IPL Speakers Nearing Completion - Wow!

[jonclancy]

Hi Guys,

I know this is meant to be a DI-"Y" site , but my woodworking skills are non-existant. However, my brother in law Dave is very handy in that department and we decided to trade skills over a couple of projects. He has constructed me the cabinets for the Ivan Leslie IPL S3TLM Transmission Line speakers and I wanted to share his work with you (and we'd appreciate your comments). The veneer is American Black Walnut, specifically positioned to make best uses of the grain oysters on the sheets. The grain itself runs from the stand, up the side, over the top and down the other side of the speaker in a continuous run. Front and rear veneers have been chosen for their features and positioned accordingly. The veneer is also mirror imaged between both speakers and is finished with oil and final wax. The speaker stands are hollow and have concealed screws to allow mass loading using sand, lead etc.












I'll be doing the crossovers in an external box and will internally wire with either single core 5N silver wire with cotton piping (but have been warned if might be brittle and break due to the vibrations) or a silver plated copper stranded wire with a teflon jacket.

I take my hat off to Dave - I think he's done a really superb job here and I'll be proud to have these beauties in my listening room!!



Cheers

Jon

[ShinOBIWAN]

Those look superb Jon, be sure to buy your brother-in-law a few pints for those.

You'll be surprised at how much of the grain and figuring of the wood is brought out with a quality wax, even better would be a urethane high gloss finish.

One thing I did notice is that he hasn't recessed the drivers, is this not needed for the S3?

[jonclancy]

Hi ShinOBIWAN,

Thanks for your kind comments - Yup, he'll be getting beer all right! I don't recall the instructions mentioning a recess (before I gave the whole pile of MDF to Dave to take away after a visit ) and as the panels came fully machined, I assume it would be done if needed. The grille panel is quite thick and the material is stretched over the surface, allowing the driver surrounds enough space beneath.

However, I'll have a chat with Dave about this - he's keen to get feedback and I've emailed him a link to this thread.

Cheers!

Jon

[jonclancy]

....I've just been on the IPLacoustics.co.uk website and all drivers are surface mounted.

I can't wait to get these home and run in! They earn some nice comments here: http://www.tubedistinctions.co.uk/main.htm Link is on the bottom of the left hand column.

Cheers

Jon

[jonclancy]

Here's an update!!!

I had the easy job of reworking the existing crossovers to get them into a box on the back of the speakers - we didn't want to have anything interfering with the waves inside.

Dave was magic in the wodd department - as usual!! The cabinets are oiled, waxed and buffed. The veneer has a superb sheen to it and the quality is outstanding! My neighbour commented that the finish was professional and I couldn't agree more!!

Soundwise, these TLs are shaping up nicely as they run in. I used the recommended long haired wool wadding behind the woofer, and the bass is now deep and tight. I'm running 8R2 in a resistor network for the ribbons, as that was what the previous builder used, but think I should try the stock 10R for completeness. That's another advantage of the external crossover box. I'll post some more reports in a couple of weeks.

Here are some pics:













Cheers

Jon

[richie00boy]

Look great and you were lucky to find somebody with such woodworking/veneering skills - we spent the best part of a year trying to get somebody to veneer our sub cabinets

Does your BIL do this for a living or be prepared to take on one-offs/small orders?

[jonclancy]

Hi Rich,

Dave doesn't do this for a living - in fact we reckon it could never be commercially viable if you were to charge by the hour as the end price would make you wince. However, Dave did get a lot of pleasure out of building these (well, a bit more than the pain!! ) and he might well be able to help.

Just as an indicator, our veneer and glues came to around £150, but we were going for a matched and mirrored finish from a heavily figured wood. If we wished to use another wood, we could certainly have saved a roll of £25 veneer.

What did you have in mind?

Cheers

Jon

[richie00boy]

Probably not worth your while then, as we would be looking for repeatable small orders/one-offs without too much lead time, and guaranteed top-notch finish.

Curious how you applied the glue (was told it needs special spray equipment) and the veneer without any presses or vacuum equipment.

[jonclancy]

Hi Richie,

We used glue film supplied by Vale Veneers (.co.uk). Dave used two electric irons. One hot to melt the glue and the other cold to act as a sink and to cool the glue evenly. This method helps to prevent the veneer from swimming on the carcass surface.

Good luck with your project. I'm intrigued - how about a PM clue??

Cheers

Jon

[richie00boy]

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