BillFitzmaurice.info

Dude! It looks good, all the way over here!

Thanks, Tom. I appreciate the kind words, man.

So I got an assignment to Turkey. That means I'll be away from the family....and my tools for a year. I don't leave until next spring but I wanted to get a jump start on the other three T39s. Last night and today I just cut all the panels. I still have to cut the holes in the baffle and driver anchor, finish shaping the mouth braces, and cut panels 7 and 9. I can't make panel 9 per the plans because the handles I'm using require more space so I'll have to figure that out as I go along.

My top and bottom bearing trim bits pissed me off though. I cut one mouth brace and was using it as the template. The bottom bearing router bit had to be set so low that it dug into my work bench. And the top bearing router bit had the same issue: it had to be set so low that it would've traced the outline into my workbench. WTF am I missing? Are these supposed to be used exclusively with router tables? I'm sure there is a simple fix, I'm just having a damn blonde moment.

Fun fact, ACX up here in Minot, ND is severely warped when you buy it. I've had to spray hot water on the concave side and lay it convex side up over night so that it will straighten. I did that with all 4 sheets stacked, then sat all the heavy shit I could find on top. By morning, they were much easier to work with. Matter of fact, I didn't notice any warp at all the next day.

Anyway, here's where I'm at so far...

Re: the router bits, using them in that fashion I put a couple of 2x4s on top of my work bench, and put the work pieces on them so the bearing end can't hit the work bench.

Bill Fitzmaurice wrote: ↑Mon Nov 11, 2019 9:36 pm Re: the router bits, using them in that fashion I put a couple of 2x4s on top of my work bench, and put the work pieces on them so the bearing end can't hit the work bench.

That's a pretty good idea. Thank you! Do you center them under the work so the bit doesn't hit them?

I have them loose on the workbench. I screw the template and the cut piece together so they can't shift, then as I'm routing move them on the 2x4s to keep the bit from hitting. If it does hit no biggy, the 2x4s are just scrap anyway.

Alright I'll give that a shot tonight. Thanks, Bill.

Another trick with smaller pieces is to screw a piece of 1x4 or 1x6 to the top of the workbench, then screw the template/cut piece to it. Then the bit can't hit the workbench, and the template/cut piece aren't going to move about.

I use two-sided carpet tape on top of a piece of scrap. No screws necessary. Plus, the tape is reusable for several passes.....no holes to fill afterward. Typically just a couple of 2-3 inch pieces spread out are enough to hang on the the workpiece solid enough for routing.

Thanks for the info, gents. I'm gonna give it another shot tonight or tomorrow night. I'll let you all know how it works out.

I can never get the tape to hold. Bill's method is how I do it.

LelandCrooks wrote: ↑Wed Nov 13, 2019 7:57 am I can never get the tape to hold. Bill's method is how I do it.

I've never had a problem doing it that way.....must have gotten some good tape. It was just hanging on my wall in the garage from an old carpet repair....I've been using off of that roll for years....

I didn't have carpet tape so I did what Bill said: I screwed the template and a 2" x 4" to my workbench and traced the pattern with a bottom bearing router bit. I didn't take photos of the vertical mouth braces because they're nothing spectacular. Matter of fact, I'm wondering why I made the curves in the first place since I cover it all with a grill.

I didn't get as much done this weekend as I wanted. The spousal unit kept me pretty busy putting summer stuff in storage and cleaning. However, I did get the baffles and driver anchors cut and mated. Then I started constructing the first of three cabs.

Also, I got some corner clamps from Harbor Freight that made my life really easy when installing panel 1. I'm sure they will be equally helpful with the back, bottom, side.

I know I said I was gonna batch build these....and I am. But I decided to do the one first to remind myself of the build process, then I'll batch the last two. It has been 6 months since I built the first one so I'm a little rusty on the process. And I'll tell ya, those damn HF corner clamps are saving my ass. They take mild warp out and ensure a perfect joint almost instantly.

I got a few hours to myself today so I routed the cavities for the handles and casters. Then I installed panel 5, 6, 3/5 braces, 4/6 braces, panel 8, panel 6 extension, vertical/horizontal flanges, and the flange/baffle braces.

Before it is mentioned, I know I messed up that vertical brace. I haven't investigated why I made such a boneheaded mistake but I will as soon as I get more garage time. Luckily, this is a lesson I can afford to learn. The mistake can be easily covered by panel 7 and I will have ample space to mounter the driver cover.