This is one of the reasons for putting down the traditional tools. I picked up a printer that can do 40cmx40xmx40cm and can use most filaments including wood and graphite and plastics that glue well. With something like this, there is no longer any money laying on the floor in particle form, no removing of materials!
Shouldn't that be "build a set of speakers and use hand tools for it, your hobby is the labour and time spent at labour"? If the objective is to build a better speaker box, then picking up hand tools is choosing the poorer tool set. New tech can print the whole box with a lattice structural cells with all the screw and driver holes in place with very little wastage, ready for lamination. Which is a better speaker box then MDF or ply
Than you don't take all the time you got to this skill level into account 😉
As well as very complex shapes or projects where high precision and repeatability is very important.
In the end this is just nothing more than a cost-benefit ratio in time.
Fact is that if someone can't get into a certain skill, there are always other ways.
Maybe not as fast or as fancy, but it's a solution nevertheless 🙂
Or sometimes it can be very practical.
Routing always creates a ton of dust.
A CNC can be run inside an appartement without having to much dust everywhere.
Which is basically impossible with a plunge/trim router.
Yes, I have tested this myself 🙂
One thing I'd like to add on top of this sub-topic at this point: if DIY is your thing, then at some point I assume you'll likely be trying out DSP crossovers/multi-amping, (especially if you're thinking about building a pair of MEHs/horn-loaded loudspeakers or anything that has a horn or shallow angled surface in the front baffle to approximate a horn).
Apparently the skill to use REW (or some in-room measurement app with a low-cost measurement microphone like a UMIK-1, etc.) to take acoustic measurements in-room, and then use REW to initially predict the needed DSP crossover settings, and iteratively update the PEQ, delay, crossover filters, channel gain settings of the DSP crossover, etc. is something that lot of people shy away from (and shouldn't) even when showed how remotely via round-robin emails back and forth the REW measurements and updated DSP crossover settings files to import. Having some idea of what occurs in-room acoustically is key to being comfortable with DIY in this area, too.
This is something that I believe currently divides "20th century audiophiles" (perhaps more on this subject later) from current 21st century DIY audio enthusiasts here--and it certainly doesn't have to be that way. I find this is situation is so pervasive that I'm in process of writing down a slightly expanded tutorial of how to do it (even though there are currently a lot of people here that are doing it).
If anyone is interested in having a "how to dial-in their DSP crossovers in-room" (i.e., without trying to rely on something like Dirac or Audyssey, etc., which I find are just not really good enough), let me know on the Multiway subforum.
[Perhaps a thread on this subject needs to appear on the Multiway subforum.]
I've done a lot of these remote dial-ins over the past 6-7 years, but my backlog seems to be growing, not shrinking, (as one might expect as DSP crossovers become more pervasive). This is the real "audiophile enabler" nowadays, IMHO. It doesn't need to be seen as difficult to do.
<end rant>
Chris
Last edited:
My printer is currently sitting under the kitchen counter, where I am building a dedicated compartment for it. This will drain into the exhaust system for the stove on the bench. Will have pics in my Grooveshop DIY thread when this area is complete. The space on top of the clothes washer is marked for another cupboard for the CNC/laser router
It becomes a bit of a fine line here Randy. I am sure that you have had the experience of actually touching and shaping a block of wood into a new usable shape. There is a difference between that and design. That is what I see more in the tech world and yes, that is fine with me. The visceral part is what I like about hand planes or chisels. Then again, I up the anty and use a table saw rather than a hand saw to cut panels. Nothing wrong with that.
Maybe this is the difference between throwing a pot on a potters wheel or having a machine that for you. Again if the goal is to sell pots, I totally get it. We might be talking apples to oranges here. Design itself is not to be discounted,,, ever. For me, sometimes the wood itself tells me what it is going to be.
Maybe a couple of experiences or so yeah 😀 Honestly hard to pick from things made using the most primitive of tools that I have had a go at. These are all some examples of my first attempts at something new from scratch without kits or existing designs. . Believe me, I can craft better with my new tool set. It's like I have a printer for my imagination now. Watch me work moving forward, man. Today I spend some hours converting my test design for a soundbar from MDF to foam composite on the screen 😀
All around Capital theatre, Sydney
Randy, that is most impressive work! If it weren't for a local fly rod class being held in town, I wouldn't have appreciated the immense amount of work shown in your first photo. I truly get your points about the CNC, printer and other tech stuff. My damned shop is too full of tooling now where work is more difficult than ever, let alone find room for more tools.
Honestly, I wish that I had another 20 years in me to advance in such ways as you have. I have worked with all kinds of equipment, tools, and really cool stuff over the decades, but would have dug getting to know how to use some this new equipment. OTOH, I was privileged enough to have done a lot the old way, whether it be climbing power poles with hooks, or using outside test equipment that is long gone. Even the experience of working around a machinist who mostly taught me by way of example, I just got enamored with the whole process. Remember your first cordless drill? Me too. It had a crank at one end.
Preference is what I go by, but yes as someone already said, it is important to adapt. That has always been true. After all, when you're in the field (think Wyoming) and the rope just broke, well, there you are.
Honestly, I wish that I had another 20 years in me to advance in such ways as you have. I have worked with all kinds of equipment, tools, and really cool stuff over the decades, but would have dug getting to know how to use some this new equipment. OTOH, I was privileged enough to have done a lot the old way, whether it be climbing power poles with hooks, or using outside test equipment that is long gone. Even the experience of working around a machinist who mostly taught me by way of example, I just got enamored with the whole process. Remember your first cordless drill? Me too. It had a crank at one end.
Preference is what I go by, but yes as someone already said, it is important to adapt. That has always been true. After all, when you're in the field (think Wyoming) and the rope just broke, well, there you are.
I'm planning on making something like this...I may actually use a router, haven't decided yet. With a router I expect to take a month or two since I can really only work on speakers on weekends.
Youngsters are guided by their surroundings and parents. I let my 5year old daughter and 8 year old son hand plane and saw with my entire inventory of vintage, Lie Nielsen and Clifton planes. 🙂. They love it! They know how to respect tools and be safe too. Chisel use is still off limits to them unless closely supervised. As long as it is a hobby and not work livelihood, hand tools seem like a great salve for those of us that are tired of automated/tech/digitally driven lifestyles.
I'll say one last thing on this topic, my head is bursting with ideas of things to make but at where I am in experience now, I don't need to make half of them. Just knowing I can make it is enough to move on to the next idea. Hand tools make for very drawn out builds with much double or triple handling. If you only have a few ideas to work on then they are off course sufficient if you can train yourself to use them well. If your ambition is to mess with only one speaker then a hand saw is plenty as it can be more finesse than a powered one
I think most tinkerer dads make their equipment available to the kids as they come into form, and kids growing up in such households want to make things too. You guys are nothing special in that as all such families are getting more and more common, dads are doing more with kids now. That is the special thing
Understanding and respecting potential unsafe and dangerous situations is by far the best safety precaution.
There isn't anything more dangerous than following some safety instructions blindly without having a clue why.
I think any practical tool is great to learn from a young age. It really helps with adaptability later on. Aka be able to be self sufficient and creative.
Also, we are the people guiding, raising and teaching the youngsters.
So if there are complaints, we can only blame ourselves.
Exactly!
And with power tools (but not only) nothing can beat a practical instruction from someone that knows how to do it. That helps to get used and confident.
So anyone here in vienna/surroundings having difficulties to use the router and circle jig, let me know and i'll give a short introduction!
Thanks man, I'd like to show you my first deco wrap. To match the older Saltiga z6000 GT. I hope you like it
I have said all I wanted re the debate, but as others have said earlier, let's help the best we can. Maybe speaker non-commercial DIYers need a better system than regular routers and the comprehensive abilities of CNC/3D print
I also mentioned that the mouse is a handplane not well understood. We are supposed to be intelligent, and what that means is that we have the ability to make a new tool to suit. I propose that we turn the direction of this thread to that end. Let's see if we can make a painless tool for speaker rebates
I propose a DIY jig mounting a BLDC motor, a speed controller, a couple of bearings, digital veneer calipers, impeller
To get this started, we need to work out bit size, KV, PSU, airflow. I am good with the drawing, mech design and airflow and happy to volunteer with that. I can make good use of this tool too
To get this started, we need to work out bit size, KV, PSU, airflow. I am good with the drawing, mech design and airflow and happy to volunteer with that. I can make good use of this tool too
... And when I peruse the forum "galleries" I can't help but think they are Fine Woodworking: speaker projects.
I'm so low tech, I can work out a simple XO or notch filter in the few minutes I had before running to catch a train: (1) place drivers in one of my test harnesses; (2) listen very carefully to tone-sweeps; (3) calculate in my head part values using simplified formulae; (4) p2p hook them up using electrician's caps and alligators; (5) listen critically to my favorite music and tweak.
I use a very thin kerf Japanese handsaw to cut ply and MDF fast and straight, quietly at night.
Last edited:
My 30-something son, a software engineer in his professional life, has taken up building furniture for his family home. He owns no power tools, everything is by hand saw, plane and chisel. He built his own workbench to allow him to use those tools, has taught himself how to sharpen saws and blades, and has even built a couple of specialized planes from scratch to help him to make the joints he needs. He has no inclination to CNC anything. There is room for both modern tech and traditional tools in this world.
Bill
I used to live in a small border town that had a unique antique shop. Chinese antiques were sold there. Among the furniture were different levels of woodworking. Some just knocked you down on sight. but the ones that attracted me most were the raw pieces that were made with little more than some sort of sharpened steel and probably some sort of mallet. As raw as they were, they were beautiful. I tried to imagine the tenacity that it took just to make a 3 legged stool, let alone one that has its own sort of attraction by means of such simplicity.
Once years ago, I made a set of speakers for a co-worker at a $200 price point. Can't get very far with that, but using what was available in the scrap pile, I was able to make something that sounded much better than it ever should and also look attractive. I still remember him saying, "It sounds like James Taylor is in the room playing."
Once years ago, I made a set of speakers for a co-worker at a $200 price point. Can't get very far with that, but using what was available in the scrap pile, I was able to make something that sounded much better than it ever should and also look attractive. I still remember him saying, "It sounds like James Taylor is in the room playing."