@mbrennwa Those are beautiful and your stands give a certain lightness to the speakers. Great inspiration/motivation.
Ports on the back ... got the message (and will keep reading the thread).
I have the BOM for the Mundorf parts and have requested quotes for these. Did anyone make a BOM using Jantzen or other parts? I thought I'd ask before spending time on this.
Ports on the back ... got the message (and will keep reading the thread).
I have the BOM for the Mundorf parts and have requested quotes for these. Did anyone make a BOM using Jantzen or other parts? I thought I'd ask before spending time on this.
Brass screws in my case... countersunk and flush... there's a gasket, need to be able to pull the back tight.
@maximax77, to be able to mount the mid driver from the rear. I haven't done it, but I've read that it's a little tricky to do even without the rear panel.
Way more work, no access for mounting any of the drivers nor later adjustments/refinements, and certainly less fun....
you will have to screw the rear wall to the braces. Not sure how well screws dampen vibrations…
you can totally do that - many people also prefer NOT to have any screws for the box, as it might break the MDF over time, as it expands or contracts with temperature. drivers offcourse need screws, but usually the baffle is the thickest, and you can insert the drivers from the front.
Time for an update. What started as an innocent post a few months back, has slowly developed into a super satisfying project. @mbrennwa, @pfarrell and @6L6 all share credit for getting this snowball rolling and aside from thanking them, I thought I would share a few bits from the ongoing build process.
With no workshop, and little wood working experience, the cabinet has been the most intimidating part of the project - even if it is 'just' a box. The speakers are intended for the living room and stand-ins for some rather pretty Sonus Fabers, but luckily I have an 'understanding' family 🙂 Troels Gravesen has an excellent website, which not only reads like a menu, but also offers great hints/insights/photos. Must have spent a day there... After much reading (and fretting), I settled on 3/4" (17.7 mm) Baltic birch plywood for the box, rather than the 1" material which is less readily available in the US, and then stumbled upon Ocooch Hardwoods which will sell precise, precut panels at a very reasonable price. It would have been nice to have the skills for some fancy joinery but I decided on butt joints thinking they would be easier for the glue up and post-glue trimming. Armed with a circle jig and some new clamps, it all started:
These are the rough openings. I never owned or used a router prior to these 😊 The keen reader will know that the Volt driver requires a 20 mm baffle to be flush, and the anxious builder (me) explores this (below). I glued 3 mm BB plywood on the back of the baffle and used the router to trim the combined thickness to ~20 mm.
The glue up process was done in multiple steps, for lack of clamps and skill. You will see evidence of a 'too cheap' router bit in one of the braces.
Two boxes ... The actual hands-on time was maybe a couple of days. The overthinking and planning took a couple of months 😉
With no workshop, and little wood working experience, the cabinet has been the most intimidating part of the project - even if it is 'just' a box. The speakers are intended for the living room and stand-ins for some rather pretty Sonus Fabers, but luckily I have an 'understanding' family 🙂 Troels Gravesen has an excellent website, which not only reads like a menu, but also offers great hints/insights/photos. Must have spent a day there... After much reading (and fretting), I settled on 3/4" (17.7 mm) Baltic birch plywood for the box, rather than the 1" material which is less readily available in the US, and then stumbled upon Ocooch Hardwoods which will sell precise, precut panels at a very reasonable price. It would have been nice to have the skills for some fancy joinery but I decided on butt joints thinking they would be easier for the glue up and post-glue trimming. Armed with a circle jig and some new clamps, it all started:
These are the rough openings. I never owned or used a router prior to these 😊 The keen reader will know that the Volt driver requires a 20 mm baffle to be flush, and the anxious builder (me) explores this (below). I glued 3 mm BB plywood on the back of the baffle and used the router to trim the combined thickness to ~20 mm.
The glue up process was done in multiple steps, for lack of clamps and skill. You will see evidence of a 'too cheap' router bit in one of the braces.
Two boxes ... The actual hands-on time was maybe a couple of days. The overthinking and planning took a couple of months 😉
I tried different finishes on for size, 'in my mind's eye'. To paint or not to paint, gloss or not, maybe just the front... In the end, the choice was made to wrap the speakers with curly maple veneer, going for the 'wood look'. This is still in progress but it was fun reading about veneering and taking the leap. I went with 2-ply veneer as some sites suggested this is less likely to telegraph imperfections of the substate/speaker boxes. This stuff comes in 4'x8' sheets and below is a photo if two sheets acclimatizing on the guest bed.
Another couple of shots to give you a sense of the application process, at least as I did it. The sheets are cut slightly larger than the substrate, contact glue/cement applied to both surfaces, and when ready, the veneer is pressed onto the substrate with a scraper. It is really relatively simple and at the same time nerve-wracking (it is irreversible). Once the glue is hardened, the overhang can be trimmed with a router.
Above, contact cement applied to the back of two veneer pieces and a cabinet side ready for receiving. It really helps if the family is tolerant of the family room doubling as work space 😊 Credit goes to @pfarrell for being exceptionally generous with wood working advise and hints.
Two boxes veneered 🥂 I am waiting for another router bit to trim the recesses of the tweeter and woofer holes. In the meantime, speaker stands are being prototyped and different finish options for the veneer tested.
Pretty sure the stands will be configured like this and finished in black.
Another couple of shots to give you a sense of the application process, at least as I did it. The sheets are cut slightly larger than the substrate, contact glue/cement applied to both surfaces, and when ready, the veneer is pressed onto the substrate with a scraper. It is really relatively simple and at the same time nerve-wracking (it is irreversible). Once the glue is hardened, the overhang can be trimmed with a router.
Above, contact cement applied to the back of two veneer pieces and a cabinet side ready for receiving. It really helps if the family is tolerant of the family room doubling as work space 😊 Credit goes to @pfarrell for being exceptionally generous with wood working advise and hints.
Two boxes veneered 🥂 I am waiting for another router bit to trim the recesses of the tweeter and woofer holes. In the meantime, speaker stands are being prototyped and different finish options for the veneer tested.
Pretty sure the stands will be configured like this and finished in black.
All I’m doing is cheerleading. The work is 110% yours. 😎
Totally awesome -
I have the drivers but I have been afraid to tackle the woodworking
You have inspired me !!!
I have the drivers but I have been afraid to tackle the woodworking
You have inspired me !!!
Just make the box. It does not have to be a woodworking masterpiece to sound great!
@tbrooke I am sure you can do it, and you can outsource none, some or all parts of the box building. If it helps, I would be happy to share more details of what I learned so far.