Started a new project recently and wanted to share with you guys.
How it Started - In order to get the cool TangBand PR's for the Microfarads V2 build I had to buy a bunch of W6-1139SIF, no biggie as I love them. I also picked up a bunch of the Peerless 5.25" 835025 on sale from PE. Lastly I got a 10 pack of XT25-30 tweeters here in the classifieds, and when a friend asked me to build him some new speakers for his living room, I knew the perfect drivers to use =)
The design needed to be compact but floor standing and had a specific envelope it had to fit in. After modeling the W6 it seemed really happy in a .85 cubic foot box tuned to about 35hz, so I went from there. A small 2 liter sub enclosure houses the 5" and it starts rolling off in its own at about 200hz.
Construction is as follows, maple veneered plywood main body, solid maple strip edging for the top edges and solid Poplar heartwood front baffle and back. Solid Poplar outrigger adjustable height feet are also part of the design.
Initial cut list
Gluing on solid maple edging
Front and rear baffles cut to rough size
Gluing up sides and top/bottom
Drivers
Out of the clamps
Gluing in reinforcement stripes that also increase the glue area for the front and rear baffles. Also since I'll be staining the main body separate from the baffles, this will minimize glue squeeze out.
Midrange enclosure and some bracing
Locating dowels for the front and rear baffles
Laying out drivers
More to come, thanks!
Javad
How it Started - In order to get the cool TangBand PR's for the Microfarads V2 build I had to buy a bunch of W6-1139SIF, no biggie as I love them. I also picked up a bunch of the Peerless 5.25" 835025 on sale from PE. Lastly I got a 10 pack of XT25-30 tweeters here in the classifieds, and when a friend asked me to build him some new speakers for his living room, I knew the perfect drivers to use =)
The design needed to be compact but floor standing and had a specific envelope it had to fit in. After modeling the W6 it seemed really happy in a .85 cubic foot box tuned to about 35hz, so I went from there. A small 2 liter sub enclosure houses the 5" and it starts rolling off in its own at about 200hz.
Construction is as follows, maple veneered plywood main body, solid maple strip edging for the top edges and solid Poplar heartwood front baffle and back. Solid Poplar outrigger adjustable height feet are also part of the design.
Initial cut list
Gluing on solid maple edging
Front and rear baffles cut to rough size
Gluing up sides and top/bottom
Drivers
Out of the clamps
Gluing in reinforcement stripes that also increase the glue area for the front and rear baffles. Also since I'll be staining the main body separate from the baffles, this will minimize glue squeeze out.
Midrange enclosure and some bracing
Locating dowels for the front and rear baffles
Laying out drivers
More to come, thanks!
Javad
Another progress report, here is where things left off, reinforcement pieces installed front and rear
Midrange enclosure close up
Step by step on creating a template for an odd shaped driver like the Peerless truncated frame
First bolt the driver down to a sacrificial intermediate template board, perfectly center the base of your router and trace around the frame with a 1/4" spiral bit
Now trace the inside of the 1st int. Template also with a 1/4" spiral bit on another int. Template board
Now you have a 1/4" oversized template
For the final cut, trace the inside with a 3/4" pattern bit, this will give you an exact template of the original driver.
Some light sanding is usually required and you'll have an exact fit
Peerless ID cut, template centered over opening and ready to recess
Recess cut
Test fit
Tweeter flush mount
More to come!
Javad
Midrange enclosure close up
Step by step on creating a template for an odd shaped driver like the Peerless truncated frame
First bolt the driver down to a sacrificial intermediate template board, perfectly center the base of your router and trace around the frame with a 1/4" spiral bit
Now trace the inside of the 1st int. Template also with a 1/4" spiral bit on another int. Template board
Now you have a 1/4" oversized template
For the final cut, trace the inside with a 3/4" pattern bit, this will give you an exact template of the original driver.
Some light sanding is usually required and you'll have an exact fit
Peerless ID cut, template centered over opening and ready to recess
Recess cut
Test fit
Tweeter flush mount
More to come!
Javad
Time to install the port, this got a little interesting, went a totally different direction and resulted in something I really like how it turned out.
So normally I route out the OD recess of the port, then the ID, then round over the outlet, like this
A little oversight in my router plunge depth stop and I screwed it up. For a few seconds I thought I might have to scrap the baffle but I started thinking about how to make the best of it, and came up with a good idea
I cut a few rings out of Poplar and made an decorative ring that also doubles as a very nice radiused flow feature, roundovers are 1/2"
Test fit
With the baffle located on dowels, I flush cut the front and back
Breathing clearance on back of woofers with cove bit
Binding post recess, 3.5" diameter
3/4" roundover on vertical edges only
Final sanding 120-220-320
Thanks!
Javad
So normally I route out the OD recess of the port, then the ID, then round over the outlet, like this
A little oversight in my router plunge depth stop and I screwed it up. For a few seconds I thought I might have to scrap the baffle but I started thinking about how to make the best of it, and came up with a good idea
I cut a few rings out of Poplar and made an decorative ring that also doubles as a very nice radiused flow feature, roundovers are 1/2"
Test fit
With the baffle located on dowels, I flush cut the front and back
Breathing clearance on back of woofers with cove bit
Binding post recess, 3.5" diameter
3/4" roundover on vertical edges only
Final sanding 120-220-320
Thanks!
Javad
You are very dedicated to flush mounting. I usually don't bother if the flange is not round, especially those Peerless woofers are a pain.
I've done them before when truncated by using a circle jig for the rounds and an edge guide for the flats. It's doable without the 3 pass method, but takes a little more setup time.
Wolf
Wolf
Hello Javad,
Very, very nice work.
What radius are your quarter-roundover bits, and where do you buy those?
Eelco
Very, very nice work.
What radius are your quarter-roundover bits, and where do you buy those?
Eelco
Would definitely doable that way, but too go to be as accurate, I actually tested that and ended up scrapping it and going the other way. The nice thing is once you do the 3-pass method you have a nice template you can use in the future, and that is a very easy way to flush mount, as easy or easier than a circle jig.
Javad
Thanks for the kind words! I really like Magnate bits available in Amazon, they are very high quality and go up to 1.5", and quite affordable as well.
With all the fab done on the main body and baffles, it's time to start assembling.
I like using this technique as it allows the body to be stained one color and the baffles another with perfect seam lines and no bleed over
Here one body is stained Varathane ebony black
Both bodies stained
With bodies stained, time to start gluing on baffles. Notice I installed binding posts and wiring as it would be just about impossible to access once everything is assembled, and I didn't want to have to put the terminals artificially high. I also had to trim about 5/8" off the binding posts to clear the port tube.
The idea here is to apply sufficient glue but minimize squeeze out, any that happens can be cleaned up with a damp cloth.
Lots of clamps and pressure
Before the back was finally glued on I adjusted port tuning, original I was shooting for 38hz or so, but in room response was flatter with 29 so that's what so went with, and these dig to 25hz no problem.
38hz
I ended up at 29hz, port tube length of about 18" centerline
See that clean stain line?
With the front baffle going on the port tube needs to be installed, first step is to pass the port through the baffle and glue the ring on, once that set I applied glue around the port tube and the bezel flange and clamped that down to dry to the baffle
Back ready to install
More to come!
Javad
I like using this technique as it allows the body to be stained one color and the baffles another with perfect seam lines and no bleed over
Here one body is stained Varathane ebony black
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Both bodies stained
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
With bodies stained, time to start gluing on baffles. Notice I installed binding posts and wiring as it would be just about impossible to access once everything is assembled, and I didn't want to have to put the terminals artificially high. I also had to trim about 5/8" off the binding posts to clear the port tube.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
The idea here is to apply sufficient glue but minimize squeeze out, any that happens can be cleaned up with a damp cloth.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Lots of clamps and pressure
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Before the back was finally glued on I adjusted port tuning, original I was shooting for 38hz or so, but in room response was flatter with 29 so that's what so went with, and these dig to 25hz no problem.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
38hz
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
I ended up at 29hz, port tube length of about 18" centerline
See that clean stain line?
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
With the front baffle going on the port tube needs to be installed, first step is to pass the port through the baffle and glue the ring on, once that set I applied glue around the port tube and the bezel flange and clamped that down to dry to the baffle
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Back ready to install
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
More to come!
Javad
Thurston 3-ways Build Thread XT25 Peerless 5.25" TangBand W6-1139SIF
Thanks =)
K-amps said:
Thanks =)
Something I noticed, that when I loaded up the drivers, due to the height of the W6 and it’s massive motor assembly, that the enclosure was very top and front heavy, I was going to need some outrigger feet to stabilize the cabinets in the fore/aft directions.
I started by tracing a shape on a piece of 3.5” wide by 11” long poplar, and carefully cutting that out with a jig saw, then sanding it to the final shape I wanted.
Next I traced that pattern onto the 3 other pieces and rough cut them with a jig saw to w/in 1/8”
Then using double sided tape I pattern routed the rest of the feet
Finally I applied a 3/8” round over to the top sides, here they are ready to go
With the baffles all glued on and ready, it was time to start finishing. Since any stain on the poplar could disrupt the ebony stain already applied, and given how beautiful this poplar is, and that Spar Varnish adds an amber “darker” tint to the poplar, I just went straight to varnish, no additional staining or oiling
So I continued on the feet, I wanted to have adjustable rubber feet but nothing I saw on the market was really the right look or size, so I modified some standard 1.5” diameter rubber feet by drilling out the inside metal washer to 8.5mm so it would accept and M8x1.25mm button cap 318 stainless steel Allen bolt. These are all the parts I used
I wanted to make the feet adjustable and I needed a threaded locking feature on the top side of the foot, so I made some from 1.25” hardwood dowel. I started by rounding my over the top 3/8”
Then cutting the top off
Marking the center bottom and drilling it out for an insert
Then sanding in the “lathe” =)
Black ebony stain applied and about 8 layers of spar varnish, I also sealed the end grain with Crystalac as it really soaked up the varnish
Then I drilled and installed an insert in the feet
Thanks!
Javad
I started by tracing a shape on a piece of 3.5” wide by 11” long poplar, and carefully cutting that out with a jig saw, then sanding it to the final shape I wanted.
Next I traced that pattern onto the 3 other pieces and rough cut them with a jig saw to w/in 1/8”
Then using double sided tape I pattern routed the rest of the feet
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Finally I applied a 3/8” round over to the top sides, here they are ready to go
With the baffles all glued on and ready, it was time to start finishing. Since any stain on the poplar could disrupt the ebony stain already applied, and given how beautiful this poplar is, and that Spar Varnish adds an amber “darker” tint to the poplar, I just went straight to varnish, no additional staining or oiling
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
So I continued on the feet, I wanted to have adjustable rubber feet but nothing I saw on the market was really the right look or size, so I modified some standard 1.5” diameter rubber feet by drilling out the inside metal washer to 8.5mm so it would accept and M8x1.25mm button cap 318 stainless steel Allen bolt. These are all the parts I used
I wanted to make the feet adjustable and I needed a threaded locking feature on the top side of the foot, so I made some from 1.25” hardwood dowel. I started by rounding my over the top 3/8”
Then cutting the top off
Marking the center bottom and drilling it out for an insert
Then sanding in the “lathe” =)
Black ebony stain applied and about 8 layers of spar varnish, I also sealed the end grain with Crystalac as it really soaked up the varnish
Then I drilled and installed an insert in the feet
Thanks!
Javad
Ok time to mount these feet and assemble these guys!
I applied masking tape to the cabinets and feet and carefully measured and marked reference alignment guides on all the parts, I also made a drill guide for the through holes in the feet which made them all identical when it came I mounting. This worked well and everything went on straight and consistent.
Once I had the feet drilled for screw through holes, I attached each foot to the cabinet with double sided tape and then marked pilot holes in the cabinet with a punch
I used 2” long drywall screws and mounted into the plywood end grain of each side, they are very securely mounted. And wala!
I lined the midrange enclosure with about 1” of cotton fabric, then stuffed with poly fill
I lined the area behind the W6 with foam and stuffed the corners of the cabinets with poly full and mounted all drivers, no crossover yet so all wiring coming out the port.
I started with initial sweeps of all drivers to generate ZMA and FRD files and loaded them into XSim, after playing around I decided on about 250hz between mid and woofer both 12db, and 12 on the mid and 18 on the tweeter around 2300hz or so.
Getting very nice results so far, man a dome tweeter is so much easier to work with than a horn =)
Thanks!
Javad
I applied masking tape to the cabinets and feet and carefully measured and marked reference alignment guides on all the parts, I also made a drill guide for the through holes in the feet which made them all identical when it came I mounting. This worked well and everything went on straight and consistent.
Once I had the feet drilled for screw through holes, I attached each foot to the cabinet with double sided tape and then marked pilot holes in the cabinet with a punch
I used 2” long drywall screws and mounted into the plywood end grain of each side, they are very securely mounted. And wala!
I lined the midrange enclosure with about 1” of cotton fabric, then stuffed with poly fill
I lined the area behind the W6 with foam and stuffed the corners of the cabinets with poly full and mounted all drivers, no crossover yet so all wiring coming out the port.
I started with initial sweeps of all drivers to generate ZMA and FRD files and loaded them into XSim, after playing around I decided on about 250hz between mid and woofer both 12db, and 12 on the mid and 18 on the tweeter around 2300hz or so.
Getting very nice results so far, man a dome tweeter is so much easier to work with than a horn =)
Thanks!
Javad
Absolutely stellar!
I've considered using solid wood for some speakers, but I'm always nervous they'll pop a seam due to expansion/contraction after a while. Is that a significant concern?
I've considered using solid wood for some speakers, but I'm always nervous they'll pop a seam due to expansion/contraction after a while. Is that a significant concern?
Thanks!
I’ve been building solid wood speakers and furniture for 30 years, if you use my constriction techniques I don’t believe you’ll have a problem no.
Javad
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