T48 Build Thread

[David Raehn]

I just recieved my own 'build it yourself flatpack kit'..... Now to make with the sawdust!

Don't worry, I'll start another thread once I get rolling!

[miked]

LOL! "DIY flatpack kit." Genius.

[sine143]

Miked is the brace in question too small overall, or is the angle in correct? if the angle is correct you should be able to just push it in farther, closer to panel 5, where the panels are closer to each other. if you need to trim some of the brace off the panel 5 end to be able to slide it in that should be okay.


This is why the plans tell you to make pieces as you go, as 1/2 inch ply is not actually 1/2 inch, and you ahve to compensate as you build.

[miked]

Thanks, Sine.

After finishing installing the 2/5 braces and panel 6 on all four cabs I figured out what the deal is. I don't know how it happened b/c I was meticulous in laying everything out and all my panels are square. I have 2 cabs that need the 4/6 brace to be about 1/8" wider at the front and 1/4" at the back. I'll have to make 4 new braces. The other 2 cabs, the stock size 4/6 braces fit fine. I have no idea what happened. The two cabs that are off arent' even identical in their off-ness. That's not a word, is it? Anyway, I'll have to make them oversize and then sand, sand, sand. BAH, HUMBUG!

On a POSTIVE note, all my layout lines and angled cuts on the panels have been dead-on. The panels line up with the lines on the sides, and the angles on adjoining panels meet perfectly. Copious amounts of PL squeeze out everywhere. So I guess I'm doing fine, overall. In the range of mistakes, I think this is a tiny one.

[sine143]

My best friend. can also use a traditional rasp, much faster than sanding, unless you have a bench sander.

[miked]

Thankfully, I have a combo belt/spindle bench sander. Still not happy about this though.

On a related note, let's talk about the 3/7 braces. There is no open end to slide them in from. The "opening" for the 3/7 junction is the top (panel). It looks like there's enough room to get the brace down there, then slide it forward once panel 7 is in place. Is this correct? Any trick to the 3/7 braces? At least I'm thinking ahead for once.

[David Raehn]

I was preparing my reply when I remembered that you are doing the older-style design. In the current docs, I think that those are 3/5 braces, and they "slide in sideways far enough to rotate them and pull them down into position; a long pair of pliers will help."

Also there is a little jig for the panel 6 line-up which I can't describe without a picture, and the picture may reveal too much intellectual property for Bill's tastes.....

Hope this helps.

[miked]

Thanks, draehn.

It took a little while, but I was able to make 2 new sets of 4/6 braces...and the sets are slightly different sizes...for my two oddball cabs. I was able to use the "sliding table TS angle cut jig" to progressively trim the down to size...only wasted about a square foot of BB in the process. Better than I normally do. Being that panel 6 is still drying, I don't want to put undue stress on the joint, so installing the 4/6 braces will wait until tomorrow.

I did get the panel 9's prepainted flat black...easier than trying to squirt a spray can through the handle holes later. I will throw up a pic of that later on when they are dry and I take the protective tape off the glue edges.

At this rate the cabs might just be completed (built) by Tues night, though I'm thinking Wed night is a more realistic expectation b/c I have to figure out Bruce's caster mounting block trick. I did not buy the expensive corner-mount casters, I bought ye'olde 2.5" casters from Home Depot...these:



So they will need a solid surface to mount to. IMO mounting casters directly to panel 11 is not a good idea. Come down off a curb or a stair too hard and you crack panel 11. It is part of the horn, so it's important to protect it.

[sine143]

throw another panel directly behind panel 11, (assuming that is the 45 degree piece, since you are going off dif plans than me).

Also on the caster choice. I TOO put those on my first t48s. they suck. rattle like hell. have to tape em up every gig.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/3-in-Rigid-N ... hfnPpK3-So

my second cab had these, MUCH better (i might have done the 4 inch version, cant remember)

[Bruce Weldy]

I TOO put those on my first t48s. they suck. rattle like hell. have to tape em up every gig.

Should have built you some of these...

[sine143]

nah, what I should do is throw those casters in the bin

funny thing is, they are not even functional... I F'ed up the install, (it was a squareback cab) and they dont protrude enough toe even roll it....

[miked]

I tend to overthink everything, only b/c I hate regrets. I thought hard about the caster issue. Was it really worth $15+ per caster to get the fancy corner mount versions, especially when there is no guarantee they won't vibrate too? I decided that it was not, especially when you could either simply throw a strip of cheap tape over each one OR as found out later, inexpensively create a simple and efficient solution like Bruce did. So, I went w/the cheapo casters. I would never skimp on the wood to build a cab. Or the adhesive or on the blades to cut the wood. But you can cut some corners.

SURPRISE LATE NIGHT UPDATE!!! OK, I guess it's not really a big deal, but it IS a pic!

All four panel 9's, sprayed flat black. Easier to do this now than after assembly.


Tomorrow's tasks: Install 4/6 braces. Drill hole in panel 3 for speaker wire. Seal hole in panel 3. Install panel 7. Progress is good. A little at a time. Thanks for looking.

[miked]

The 4/6 braces are finally in. I wound up having to make a third new set. I eyeballed the 3/7 and 7/8 braces and they look OK. I really hope I don't wind up remaking them too...one by one. Some pics. They ain't pretty, but they aren't going anywhere, I can tell you that. They are in there good and tight.





I was happy that w/these braces, I could nail them from the other side (from inside the chamber) too. I should be able to get at least a couple of brads on the 3/7 braces from inside too.


I want these to cure fully before I put pressure on panel 6 by installing panel 7, so I will wait awhile...at least a few hours. In the meantime I got a head start on the finishing work. I had a lot of brad heads sticking out from the panel 2/5 joint and well as a few in the access cover area. I ground all those down. I will have a bunch of filling/sanding to do in the panel 2/5 joint area. They butt up evenly, but there's a bunch of thumbnail-sized gouges in the wood from where I had to grind the brads down. I also scraped off whatever PL squeezeout was on the outside of the cab. So AFA PL scraping goes, it's more than half completed already.

Some random "no-PL" pics.




I hope to get panel 7 installed tonight. The 3/7 braces will be tomorrow. It is dragging out the build time by letting each panel cure before installing braces, but this way, I'm more assured of a strong and air-tight seal. I did not drill the hole for the speaker wire b/c I test fit panel 7 in, to see if my drill would fit and reach panel 3. I have plenty of room, so I'll do it before I put the back on.

[miked]

Panel 7 is on. It was almost as big of a PITA as panel 4 was. For some reason it didn't line up very well with panel 6. This was the first panel that was "off". Nothing a few layers of PL to ensure air-tightness, and a bunch of brads for mechanical strength couldn't cure though. Possibly, this panel being off is due to some warpage on the side panels? I dunno...I was meticulous with my cuts and layout. It really wasn't that big a deal...just trying at this late stage in the game.

It is 102F in my garage...I am DONE for the day. It's looking like I wiil need to trim the 3/7 braces a bit, but I've got the hang of it at this point. Who knew the darn BRACES would be the most difficult part of this build? I didn't give them a second thought when I cut them out. IME so far, the only braces you can confidently cut to exact size per the plans are the 2/5 braces. All others, cut them a bit big and then trim to fit as you go. Due to the angle of the panels in relation to each other, having a panel off-center 1/32" at one end, becomes 1/8" off-center at the far end. Panel layout is crucial. Can't stress that enough. Chalk this up to "another lesson learned by doing."

[miked]

Hey, it's finally starting to look like something! Got the 3/7 braces installed; they weren't too bad. I had to trim down 6 of the 8 braces, but just a little bit.




Also got the speaker wire (12ga) run thru the driver chamber. PL'd from both sides.



Now I've got some thinking to do. I have to get the whole caster mounting plan figured out. I want to cut the caster relieves in the bottom and back before installing those panels. The original plan was to make the cut afterwards, but if I screw something up, the panels are already installed, so no way to just get some more BB and redo the panel. Caster plan has to get done before the back/bottom and final braces go in. Sorta dreading this part...so many angles/where to put things to figure out.

On a funny note, while moving the cabs to/from the workbench, I wound up with two of the cabs standing on their tops, next to each other on the floor. This was the first time I've seen a T48 on end...they ARE freaking big. LOL! Really looking forward to hearing them.