and painted with textured black. Not seen in this photo is the black speaker cloth that I glued to the inside of this grill to hide the fiberglass stuffing of the midrange chamber (those 2 hunks of pink in pic #2).
All in all, a very rewarding experience. Although long in the making, they are well worth the wait. I enjoy these every day and I'm still occasionally surprised by their clarity and deep base.
Nearly 2 1/2 years later!
I found the time over the summer (about 5 months ago) to finally finish these speakers, mainly the veneer and bits and pieces.
They have been my main speakers for the past 3+ years. I can honestly say that I don't believe I would trade them for anything else.
They are actively driven, using my 6 channel Patchwork amp:
My computer is the ONLY source and I use a stock DCX2496 as the crossover.
I settled on Jatoba for the veneer:
and finished it with 4 wiped on coats of an oil/varnish mix. I'm pleased with both the colour and the finish, the texture of the open grain contrasts the ultra smooth black of the baffle.
A shot of the back:
showing the ports, input jacks, rear facing tweeter (this turned out to be an excellent move BTW, it makes quite a noticeable difference) and the 'grill' I fashioned to cover the opened up midrange chamber (another move that worked out well).
A close-up of the grill:
It is 1/4" hardboard, a grid of 3/4" holes and painted with textured black. Not seen in this photo is the black speaker cloth that I glued to the inside of this grill to hide the fiberglass stuffing of the midrange chamber (those 2 hunks of pink in pic #2).
All in all, a very rewarding experience. Although long in the making, they are well worth the wait. I enjoy these every day and I'm still occasionally surprised by their clarity and deep base.
They look very professional build great craftsman ship.
Sheesh!
Thanks Cal
What can I say, It needs to be pretty or like the beer goggle one-nite-stand, out she goes!
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Wow. I guess some things weren't meant to be! I loved the concept though.- Status
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