Alright, I was a little worried because it was dark brown. I've been playing quite loud recently, hitting up to 93-94dB in listening position. Crossed over at 300Hz though.
?music: dMar-Kel70T
There you can see the latest progress. Soon finished!
Any ideas about finish? I don't want to paint them, I want to see the wood. But some kind of stain maybe?
There you can see the latest progress. Soon finished!
Any ideas about finish? I don't want to paint them, I want to see the wood. But some kind of stain maybe?
ya gotta be careful trying to stain birch or maple veneer faced plywood - it's very easy to go splotchy - Dave can post some pictures of what a simple clear coat of lacquer can look like - a very "Euro" look if you like
If you have some scraps and feel like playing you could try using Zinsser SealCoat then a stain. SealCoat is just premixed thin de-waxed shellac about a 2lb cut I think. You can thin it more with denature alcohol if you like. Easy enough to make your own if you can get shellac flakes. This should help with splotching as will a gel stain. Remember - scraps first!
The cabinets are almost finished now. Will do the 45-degree cut on wednesday at a local woodshop. The guys who owns it is building furniture, guitars and skis so he should know how to do it properly.
The birchplywood seems really sturdy. I had two friends over earlier today and I asked them to try knocking on the birchply cabinets and then on the particle board cabinets. It's a BIG difference, I will film it when I've done the angle cuts. Knocking on the birchply almost hurts your hands while knocking on the particle boards feels soft. The sound is very different too, the birchply make a higher frequency noise and much quieter while the particle board cabinets "boom" more, lower frequency and much much louder.
The birchplywood seems really sturdy. I had two friends over earlier today and I asked them to try knocking on the birchply cabinets and then on the particle board cabinets. It's a BIG difference, I will film it when I've done the angle cuts. Knocking on the birchply almost hurts your hands while knocking on the particle boards feels soft. The sound is very different too, the birchply make a higher frequency noise and much quieter while the particle board cabinets "boom" more, lower frequency and much much louder.
looking good - quite a journey from the first chip-board boxes - I hope you find they sound as good as they look
as to your blog comments about cleanness of cut - the total number of "knife cuts per inch" ( blade tooth count x RPM) + tip shape/angle + sharpness help determine the quality of finish -
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Spent around four hours today completing the speakers. First a rough sanding of edges to make them more even, used a 40's sandpaper. Then some finesanding with a 180's paper. Took about two hours to do all the sanding.
Then I spent another two hours eating some, soldering cables to terminals, screwing terminals, soldering cables to drivers and mounting drivers.
I haven't heard the Mar-Kel70 for a while, but I think there is a lot less bass. But the driver moves less too, seems like the cabinet is damping more now.
Anyways, it's nice to have the highs back. The speakers I've been using for the past weeks have had blown tweeters so there hasn't been very much action above ~2khz.
Then I spent another two hours eating some, soldering cables to terminals, screwing terminals, soldering cables to drivers and mounting drivers.
I haven't heard the Mar-Kel70 for a while, but I think there is a lot less bass. But the driver moves less too, seems like the cabinet is damping more now.
Anyways, it's nice to have the highs back. The speakers I've been using for the past weeks have had blown tweeters so there hasn't been very much action above ~2khz.
The biggest difference is probably the lack of cabinet resonances in the lower midrange region.
I was just listening to some Paul Carrack and I noticed the voice is much "cleaner" than before. I haven't run any sine sweeps yet with these cabinets, but I remember I had some nasty action at ~200Hz with the old cabinets.
I was just listening to some Paul Carrack and I noticed the voice is much "cleaner" than before. I haven't run any sine sweeps yet with these cabinets, but I remember I had some nasty action at ~200Hz with the old cabinets.
Guys, I need som help now.
I was glueing the Oy speakers over night and when I was loosening the clamps today one of the spacers had stuck to the baffle. I tried to bend it loose with my hands but I couldn't. Had to use a hammer to knock it away and it brought part of the baffle with it.
I was glueing the Oy speakers over night and when I was loosening the clamps today one of the spacers had stuck to the baffle. I tried to bend it loose with my hands but I couldn't. Had to use a hammer to knock it away and it brought part of the baffle with it.
What should I do? Try to peel the missing part off the oak block with a razorblade and if it works try to glue it back in place?
Bondo?
Well, I used a sharp carpetknife and managed to peel off the birchply bit from the oak. I will see if I can glue it back to place to fill up the hole a bit. I try to repair it as good as I can and then I'll see if I will veener or paint them.
Well, I used a sharp carpetknife and managed to peel off the birchply bit from the oak. I will see if I can glue it back to place to fill up the hole a bit. I try to repair it as good as I can and then I'll see if I will veener or paint them.
At least you know your glue is strong! Kind of hard to tell just how big the damaged area is but it looks like there is not much figure there so may be easy to patch if you have some spare. If you're careful it probably wouldn't be noticeable to anyone but you. I have a little router guide that makes perfect patches easily so might be an opportunity to buy a tool!
How do you mean? Like routing out a bit and then put a patch in the routed hole? Might work if I get it done right, but I'd most likely have to ask somebody more experience. I might contact the guy who did the 45 degree cuts on the dMar-Kel70T speakers and see if he can do something.
And yes, the glue is really really strong 😀
Well, that would definitely be an option.
But I have had the speaker standing in my room now and it is not so very visible now and I haven't done anything to it yet. There's still some darker pieces of oak there which I will remove. I will try the glue/bondo option first. If I'm not satisfied I will try an inlay and if nothing works I will either let it be or paint them.