2 x T30 Slim Build Log

[escapemcp]

Perhaps beefier T nuts might remove the need for predrilling holes for the spikes. Harley has previously posted pictures of crap versus decent T nuts - granted its not easy to see what youre buying sometimes from how theyre shown on the computer screen. If the small drilled holes are even slightly off they could cause the spikes to bend, no?

No, I don't think so, as it provides a weak point in the wood that the spikes can then make use of, i.e. as the tee nut bites it pushes the wood into this void, making it an easier bite. Even with the holes quite a way off, by the time the tee nut is fully pulled in, it is usually 'in' the hole, even if the teeth of the nut were not quite lines up in the first place.

I just belted them in with a hammer, making sure they were flat down, then trial fit the speaker with the M6 machine screws to check alignment before epoxying in, but if the holes have been marked correctly and drilled through square, all should be ok.

I was too worried about using this (or a similar method) of driving the tee nuts home without having the speaker and more importantly, the bolts in place. Using my method ensures no cross threading and the tee nuts all line up with the nuts perfectly... even if my hole is a bit wonky the tee nuts get pulled in at a (slight) angle. I don't have a drill press so some of my bolts are always a little off.

Good work all round! They look just like mine - you sure theyre only 16 inchers?

I bloody hope so... I have measured them enough times. 15" internal panels.

My progress slowed due to family commitments - the subs have had to go on the altar, hopefully they wont get burned up, and i can carry on, soon.

I have been flying along with these. IF I had the wood I would have completed the fabrication this weekend. As it is, I will get up to panel, um... 8 (I think.. the one that extends past the top edge that you cut off later on) by Sunday. I really shouldn't say that, as something will come along and bite me on the ass! Having built 2 in the past makes them much easier and I know where I can save time without compromising on quality (and in fact, I will be improving it in some cases).

[escapemcp]

Thursday night's progress:

Managed to get quite a bit done last night. Got panel 3 in place and I was about to install panel 4 when I saw my scrawled note from a few nights ago on the sub... "Install Lab12 reducer panels before 4". It seemed like a much better time to install them whilst I still had good access into the driver chamber - and so it proved. I used MUCH less PL with the perpendicular (the 10"+ one) reducer panel as well - I could slightly tease panels 2 & 3 outward and get the extra panel in there, rather than them being rock solid due to them being attached to #4. As I was running low on wood, and the reducer panels are only 'thin', I butchered my circular saw sled for wood - it was 30.25" long This was the second sled that I made, but after making it, I found that the first one was waay more accurate. The first was made out of cheap 'exterior ply' with the dreaded thin veneer, but that stuff does not warp! (that doesn't mean you should use it for the actual sub though ). The second was made out of BB and it was all over the shop with the warping!

I managed to get panel 3, and the 2 reducer panels installed as well as getting panel 4 cut to exact size before I decided that was it for the night. I did want to get panel 4 installed but I realised that I didn't want to install this panel next. This is because last time, installing the flanges with the reducer panels in place is a proper pain and so I am going to install the flanges whilst I have good access into the chamber. If you look at the bottom pic, I can simply cut a triangular piece of wood to make a flange and then glue it in place from the 'inside' of the cab. Not only will this be easier to fit, but far stronger too. I will be doing the same behind the other reducer panel also and I'll have nice solid flanges. I will probably complete the rest of the flange tonight as well. Last time, I hadn't even scraped off the squeezeout behind those reducer panels when I installed the flange as I was following the plans... to the letter It was a proper PITA to do as there was no way to get in behind those reducer panels to remove the squeezeout once the second side was attached. I had to sand down a corner of my flanges so that it missed the squeezeout... which resulted in weaker flanges. Would there be some way of suggesting edits to the plans to allow these things (or others things that other people may have spotted) to be included in the next revision? I am sure I could alter them in 5 mins, send them in to Bill for approval/rejection and they could then be included/binned(!). I am sure with some forum help, we could make the plans even easier to build. I'd be happy to sign my rights over to Bill for my edit, as I'm sure others would be. I don't know however if Bill would be happy to:
a) have to trawl through edits, although they could be discussed here first amongst members to weed out the rubbish/impractical and:
b) allow others to edit his I.P./creations... those plans are his babies and he may not like some bloke coming along and changing them.
If no, then that's cool. I was just thinking it could be a way for the experience gained from hundreds of builds to be put back into the plans. I'd be well happy to see my edit in the plans

So without further ado, here's the progress from last night:





Over the weekend, I will complete the cab build apart from the top (8), back (10) and bottom pieces (12) and associated corner reinforcing bits (panels 9 and 11 and 13)) <- all panel numbers recalled from memory... I think that's them

[Charles Jenkinson]

Does cutting and installing the braces permit the rate of progress you are thinking of this weekend? ...i dream of installing braces.

[Bruce Weldy]

...i dream of installing braces.

So does an orthodontist....

[escapemcp]

Does cutting and installing the braces permit the rate of progress you are thinking of this weekend? ...i dream of installing braces.

I should get the 5/6 and 4/7 braces in this weekend. I also have enough wood to make the mouth braces for both subs, which will require a while to cut them like the ones in my 24" T30s and also to paint them up green. Hoping for a productive weekend, but something will probably come along and bite me on the ass... if it doesn't use up wood, that's cool... I'm time rich but wood poor at the moment!

I dream of installing braces

Well I dream of getting wood

[DJPhatman]

Well I dream of getting wood

You owe me a laptop! This brought out the coffee from my mouth!

[escapemcp]

Well I dream of getting wood

You owe me a laptop! This brought out the coffee from my mouth!

Well... I unfortunately don't have any problems with liquids spraying out of my orifice

Being serious for a moment, a bit of Self-depreciating humour is always good... It often catches people out.
Note: I am just joking on the lack of wood thing... I can get it up (on a good day with a following wind (& a truck of Viagra))... How else could I have got all these warts and assorted creatures??

[Titanium Hand]

Well... I unfortunately don't have any problems with liquids spraying out of my orifice

Being serious for a moment, a bit of Self-depreciating humour is always good... It often catches people out.
Note: I am just joking on the lack of wood thing... I can get it up (on a good day with a following wind (& a truck of Viagra))... How else could I have got all these warts and assorted creatures??

Ha ha ha, classic - Sildenafil citrate never goes astray after a 70 hr week on the tools

Back to the build, I believe the plans are written to ensure that even the most novice woodworker can get a reliable result. I'm sure there are a few steps that can be done easier if other parameters are met eg. additional tools and skill-set.
Square and pretty is great if you can get there, airtight and rocksteady is what I work toward. One or two mm here or there never seems to prove a problem thanks to the marvel of PL.
Flush Trim routers, filler, duratex and corners all help to make a novice construction appear pro.
Many philistines may listen with their eyes, but once they're deaf from trying to get up close and personal to pick flaws on a cranking BFM cab they'll never be the same again anyway!

Happy Building

[escapemcp]

Friday night update:

Managed to get the flange installed after going down the pub (it IS a Friday after all). I figured installing this bit while slightly drunk was ok as it required no power tools and was an easy bit. I then decided not to push my luck and go to bed.


NOTE: This bit of flange was made from a bit of scrap ply, hence the little bit of a routed circle you can see. Also the globs of PL are me filling some holes in the reducer panel... this is the bit that used to be a saw sled. The holes didn't go all the way through, but I wanted to inject them with a bit of PL to give a bit extra strength anyway. No-one will see it once completed.

Saturday:

Woke up, went straight into the garage and couldn't get motivated. Went back to bed. Eventually woke up at 4pm - the early mornings for work and late nights for building obviously caught up with me. Managed to get panel 4 installed and panel 5 AND panel 6 AND the 5/6 braces AND managed to cut panel 7 to size. This was in just 3 hours... I have been flying! I like these slims as they are easier to put together. One slight issue is that my panel 6 is warped and bows outwards in the middle of the panel (toward the mouth of the cab). I have used the brace to get the bottom part of panel 6 at 90°, but then the top part bows back in toward the driver chamber. I think I will use a small bit of wood as a brace to push the wood back into place. If I use the dewarping techniques described in the plans, when I remove the boards the panel will just bend inward again.

Just after installing panels 4 & 5:


Panel 6 installed:

Note the top layer of ply breaking off on the right side of this pic (where panel 6 joins panel 1). This is due to my circular saw blade being blunt. I cannot get a new one until payday on Wednesday, so I have had to make do with this one I was thinking that cutting real slow would be ok, but it really doesn't seem to make any difference. All the cuts are done now anyway, so it's a moot point.

5/6 Braces installed (with PL and 4 screws):


It's still only 8pm here, so I may see if I can get some more done tonight. Possibilities are panel 7 or the rest of the flanges. I am running short of PL though, only have about 1/2" of the tube left I am hoping it will cover the flanges AND panel 7 AND the 4/7 brace, but time will tell. I cannot honestly believe how fast this sub has been going together. When I first built these, I was happy if I managed to get a panel installed a night (4 or 5 hours work). Today I have been getting about 1 installed every hour!! This cannot continue... something HAS to mess up, surely. I have been taking just as much care as before, I guess I am just getting better at it now that this is my 3rd T30. It also helps as I have a few notes from the last build written on my saw table which can speed things up considerable. Things like how far it is from the shoe of the circular saw to the cutline for different angles of cut. The first time I had to work these out by making a test cut, then measuring and moving the straight edge accordingly. Now I just have it all written down and can cut accurately first time.

[escapemcp]

Happy Building

Happy building indeed

[escapemcp]

Saturday (continued)
Finally had a few issues Panel 7 just wouldn't sit square. I was trying to ensure that I had at least one screw in the 4/7 brace as well, so this meant that I had to install the brace and attach it to panel 4 before I installed panel 7. This proved quite troublesome and in the end I discovered that my angle-o-meter (don't know it's real name!) seemed to be not reading right. I discovered this when I had a 90° reading on one side of panel 7, but 88° on the other! I haven't quite worked out what is going on with this, but I will investigate tomorrow.



Things to note in the pics. In the first pic, I drilled 2 holes and countersunk them, but I then realised that I will be doing a logo on the front of panel 7. I can avoid one of the screwholes, but one was smack bang in the middle of the logo, so I missed this out and drilled a new hole for brace attachment. In the third pic you can see the screw that I used to attach the brace to panel 4. This was done BEFORE panel 7 went on, so required lots of test fitting to ensure that the brace was bang on. I reckon this took me about 10 goes to get right, mainly due to my dodgy angle-o-meter! I ran out of PL right at the bottom of the join in the final pic, but as you can see, the squeezeout is good, so I believe this to be a good join. Thanks to the lack of PL, the build is now paused for a few days until I get paid and can get some more PL.

[escapemcp]

I also managed to install the other flange behind the Lab 12 reducer panel. I had attempted to install the flange along the bottom of the driver access opening, but upon fitting, I thought that it seemed to short (not enough overhang to attach weatherseal and mounting screws to). I checked the plans and noticed that the flanges had to be 1 1/4" wide, whereas I had used a 1" strip I should have READ THE PLANS more thoroughly, rather than thinking "yeah, easy" as I had been doing. At least I caught it whilst the PL was still very slimy. I told you yesterday something like that was waiting to bite me on the ass... thank god I caught it in time!

Hope none of you guys are in Colorado... just saw the floods on the news and they look pretty bad from where I'm sitting

Stay safe

[escapemcp]

Monday:
Nothing happening on the build due to lack of wood and PL.

On the plus side, a work colleague gave me a strip of LEDs as a leaving present. I had been discussing how to light my flightcase with him before and he had some sticky back LED strips left over from a DIY project around his house. So as I could not continue with the main build, I got with the powertools as soon as I got in this evening and managed to install the strip:

Power comes from an old 12V/5V power adapter that I had for an old hard drive caddy (that broke many years ago). I took the 12V and ground lines and soldered them to the LED strip. I may invest in a switch to flip between the ground and 5V line which would give me a basic dimming capability as that would result in 7V running through the LEDs instead of the full 12. I could even have a full/half(ish)/off switch.... I will see if I can pick up a switch from somewhere and get this implemented.

The LEDs were then stuck onto a strip of wood that I have routed to a 45 degree angle with the 45 degree bit. I chose this angle to make sure that the light covered everything I needed it to (as the CDJs have no illumination on them). Writing this, I have just realised that I may have overthought this and I could have just used a square piece of wood so that the lights were shining out horizontally across the case

Anyway, the wood was then superglued to the metal of the hybrid extrusion that the lid attaches to. As the PSU is lightweight, I also managed to superglue that to the 'ceiling' of the cable run and thus getting it out the way of any signal cables.

And that's about it. It's not BFM but thought you may like to see what I did... hopefully it may inspire someone else to use these LED lights. It's the first time I have used them, but I was thinking about what people have said about them in the past - lighting up horn mouths, these would look very good

[Grant Bunter]

I've done much the same thing with my rack and a bench in my shed.
I like LED's for these sorts of purposes.

Did you know that dimming LEDS is not achieved by reducing power?
LED dimming is achieved by rapidly turning them on and off, so that they are not at maximum intensity full time. This is done by the LED power supply/dimmer controllers you can see on the net etc.
The larger the amount of dimming required, the longer the intervals between on and off.
So you may find that only giving them 5 volts means they won't work at all, as that could be below threshold voltage.
However, if you can separate them into two groups evenly distributed, you could then make them off/half/full

[escapemcp]

I've done much the same thing with my rack and a bench in my shed.
I like LED's for these sorts of purposes.

Did you know that dimming LEDS is not achieved by reducing power?
LED dimming is achieved by rapidly turning them on and off, so that they are not at maximum intensity full time. This is done by the LED power supply/dimmer controllers you can see on the net etc.
The larger the amount of dimming required, the longer the intervals between on and off.
So you may find that only giving them 5 volts means they won't work at all, as that could be below threshold voltage.
However, if you can separate them into two groups evenly distributed, you could then make them off/half/full

I originally ran them off a 9V battery and they were much weaker... I was hoping that 7 would go even weaker (for more 'mood' lighting than any actual illumination). Right now I am kicking myself for not installing them horizontal. Don't know how I missed that (tired?). Really should get to bed also... 5:15am here... got to be up in an hour and a half .... yeah, I was probably tired Probably a blessing that I was out of PL & wood therefore!