Anyone ever build a glass cabinet?

[Javachip]

I'd like to build a pair of The Force . The retail price is not available, but if you have to ask how much, you can't afford it.

[sdclc126]

First you'll have to get the right-sized glass panels - height, width, thickness - it would probably have to be custom-made. Then you'll have to cut the driver cut-outs, with - some kind of diamond saw/router bit?

The glass looks great but I doubt it has any effect on the sound - with open baffle you can probably use just about any kind of material. Often in DIY you'll have to make some compromises when cloning, or the cost will skyrocket out of the DIY range.

Clone the speakers but try wood for the panels - focus on the sound rather than the appearance - it's the bottom line afterall.

[ShinOBIWAN]

From reading the website; this isn't regular glass at all, but a 'custom' mix.

[jleaman]

Originally posted by ShinOBIWAN
From reading the website; this isn't regular glass at all, but a 'custom' mix.

They look pretty sweet tho. I have seen once the bose subwoofer it was ll plexie glass was pretty sweet box.

[icurays1]

Well, glass is certianly dense and stiff, and that's typically desired in loudspeaker construction for accuracy and cutting down on weird resonaces that other materials might have.

As for acctually building something out of it, you might be in for a trip - you can certainly do the job with a diamond router bit or wet tile saw - its about like cutting tile or stone. If you have a plunge router already, you can get a straight diamond bit for oh...$20-30 or so, then build yourself a circle jig and just take it really slow, multiple passes. http://advantage-drillbits.com/glass.html somewhere on there they have what you need.

Stained glass folks use a simple rotary cutter with an etching solution, you make a scoring cut then just snap the chunk off (squarish cuts only)...but you're probably going to be using thicker glass than those can really handle, and are going to want to do circles and whatnot.

Another issue you're going to have to deal with is joining the glass at corners, and getting your speakers attacted. You can use an epoxy resin, or some other glues, i suppose - but i'd think in a speaker, the glue would end up loosing bond after a while, from the vibration. You could drill holes and use bolts - just make sure you get some grommits in there so the holes dont end up cracking.

have fun...
Nick

[icurays1]

Acctually, come to think of it, plexiglass or Lexan might be a far easier way to go. You can cut that with all your normal shop tools (table saw, routers.) It'll probably end up being cheaper, too - and it'll look just as sweet. You can get Lexan in all sorts of colors, too (just think Nalgene bottles).

[ostie01]

First of all, you'll never cut glass with a router bit, even if it's diamond, forget it. You can go to store where you can rent some diamond hole saw, it's the only way.But I'm sure those speaker are build with tempered glass, this mean they are heat treated and if it's break, you'll end up with millions of littles pieces of it and the hole have been cut before the heating.You can't build it with ordinary glass, will be too dangerous if something happen.

[dnsey]

Glass is much easier to work underwater - it damps the vibrations which cause it to shatter. In fact, thin sheets can be cut with scissors that way!

[Javachip]

If I use wood instead of glass, then it becomes just another line array. The glass baffle/enclosure makes it unique, or at least highly unusual. As for cost, this project is clearly not a cheapie. The price for the tiny cubical bookshelf-type model is about US$18,000, so the tall open-baffle array must be well into the six figures.

Acrylic or similar material is easier to work with than glass, but it scratches, is flexible, and might not have the rock-solid stability and rigidity that you would want for a baffle/enclosure.

Yes, the glass must be tempered, or hardened in some way. Regular glass would be too prone to shattering. Remember the old Memorex (or Maxell?) cassette tape commercial, in which the female vocalist shattered a wine glass with her voice, and then this was repeated with a tape playback? Is it actually possible to shatter glass with just the right sound frequency/amplitude, or was that just clever advertising? Wouldn't it be dramatic to play an opera passage on these glass towers, make them explode and send deadly shards for blocks in all directions!

[405man]

I think the glass was cut by water jet. I have a glass toothbrush holder which has a circular hole for the beaker and I was told that they were water jet cut. If you enquire at a glazier they may be able to help

Stuart