So I'm building new speakers. Fun, right?
Ordered the wood cut to size, started routing the driver and bass port holes...
First, I ****** up on routing depth.
Somehow after I was done, it started at the right depth, and at the end of the circle it was 2mm deeper.
Scratch one board, try again.
Next, depth was okay,but it ended up 2mm wider in radius.
Scratch that.
Then, got the woofer holes right, but the tweeters hole was 3mm too wide. Yes, I checked before routing. A
No idea how that happened either - I always do a test run on a spare piece of board.
Finally got the fronts okayish. On to the back panels.
Measured, adjusted, tested...
And now my bass port holes are too wide for the actual plastic bass ports.
I don't know what the **** is happening - my previous speakers using same equipment all came out okay.
I keep going back to my router and circle jig, everything is tightened, it all works fine on the test runs.
Im at the point now where I think it's cheaper to find a woodwork shop to do it for me than to order more wood myself and do it again.
If this was anyone elses story, I'd think "you're not measuring right or not tightening the screws on the router",but alas, it happens to me and I triple checked everything every time.
I have lost my mojo.
I'm going to pay someone else to not **** it up now, I guess.
I just needed to get this off my chest even though I know this makes me look like a complete moron.
:-(
Ordered the wood cut to size, started routing the driver and bass port holes...
First, I ****** up on routing depth.
Somehow after I was done, it started at the right depth, and at the end of the circle it was 2mm deeper.
Scratch one board, try again.
Next, depth was okay,but it ended up 2mm wider in radius.
Scratch that.
Then, got the woofer holes right, but the tweeters hole was 3mm too wide. Yes, I checked before routing. A
No idea how that happened either - I always do a test run on a spare piece of board.
Finally got the fronts okayish. On to the back panels.
Measured, adjusted, tested...
And now my bass port holes are too wide for the actual plastic bass ports.
I don't know what the **** is happening - my previous speakers using same equipment all came out okay.
I keep going back to my router and circle jig, everything is tightened, it all works fine on the test runs.
Im at the point now where I think it's cheaper to find a woodwork shop to do it for me than to order more wood myself and do it again.
If this was anyone elses story, I'd think "you're not measuring right or not tightening the screws on the router",but alas, it happens to me and I triple checked everything every time.
I have lost my mojo.
I'm going to pay someone else to not **** it up now, I guess.
I just needed to get this off my chest even though I know this makes me look like a complete moron.
:-(
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Pygmy, I'm sure most if not all of us have had things turn out a little different to how we wanted.
I know I sure have.
It can be frustrating, but if it's fixable it makes you feel even better knowing you did fix it.
I've had router bits come loose ending up with a rebate that started at 10mm deep and ended at close to double that.
Or the bit starts wobbling and chews the heck out of the hole edge.
Set the jig to find I forgot to allow for the bits diameter and ended up with oversize holes.
Pivot holes or pivot pins that aren't 100% will also give 'mixed' diameter holes.
Etc and so on.
Point is, stop, have a break, then when you feel calm, go back and check each item to see what happened.
I once ordered a bunch of cnc'd timber for a pair of speakers (my current ones).
They did a perfect job, far better than I could ever dream off.
Right down to giving me the four left panels I asked for.
Yes, I asked for four lefts, instead of two left, two right
I know I sure have.
It can be frustrating, but if it's fixable it makes you feel even better knowing you did fix it.
I've had router bits come loose ending up with a rebate that started at 10mm deep and ended at close to double that.
Or the bit starts wobbling and chews the heck out of the hole edge.
Set the jig to find I forgot to allow for the bits diameter and ended up with oversize holes.
Pivot holes or pivot pins that aren't 100% will also give 'mixed' diameter holes.
Etc and so on.
Point is, stop, have a break, then when you feel calm, go back and check each item to see what happened.
I once ordered a bunch of cnc'd timber for a pair of speakers (my current ones).
They did a perfect job, far better than I could ever dream off.
Right down to giving me the four left panels I asked for.
Yes, I asked for four lefts, instead of two left, two right
I am finishing up my Manzanita Ultras. I bought a new router bit meant for CNC but I was assured it would work fine in my router. The only thing was that I messed up the first baffle because the depth of cut was too aggressive and started pulling the bit from the collet. I went from a perfect cut right into drilling through the entire thickness of the birch plywood. I learned that with some of these bits, you need to start with shallow cuts and work progressively deeper when cutting circles.
You need the advice of an expert...me.
I am an absolute master with a router. I make wooden gear clocks, and have absolutely perfected routing 63 tooth gears, I can pump those out effortlessly and totally perfect every time.
Jn
If anyone needs 63 tooth gears instead of the normal 64, I have lots of stock...
Yah, some days you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug...
I am an absolute master with a router. I make wooden gear clocks, and have absolutely perfected routing 63 tooth gears, I can pump those out effortlessly and totally perfect every time.
Jn
If anyone needs 63 tooth gears instead of the normal 64, I have lots of stock...
Yah, some days you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug...
I feel for you. I was making a small BR enclosure for a 4" driver. I'd done all of the plans, measured everything carefully multiple times, cut the slots for the slot ports, did the rebates for the joints, and it just didn't seem to fit properly, WTF..
Then it dawned on me. My plans were for 12mm MDF and I had picked up a spare bit of 16mm MDF. argghh.
Tony.
Then it dawned on me. My plans were for 12mm MDF and I had picked up a spare bit of 16mm MDF. argghh.
Tony.
Always make a test piece (or 2 or 3) with MDF to get past the mental lapses. Do each processing step first on the test piece then immediately do the same step on each of the real workpieces. Move through the overall process like this step by step. You still may screw it up but the odds are much more in your favor.
I learned the ruined workpiece way to change how I tighten router bits. Rather than inserting the cutter all the way, I pull it up a tiny amount - 1/32 - before cinching the nut. This way the wedging action of the tapered collet can occur without conflicting with the limit of the bottom of the collet. Counterintuitive but it has worked for me.
Grief perhaps? It doesn't sound like grief because you're using calibrated hardware but for what its worth loss/grief usually effects our physical coordination to some degree. I do a bit of grief counseling in my professional role and I always mention to those experiencing a severe loss that their physical reactions will likely suffer.
I notice it with people who play lawn bowls for instance. They tell me that after the death of their partner they just "lose their chops" for a while...a few months. They drop down a grade in the local competition ratings and they wonder what is happening.
As I say, I doubt its that, but I'll throw it out there for what its worth....
(In a similar vein I notice that I make a lot more mistakes if I'm depressed....things just seem to go wrong. But I have absolutely no logical explanation for that one though!)
Cheers, Jonathan
I notice it with people who play lawn bowls for instance. They tell me that after the death of their partner they just "lose their chops" for a while...a few months. They drop down a grade in the local competition ratings and they wonder what is happening.
As I say, I doubt its that, but I'll throw it out there for what its worth....
(In a similar vein I notice that I make a lot more mistakes if I'm depressed....things just seem to go wrong. But I have absolutely no logical explanation for that one though!)
Cheers, Jonathan
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This is dangerous, a router spins the bit at 8-22, 000rpm and it has enough weight to cause severe injuries. You should put it all the way, especially if its one of the long bits made for kitchen worktop jointers.
It's common practice to drop the bit a fraction from the bottom of the collet nut. As Phivates mentions, this stops the bottom of the bit from interfering with the action of the collet when tightening.
First link on google search says the same (so it must be true):
How to Properly Install a Router BitPoint is, a small fraction clearance is fine but having that thing hanging way out is not such a good idea.
Yes it is bad and risky practice to tighten the router collet with the bit bottomed out...always retract it slightly then tighten! This allows the shank of the bit to move into the collet as it is tightened without interfering with the bottom of the collet and preventing the complete engagement of the collet.
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Pygmy, sometimes you have a day where nothing goes right. I've had plenty of times where I've measured and remeasured and then cut and it's all gone horribly wrong. Then the frustration of screwing up then compounds until you give up and have a beer/wine/vodka/coffee..or three
Just the other day I was routing out a speaker chamfer using a 45 degree bit with bearing and somehow I ended up with a notch in the chamfer. I still don't know how that happened because the bearing was still aligned with the hole face that it was following. I was pretty gutted as that piece had taken hours to cut and assemble (laminates) and I didn't want to start again.
Next day, feeling fresh and less p#$$ed off, I bogged that notch up like a champ and you can't see it now
Just the other day I was routing out a speaker chamfer using a 45 degree bit with bearing and somehow I ended up with a notch in the chamfer. I still don't know how that happened because the bearing was still aligned with the hole face that it was following. I was pretty gutted as that piece had taken hours to cut and assemble (laminates) and I didn't want to start again.
Next day, feeling fresh and less p#$$ed off, I bogged that notch up like a champ and you can't see it now
I find this technique works almost all of the time . . . except when my human side shines through.
Thing with router bits is they sometimes freeze in the collet. Leaving a bit of space allows you to use a block of wood to break it free.
To the OP, I've seen often a router pull into the work especially if the material is hard or the cut too aggressive. A trick is to run the router counter clockwise and then finish with a clockwise cut.
To the OP, I've seen often a router pull into the work especially if the material is hard or the cut too aggressive. A trick is to run the router counter clockwise and then finish with a clockwise cut.
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I asked a local woodwork shop if they could do it for me, they told me it was not possible to do something like route recessed driver holes in MDF.
So I sent them a few pictures of my previous speakers and told them every DIY speaker builder is able to do it.
******* amateurs.
So I got pissed off and decided to do it myself, again, and ofcourse now it worked flawlessly - because I had to prove some people wrong
Pic of happy result covered in leather:
So I sent them a few pictures of my previous speakers and told them every DIY speaker builder is able to do it.
******* amateurs.
So I got pissed off and decided to do it myself, again, and ofcourse now it worked flawlessly - because I had to prove some people wrong
Pic of happy result covered in leather:
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