Two great tips from forum members, thanks guys!

[Tim A]

I'm in the middle of a build and thought I'd try a couple of tips given by forum members.

1) Old pillows for cabinet stuffing.

This one is from Mikey. The stuff in those pillows is the exact same stuff you pay good money for at the fabric shop. Just open the end and pull it out. It does need to be fluffed after having been in a pillow, but it works perfectly and it's free. One pillow will do several cabs. If you're only building a couple of cabs, I'd bet a cheap pillow from your local X-mart would be less than buying the stuffing. My wife likes new pillows...I see a pretty regular supply in my future!

2) Making you're own piezo sealant

I use black ABS to glue them together, but a while back someone suggested they use MEK and plastic pieces to make black sealant. This works very, very well. Simply take some of the scrap from cutting the piezos and drop it in a jar with an air-tight lid. Pour in some MEK, or Acetone. I used Acetone. The next day you'll have a nice, thick, gooey product that is very high in solid content. It's perfect for sealing up cracks and getting nice smooth joints on the horns. The smaller the scrap the faster the pieces will melt in the jar. You can adjust the material by adding more scrap for a thicker product or acetone for thinner. I don't recall who suggested this, but thanks! Please chime in and take credit where it's due!

[gdougherty]

I don't know that I'd buy a new pillow to use. I bought a large bag of polyfill from the craft section at Wally World for about $4. I filled the areas behind the horn sides and between the braces on two OT12's with about 1/3-1/2 bag. It goes pretty far and the bag is about the volume of 1-2 pillows.

[jcmbowman]

I think Tim's point is that you can buy new pillows for use in your home, and then recycle the old pillows into speaker fill. Yes, it might cost a little more to buy the new pillows, but not only do you get the old pillows for your speaker build, you get a happier significant other, which is invaluable when you spend as much time in the shop as we all seem to do.

[Tim A]

When I buy, it's typically a 12lb box from the fabric store for $18. The one pillow did 4 DR200's and there's enough left for 4 more. The stuff in pillows appears to be a higher loft, which means it's packed tighter, but can still be pulled apart. A $5 pillow would do quite a few cabs.

[RichardH]

...So are you saying that instead of lining the cabinet's inner surfaces, you can (lightly) stuff them with filler instead?

[Tim A]

...So are you saying that instead of lining the cabinet's inner surfaces, you can (lightly) stuff them with filler instead?

No. Some cabs require stuffing in certain areas and lining in others. Some require only lining. Follow the plans for your cab.

[RichardH]

That's what I assumed, but this

I filled the areas behind the horn sides and between the braces on two OT12's with about 1/3-1/2 bag.

made me wonder, since the plans say to line the OT12s.

But I guess it's hard to line those areas, so a gentle stuffing is perhaps all that can be achieved... (so to speak).

I'll go back in my corner

[Tim A]

Good question. On the OTops you line the cabs, but a bit of stuffing up in the horn sides won't hurt. You need to keep the stuffing away from the driver though, as it will cause heat buildup.

[gdougherty]

Good question. On the OTops you line the cabs, but a bit of stuffing up in the horn sides won't hurt. You need to keep the stuffing away from the driver though, as it will cause heat buildup.

+1 I already had the bag from some piezo tweeter mod tests and just enough mattress topper from my first 2 pairs of OT12's to line the rear area but not forward of the baffle. The polyfill seemed to hold in just fine as long as I used large chunks between the braces and tucked it under the baffle supports. Another note is that I use the rear mounted ports and metal handle hardware or no handles at all on the installed ones I just finished. It wouldn't work for the back section of an OT12 since you just want to reduce internal reflections off the box wall, not stuff the entire cab.

[Alan Star]

I use black ABS to glue them together, but a while back someone suggested they use MEK and plastic pieces to make black sealant. This works very, very well. Simply take some of the scrap from cutting the piezos and drop it in a jar with an air-tight lid. Pour in some MEK, or Acetone. I used Acetone. The next day you'll have a nice, thick, gooey product that is very high in solid content. It's perfect for sealing up cracks and getting nice smooth joints on the horns. The smaller the scrap the faster the pieces will melt in the jar. You can adjust the material by adding more scrap for a thicker product or acetone for thinner. I don't recall who suggested this, but thanks! Please chime in and take credit where it's due!

Thanks for that one, will definately give that a go when it comes time to do it.

[Frankenspeakers]

I think Tim's point is that you can buy new pillows for use in your home, and then recycle the old pillows into speaker fill. Yes, it might cost a little more to buy the new pillows, but not only do you get the old pillows for your speaker build, you get a happier significant other, which is invaluable when you spend as much time in the shop as we all seem to do.

<bingbingbingbingbing>
...and a thousand ficticious points to you, my friend!

I have had the painful task of assisting my stepped-on daughter (covertly) with her ecology/environazi class at a local JC... I spend more time debunking the course material "OK, honey, this is how you answer the question...and this is the truth") (No honey you cannot let the government make laws for every little thing or you will end up like the russians, germans, and chineese...)
One of the few points of agreement I have with the book is the concept of recycling, and using pillow dacron/polyfill in speaker cabinets is ruddy brilliant. (just run it through the wash and fluff it good in the dryer- you don't want the speaker smelling like what SWMBO used in her hair or on her face... on second thought, a couple gigs at the Mojo Lounge and it just won't matter )


{Has a licence to make comments about smelly foofoo products because he lets his SWMBO drive around with a Pizza Topper and magnetic signs all advertizing AVON... on HIS red PT cruiser- pictures will be in the avon distributor publications soon}

<slinks off to a dark corner to try to heal his injured pride>

[Mikey]

Hehehe glad you liked my recycling tip. Actually, it was a simple case of necessity being the mother of invention. I needed cab stuffing and a new pillow. It's pretty cool that the old pillows get put to good use instead of being buried in a landfill.

[RichardH]

Many thanks TimA and gdougherty - all clear now.