Bill Fitzmaurice wrote: ↑Thu May 19, 2022 6:42 am
What bolts? Per the plans: Put the driver in place and use a pencil, nail or punch driven through the frame holes to mark where to drill holes for 1¼-1½ inch long #8 or #10 attachment screws.
Thanks, Bill. Beats me. I've read the plans at least 10 times. I'm guessing that my pea-brain locked onto the "lock washers" statement later in the document and somehow it all became through-bolted to me.
9830Lark wrote: ↑Thu May 19, 2022 6:27 am
Installing driver with lag screws??
Just spent some time fiddling with the driver and woofer spacer, planning for the installation. It appears that with my driver (Basslite S2010), some of the bolts will be either inaccessible due to the sheaths or will hit a brace. Is leaving 3-4 of them off an option? Or install those few with lag screws?
I always use 3/16 or 1/4" lag bolts/screws. Easier to get a wrench on 'em or a socket than trying to get a screw driver to some of 'em.
"A system with a few knobs set up by someone who knows what they are doing is always better than one with a lot of knobs set up by someone who doesn't."
Back etching the sheath with the laser was a failure. When you get the cuts deep enough to get the flexibility, then the part is at or near failure. I'd guess there just isn't enough wood left and it's the top layer only which is oriented across the bend direction, so it''s just splitting with the grain. My measly one hour on the shared laser was running out, so I didn't do another trial with the part turned 90 degrees.
The true lattice hinge worked well. I see a mistake with the cut layout, but it's not enough to matter. I'll use this and seal with it up good with PL and a skim coat of Bondo. I think they'll install with a couple of blobs of hot glue, with PL generously spread on the rest of the attachment area.
I can't find anything about wire gauge except in the paragraph about bi-amping. There it says 14-16 ga. for the woofer. Is that correct? Stranded or solid? I'm guessing stranded will be MUCH easier to solder.
Speak-on? My amp has a 1/4" jack output, not Speak-on. Surely I can just use a 1/4" jack instead of Speak-on?
Stranded is good. And 1/4" jack is fine. If you can get an enclosed airtight one - even better. No leakage.
If you get the Speakon -1/4" combo jacks they are air tight and you can just whatever cables are on hand. Neutrik NLJ2MD-H is meant for PC mounting, but has plenty of pin length to wrap a wire around and solder. If you get the -V model it is much harder to get a good connection on the (much shorter) pins, but still workable. When I accidentally ordered the -V's I ended up using a loop of solid wire to get on the pin and then soldering my stranded wire to that. Both can usually be sourced from parts-express or even amazon.
Tons of hand sanding, ugh. The PL is a bear to sand. It did ooze nicely out of each little laser slot, which I could peel off with the chisel. It looks solid and well sealed. I think I'll just hit the nail heads with the Bondo and also the corners where the horns meet each other and the sides. You can just see the result of the baffle location error on the right side. Maybe a 1/16" offset there. (note - image will invert to the proper orientation when you click it).
Moving to the rear now for spacers, braces, speakon holes, etc.
Woofer spacer and screen installed. I used heavy duty plastic screening that I found in my wife's sewing room. You can see all the mistake holes I drilled while I was on the misguided "through-bolting" mission.
Back braces installed. Blob of hot glue at each end with PL in between works great. The hot glue holds it all together while the PL does it's magic.
Installing back flanges. 3/4" plywood was leaning against the dumpster at the shop, sweet! I did have to re-glue twice on the shorter flanges, as they came loose. All I can figure is that it's maybe 15 degrees cooler in the garage due to a cool front. I suspect I was unclamping too soon and the PL wasn't properly set like it was when it was 90 in the garage. I've been shooting brads into them since when, which I should have done anyway.
Also got the crossover base and Speakon backer plates installed. 15/16" holes cut by laser were perfect. On the cab itself, I had to drill 7/8" holes and dremel them out a bit.
Unbelievable - looks like I may just squeak by with the one tube of PL.
QUESTION - Installing corners. I snagged some (almost) square corners, which look good as I won't need to do a ton of rounding to get then flush. At odds about installation. Do you use really short screws so you do not pierce the sides? It's going to be a challenge to find short screws with a head large enough to catch the hole in the corner. Or use a longer screw? Are there concerns about leakage with a longer screw? I'm not clear on the leakage instructions - are we only concerned about leakge through the horn or through the horn and rear? Or should I use adhesive? I could use adhesive on the front, but not the rear, as the corners aren't notched enough to let the back come free.
Leaking shouldn't be an issue around the screws for your corners, guess it is possible but there's not a ton of pressure created inside the tops compared to the subs.
When testing for leaks your looking for any holes you didn't specifically put there.
A leak could hapen anywhere two panels meet. (Little gaps in PL)
Likely suspects would be around the gasket on the back panel/acces covers.
And around the curved horn parts where they meet the top/bottom/sides.
Authorized Builder - Phoenix AZ.
Main Rig - 6 DR200s - 6 T48s (30")
SLA Pros for the smaller stuff.
9830Lark wrote: ↑Mon May 23, 2022 4:12 pm
QUESTION - Installing corners. I snagged some (almost) square corners, which look good as I won't need to do a ton of rounding to get then flush. At odds about installation. Do you use really short screws so you do not pierce the sides? It's going to be a challenge to find short screws with a head large enough to catch the hole in the corner. Or use a longer screw? Are there concerns about leakage with a longer screw? I'm not clear on the leakage instructions - are we only concerned about leakge through the horn or through the horn and rear? Or should I use adhesive? I could use adhesive on the front, but not the rear, as the corners aren't notched enough to let the back come free.
Kinda depends on which style corners you have. Some take a bevel head and some a pan head. I've always used the chevron corners on everything with the bevel head screws....and the little short ones are fine. I've found 'em on Amazon and eBay over the years in black.
"A system with a few knobs set up by someone who knows what they are doing is always better than one with a lot of knobs set up by someone who doesn't."
Being as you're working with 1/4 inch ply, I'm not sure I'd worry too much about finding screws that wont completely penetrate. 1/2" length should be fine and I'd be completely surprised if there's enough air pressure to push past the threads (assuming you're careful not to strip any out). And if a little did pass through, I'd be thoroughly amazed if it were enough to effect the sonic quality of the cabs performance in the least.
I'll be constructing some cabs out of 1/4" and I've pondered a couple other solutions to help protect the corners. I've wondered how well it would work if I simply apply and let some thin CA glue soak into the wood on the corners. I've also thought of maybe routing a shallow 1/32nd or so deep area then build it back up with 2-3 layers of fiberglass for a fairly tough corner. Anyway... just some thought shares.
Last edited by Seth on Tue May 24, 2022 1:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Build in process - 2 WH6, one Alpha 6a loaded, one PRV Audio 6MB250-NDY loaded