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Pensil Pics, lets show 'em!

Hi Don,

Breaking in period - Miniwatt N3 and currently Glow Amp One. Also have Chinese make EL34 PP amp which has more watts - will try that out later once 200+ hours are done.

How is you Miniwatt doing with your new Alp 10.2 Kens?

-Zia
Actually, I'm using my TranscendentSound CFA.
99% of the time it's 3 1/2 wpc is more than adequate!
best, don
ts amp.jpg
 
Yes, these drivers are impressive... even with few watts there seems to be plenty of music :) and I am getting amazed by the clarity - so revealing, yet not harsh.

On the cabinet side, excellent designs by Scott (Pensil's) Mar-Kens (Dave).

BTW, nice amp - you bought from Trancendent directly or put it together? How does it play with the OTL tech?
 
Yes, these drivers are impressive... even with few watts there seems to be plenty of music :) and I am getting amazed by the clarity - so revealing, yet not harsh.

On the cabinet side, excellent designs by Scott (Pensil's) Mar-Kens (Dave).

BTW, nice amp - you bought from Trancendent directly or put it together? How does it play with the OTL tech?
Hi Zia: I bought the amp partially wired---
Actually, it's not an OTL, it's a cathode follower. Bruce discontinued them to focus strictly on his 'signature' OTL's.
On paper, it's looks underpowered paired w/ the MA 10.2's, but in a real-world situation, it's a very satisfying pairing.
I may build a pair of Pencil's too. They look a very elegant speaker!
best,
don
 
I may build a pair of Pencil's too. They look a very elegant speaker!
best,
don

Don,

I was a bit apprehensive after putting the boxes together - the Super Pensils looked BIG. But after veneering, finishing, and installing the drivers, they have a solid yet stylish presence about them, and definitely look elegant. Will post some more pics this week.

If you are planning to do with Alp 10.2, then size should be more manageable, and still look great, especially with your P10 treated drivers.

Cheers,
Zia
 
Hi guys, I'm on the Pensil band wagon. In the final stages of a 10.2 build. Here are a few build up photos that might give others a little inspiration. I'm by no means an expert woodworker but I like to challenge myself. This project's challenge was mitred joints.

I started by cutting the top, bottom, and sides using a circular saw and a straight edge. I made them the exact outer dimensions of the box. I actually clamped two pieces of birch ply together for the cuts to ensure the panels would match in size. That was after making several practice cuts to make sure the blade was cutting straight. Once I had the right size, I used my table saw to cut the 45 degree mitre edge just barely skimming one edge. A little plane action on the very edge and I was good to go.

Next, I used the masking tape method to assemble the top, bottom, and sides. Using a square and some scrap pieces of wood I made sure everything was squared up and let the glue dry with just the four sides.
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An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.


Up next was the front. I measured the gap created by my fully assembled sides and cut scrap wood until I had the perfect width that would fit snug. Before installing I used a router and a perfect circle jig for the speaker opening. Recessed on the front, chamfered on the back.

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.


Then came the rails to screw down the removable back (I skipped the bracing).

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.


I used a piece of birch and some 1x1" strips of pine to create a base. I'm thinking I should have found birch though since the pine is really soft...I'll just have to be careful moving them around. Also note I chamfered the edges of the box. This was more for style but if it works for the Fonken series it might help here too. I'll admit the primary reason was so I could follow the theme down to the bases.

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.


Next, the wife asked for a speaker grill. I used 1/4" hard board for this. I cut the piece to the desired size then clamped it in place so I could cut the speaker opening. More chamfering for good measure.

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An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.


To mount them, I used a magnet kit from PartsExpress. These suckers are strong!

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.


Up next: Birch veneer for the front baffle. This will hide the magnets and the plywood edges on the front. The top and sides don't need veneer because of the mitred edges. After that, all I have to do is cover the grill with cloth and finish off the wood with sanding, stain and poly.
 
Yeah, when I hooked them up to test, I noticed there was a little flex. However, it'll be tough to get bracing in with the trim pieces for the removable back. I'll see how they sound without it. I may at least need a cross brace or two just to keep the poly from sliding down.

As for clamps... Boy I wish I had some bigger ones. I have two that will go the length of the box but when I went to pick up more, they only had 36" ones. I noticed when clamping the pine, that it requires a clamp almost every 3-4" to squeeze out all the glue. The birch is harder so it doesn't flex as much. In any case, I won't be using pine ever again. The router bearings dig right into it, even with masking tape to protect the wood.
 
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#2 was done. The 2nd to last photo shows the chamfer on the edges of the grill. The final photo shows an aggressive chamfer along the inside cutout. I thought about cutting out the entire center section to create a "frame", but I didn't think it would be sturdy enough to stretch the cloth over.

For serious listening...I will definitely remove the grills. I used the magnets so they would look good both with and without grills. For watching TV or whatever, they'll prolly stay on. Plus it will be fun to trick guests into thinking there's an array of woofers under the grill...it certainly sounds like there is.
 
#2 was done. The 2nd to last photo shows the chamfer on the edges of the grill. The final photo shows an aggressive chamfer along the inside cutout. I thought about cutting out the entire center section to create a "frame", but I didn't think it would be sturdy enough to stretch the cloth over.

For serious listening...I will definitely remove the grills. I used the magnets so they would look good both with and without grills. For watching TV or whatever, they'll prolly stay on. Plus it will be fun to trick guests into thinking there's an array of woofers under the grill...it certainly sounds like there is.


Personally I generally don't make the grilles full length and find that with 3/4" to 1" frame margin and gusseted inside corners that 1/4" MDF will certainly withstand the stretching of cloth - not sturdy enough for abuse, but the vastly reduced weight allows use of 1/4" rare earth bar magnets - it requires a minimum of 16 magnets per pair of frames, and with predicted price increases on the neo material, the fewer and smaller the better.

I tape the frames with pilot holes to the speaker baffle and drill though both at the same time in a drill press with depth stop set to approx 1/16" (under 1mm) deeper than the magnet thickness to allow for flush fit. Smaller boxes can actually fit on the drill press table after assembly, but larger ones need to be machined beforehand.
 
These are the ones I used...Magnetic Grill Guides 0.395" Dia. x 0.2" H 8 Pcs. One set per speaker.

My method was a bit more crude since I don't have a drill press. First I clamped the two grills together so any holes I drilled would be uniform and I wouldn't be guessing which grill went on which speaker. I drilled pilot holes with a small bit using a handheld drill through both grills. Then I took one grill and clamped it to each speaker cabinet and continued the pilot hole into the cabinet using a depth stopper. Next I switched to a 1/4" bit. For both the grills and the cabinets I used a depth stopper. I didn't want the magnets to pull themselves out of the grill so I drilled from the front. Using a scrap piece of birch ply I hammered them in. I only have a metal hammer, which of course means you can't hammer them directly without them sticking to the hammer. Once they were 90% in, I used the hammer to tap them in the last bit.