T48 Build Thread

[sine143]

Holy smokes! you are flying through your build! I feel slow lol. Keep up the good work my friend.

he's got quite a lot less on his plate. I remember how fast your first T60s went. didnt get slow until you entered DR land lol.

[hifibob]

Holy smokes! you are flying through your build! I feel slow lol. Keep up the good work my friend.

he's got quite a lot less on his plate. I remember how fast your first T60s went. didnt get slow until you entered DR land lol.

Haha sine you ar correct.. Those DR's are freakin clock eaters! Definitely time well spent though.

[miked]

With my skill level, if I was building DRs, I'd still be staring at the plans and there wouldn't be a spec of sawdust anywhere in the shop.

[miked]

Set about cutting the slots in the 6/10 braces to accept the horizontal brace. For once, I actually knew how to do this as I've done something similar before. Hooray for an experience base, however small it may be. LOL!

Marked my depth line on all the braces and made the initial cuts that define the width of the slot on the bandsaw. I made all the "left side cuts" on all pieces first, without moving the fence, then made the "right side cuts."


Moved the fence over slightly and made a couple more grooves.


Finished with a chisel.


Let's hope they look this good installed.


More later.

[Bruce Weldy]

Mighty purty.....

[miked]

Today was a good day, and it's definitely Miller Time now!

Today's Accomplishments
Horizontal notch cut in 6/10 braces (pics above)
Speaker wire hot-glued down
Bottoms on
Caster situation figured out and caster braces cut out

Speaker wire glued down. I chose to route it this way. Straight out of the chamber to panel 9, then down to the terminal plate. The length running from the hot-glued part to the terminal plate will just hang in the airpath. There won't be enough slack left in it to vibrate against any panels. That is the thought, at least.


Used the straight edge jig to get the bottom even with the side.


Used the old "$4 Harbor Freight cheapo hand clamp turned into a spreader" trick to keep the bottom flush against the guide.


Bottoms up! Er...out, I guess.



Corner mount casters are expensive and they stick out past the bottom of the cab quite a bit. I want my cabs to sit level on their feet, shoud I need to orient them that way. So I'm using standard non-swiveling 2-1/2" casters. So, I had to make a diagonal mounting surface for them. Credit goes to Bruce for this idea. There is no shame in borrowing the intelligent ideas of others. Why reinvent the wheel?

Cut 8 pieces of 2x4 with a 45 on each end. The narrow side measurement is 4-1/2". These dimensions worked for me with the length casters I have. YMMV, but at least you get an idea of how and why I did them this way.


The bottom of the cab is at the top of this pic where the carpet is poking out. You get the idea. Even though the caster will protrude past the bottom slightly, the rubber feet I'm using will give me at least 1/2" of clearance. You bet your ass I measured. Four times.


Even though panel 11 will cover this caster assembly and keep the cab airtight, we don't want an open space down there for critters to crawl in. So the caster well has to be sealed. Cut out some triangles to seal the caster well off from the inside of the cab. Pic is pretty self-explanatory.


Tomorow's tasks:
7/8 braces
Cut holes for caster wells

And I think I will stop there. I don't want to put any stress on the 7/8 braces while they are drying. Installing the caster wells will put quite a bit of stress on the back panel. Will wait until Fri for that. I will let everything dry until Sat and on goes the final side! Finishing the cabs will take some time. There are 35-40 screws (and their holes!) on each side. Not to mention I have a few pieces of ply tear-out where I got sloppy with scraping off the PL. Thanks for looking!

[Tom Smit]

Hey Mike, coat the internals, that can be seen, before you put on the side. Lots easier that way.

[PulseMan]

Hey Mike, coat the internals, that can be seen, before you put on the side. Lots easier that way.

+1 with Tom here.
This thread of yours is an absolute must read for newbies attempting T48 builds.
Man, when I built my T48's years back, how I would have appreciated a build thread like this to assist and give me tips etc.

As usual nice stuff there Mike.

PulseMan

[Charles Jenkinson]

With my skill level, if I was building DRs, I'd still be staring at the plans and there wouldn't be a spec of sawdust anywhere in the shop.

You seem to get by pretty well brother, looking at these pictures.

Only purists (and those without the space or money) use hand tools out of choice (necessity). Power tools and all the techniques that go with them rock!

[miked]

Thanks for cheering me on, guys! I appreciate the kinds words. Let's me know I'm doing OK. And THANK YOU for reminding me to paint before throwing that final side on. I forgot about that. I will have a bit of patching to do before that. On two cabs I had a few screws that did not go in straight bust through the back panel in the mouth area...it's pretty obvious. I won't have to make the patch perfect though, since it's in the back of the mouth area. Getting out to the garage early today while it's "only" 85 degrees in there.

[Bruce Weldy]

Getting out to the garage early today while it's "only" 85 degrees in there.

Mike, you are a Texan now .....time to man up!

[Grant Bunter]

Getting out to the garage early today while it's "only" 85 degrees in there.

Mike, you are a Texan now .....time to man up!

Great build so far Mike.

Interesting, it's wintertime here and hitting low 90's some days. I'm told it's above average temperatures...

[miked]

Man, today was one loooong day. But I'm that much closer to completion.

Had to shorten the caster mounting blocks from 4-1/2" on the short side to 4" on the short side. Casters fit much better now. Bottom of cab is at top of pic.


Caster mounting holes predrilled. Mounting these will be a pain. Thought of mounting them prior to gluing block into cab, but then won't be able to paint caster wells.

4 of the 8 blocks.


Got the caster cutouts done. MAN, did this suck! It's easier to cut these out before beginning cab assembly, but then you are not guaranteed your cutout will be straight/aligned b/t the back and bottom panels. I also scraped off the PL along the seams where my caster well contraptions will sit.

Representative caster cutout.




Lest you think cutting them out was all neat and pretty....
Marking out the cutouts...did this 4 times....then cut one side...then flipped the cab, cut out the other side....wound up with tons of dust inside the cab...lay-bor-in-ten-siveeeeee!


Ugh-lee.


One done. By the way; did you know that dried PL gives off huge clouds of semi-toxic smoke when you are cutting through it with a jigsaw? I didn't, but I sure know now.


Finally, got the 7/8 braces in. These big braces are more difficult than all the rest due to their size. They want to slide around a whole lot. Of course, I had to trim down 5 of 8 braces. They're in there solid though.



Tomorrow I'll get the caster wells done and panel 11. Then the next day it's taping/painting time. Getting there!

[David Raehn]

Looks great, man!

[LelandCrooks]

By the way; did you know that dried PL gives off huge clouds of semi-toxic smoke when you are cutting through it with a jigsaw? I didn't, but I sure know now.

Yes it does.

New corner caster to avoid having to do those cutouts. Requires a 1 1/2 foot to make the cab set level. I advise 3 per cab.
http://www.penn-elcom.com/default.asp?PN=A5250