T48 Build Thread

[miked]

Didn't get around to breaking in the drivers yet, but will tonight.

Gear snobs will not believe "it's only 4 fifteens making all that bass."


It's the 3015LF Death Star!


I also knocked together a couple of small dollies that should help me when it comes time to paint. Will also keep me from having to lift one of these muthas every time I want to move it. I already had the 8 casters; bought them at HF about two years ago "just because." And my wife says I buy too much stuff! Ha! I had all the other material already.



I'm heading out to the garage now to sand the spacer rings. I had a lot of tearout that looked like this.



Patched it with Elmer's Wood Putty. Keep in mind these patches are unsanded...about to fix that. The repair isn't 100% perfect, but it's 95% better than it was.



More later.

[miked]

Got all the repair areas sanded down. Was it worth the effort? I'm not really sure. But at least I can say I did all that I could to make these as perfect as I'm capable of making them.

Better than they were.



Not busted out to the edges of the ring anymore at least.


While I had my head in there, I noticed some very tiny gaps b/t the spacer ring and the baffle. I remembered that when I mounted the rings to the baffle I was a little stingy with the PL b/c I wanted to ensure the rings sat flat. So I took the incentive and ran a bead of PL inside the ring for good measure. Took 5 mins to do all 4 cabs; it's cheap insurance.



The second sides are going on a little later today! I have 2 tubes of PL left. Might not be enough for 4 side panels + the 6/10 braces. Think I'll hit Lowes before I start. I don't want to be interrupted once I get on a roll. Besides, it's already 95F in the garage. An hour from now it'll be 100. No diff there anyway. More later.

[sine143]

do you have a larger caulk gun (for the econo size pl tubes?) If so they offer better value, and the only reason I dont use them for the rest of the build is they are hard to maneuver.

[miked]

Funny you should mention that. I seriously thought about getting the bigger gun/PL tubes before starting the build, but the size of the gun and the cost of the gun and tubes put me off. That said, I just bought another two tubes of PL, bringing the total number I bought for this project to 11 or 12 tubes...can't remember. I should've just bought a case of it right up front. It's about 30 cents per tube cheaper if you buy the case. Another lesson learned.

[Bruce Weldy]

I'm heading out to the garage now to sand the spacer rings. I had a lot of tearout that looked like this.

Always drill any through holes with a backer board and you won't get tear out. Clamp it to some scrap and it will be clean as a whistle.

[miked]

Well, the build train just derailed. There is no joy in Mudville. All of my back panels are bowed outward, and the 2nd sides don't come close to fitting.

I specifically put the bottoms on first, before the 7/8 braces to keep the backs straight to avoid this problem and that's exactly what happened. I do not believe I pushed them in too far, but I guess I did. There is no bending the backs inwards, either. First off, they are more than 1/2" off. Second, my bowed cabs are solid as a rock. Nothing moves. So I'm going to have to cut four new, way oversized sides and custom-trim each one to fit. Of course, this completely throws off predrilling the screw holes b/c there's nothing to line them up with. Another thing I don't get is that some of my bottom panels are not inline with the front of the cab (panel 5). They are inset a lot too. I am clueless, as well as skill-less, apparently. All the panels were cut without moving the fence, everything lined up. I don't get it.

The only saving grace is that all my internal panels are dead-even with the back panel and panel 5. They are all square to that first side, so getting a seal won't be a problem. But getting that 2nd side securely fastened to the interior panels will not be easy. Well, that's life. Next update will be a couple of weeks down the road. The lumberyards are only open Mon-Fri and I'm working. I might be able to get some BB bought on Thurs, but I've got a lot going on and there will be no time to work on them for awhile. They'll get done, eventually.

[David Raehn]

Oh Crap.....

I'd better go out and check mine.

Do you think the back braces might be the culprit and can be cut out and remade?

[hifibob]

Well, the build train just derailed. There is no joy in Mudville. All of my back panels are bowed outward, and the 2nd sides don't come close to fitting.

I specifically put the bottoms on first, before the 7/8 braces to keep the backs straight to avoid this problem and that's exactly what happened. I do not believe I pushed them in too far, but I guess I did. There is no bending the backs inwards, either. First off, they are more than 1/2" off. Second, my bowed cabs are solid as a rock. Nothing moves. So I'm going to have to cut four new, way oversized sides and custom-trim each one to fit. Of course, this completely throws off predrilling the screw holes b/c there's nothing to line them up with. Another thing I don't get is that some of my bottom panels are not inline with the front of the cab (panel 5). They are inset a lot too. I am clueless, as well as skill-less, apparently. All the panels were cut without moving the fence, everything lined up. I don't get it.

The only saving grace is that all my internal panels are dead-even with the back panel and panel 5. They are all square to that first side, so getting a seal won't be a problem. But getting that 2nd side securely fastened to the interior panels will not be easy. Well, that's life. Next update will be a couple of weeks down the road. The lumberyards are only open Mon-Fri and I'm working. I might be able to get some BB bought on Thurs, but I've got a lot going on and there will be no time to work on them for awhile. They'll get done, eventually.

Hmmm Im confused especially since I haven't built T48's. curious though, can you snap a pic to make it clearer?

[sine143]

damn dude. sorry to hear that. I would definitly take ye old japanese saw and cut the back braces out.

also, in reference to the bottom panels, how much are they inset (1/8 inch, 1/2 inch?) from the front. I assume you are doing 24" internals (making the bottom a 24" square)? if so, try rotating the bottoms 90 degrees and see if they line up better.

[David Raehn]

Yeah, that bottom almost caught me this morning while I was still waking up. I had the gun in my hand getting ready to 'goop and screw' when I noticed I had the panel 90 degrees out. 23" x 23-1/2". Even though I was only doing two cabs, I stopped and measured and labeled them on the spot....

[miked]

The odd measurement of the bottom panel jumped out at me as soon as I cut them out. I labeled each one very carefully and I cut the handle holes right off the bat, permanently "marking" where the front is.. They are correctly oriented. The bottom panel lines up perfectly with the front edge of the first side and is also flush with the back panel. I have 2 cabs that the bottom panel is really off.

All my panels have perfect 90-degree cuts on the edges. They all went on straight and I even checked them with a bubble level to make sure they were at 90. 2 cabs are pretty bad, the other 2 are "meh." I don't understand what went wrong. All panels have perfect 90 degree edges. All panels went in straight. The tops of all panels line up with each other...look at the pics in this thread.
On one cab, panel 5 seems bowed-out towards the open side of the cab. A straightedge at the bottom of panel 5 touches the end of the bottom panel. BUt as I move the straightedge up panel 5, the gap at the bottom gets bigger and bigger. Panel 5 isn't on straight, which I don't understand b/c it went on straight and the top edge is even with all the other panels. If panel 5 was bowed out, it would not be even w/the rest of the cab...but it is.

Cutting out the 7/8 braces won't do much as panels 9 and 11 also hold the back in place.

I have two choices. Scrap the cabs or spend $50 for 2 new sheets of BB and try to get a side on them. If the cabs don't look perfect but are air tight, that's all that matters. I will take some pics tomorrow so you can see what I'm talking about. THanks for the help.

[sine143]

its basically impossible for me to follow your panel numbers since I've built 3 cabs with the new plans, which have a different numbering scheme to denote a different build order.

I think if you cut the braces out you will be surprised how much you can bend the the back panel, regardless of the back panel reflectors already being installed.

[miked]

its basically impossible for me to follow your panel numbers since I've built 3 cabs with the new plans, which have a different numbering scheme to denote a different build order.

I think if you cut the braces out you will be surprised how much you can bend the the back panel, regardless of the back panel reflectors already being installed.

I take your idea very seriously, trust me. I've spent a lot of money and precious time building these. I will not set them on fire unless there is no other way of saving them. The other two panels that hold the back are the diagonal reflectors that brace the top/back and bottom/back....I think you called them "back panel reflectors" which is also an accurate description.

AFA I can tell, there's only one cab that the bottom panel is really out of whack. I double checked to make sure I installed all the bottoms correctly and I even measured them again. Just made me even more confounded.

What has me totally clueless is that it all went together just fine. I've done every step by the book. Every single 23" panel for all four cabs was cut without moving the fence. It took hours to do that safely. All panels have a 90-degree edge. They all stand up straight on edge without support!~ So WTF went wrong? ARGH. I"m getting heated now.

I will look into it more tomorrow and take some pics.

[David Raehn]

Don't let it get to you. Step away for a few days even. It's not worth the heartburn at this point. Like you said, having an airtight cab is the point. You'll figure it out.

[miked]

I am stepping away from it for a few days.

One day this week, Bruce will come by and put his more skilled set of eyes on it and we'll see what we can do. Spare time is about to get very scarce for me, so even if we can just come up with a plan of attack and I get to it later, I'd be very happy with that. I hope to salvage the cabs. Thanks for the support.