BillFitzmaurice.info

I screw side one and shoot side 2 if i can. honesty ive done it a bit differently on every cab, as i didnt have a brad nailer for sub 1 and 2. like i said thoug ive pretty much settled on screwing the braces on to 2/3/4 from inside thechamber (use small drill lol) then i install the next 3 panels and just shoot through them into the braces.


Byacey, my thoughts exactly on pounding braces in. i had to scrap a t48 and hole build because i did this on a 24" cab and when i went to afix side 2 it was almost an inch out of square in some places. braces can just as easily help you MISALIGN your cab during consgruction as they can help you align it if you are hot careful about placing. also, if you have to squeeze it i you are def leaving a "snail trail" of pl behind the brace.

miked wrote:Byacey: Do you brad nail your braces in or screw them in? I'm taking a poll here. LOL! I'll be home in a couple of hours and plan on hitting the garage right away.

Butter 'em up really good, slide 'em in, shoot 'em with brads, then run a bead of PL on the seam....and keep your fingers off - don't try to make it look pretty.

If PL holds the entire cab together, it will hold the braces...screws are not necessary.

Mike I have been using pocket screws to install the braces when the next panel goes on over the braces I screw through the panel into the brace. I like knowing the joint is pulled together snug just in case the BB has a little warp. Screws also allow you to handle the box without the PL being cured..

Glad to see we have a consensus. LOL! I guess there's no "proper way" to do it...whatever works and gets them in there securely but not too tightly.

I am assuming that as long as there is plenty of PL, there will be no brace rattle? That's my big fear.

and you need to let the PL cure correctly. moving the panels or stressing them too much while it is will cause the PL to fail, aka rattle. give them 24 hours before you attempt to pick the cab up by any of the 2 panels the brace is in between (not that you SHOULD do this... but hey, i'm sure it happens in a shop)

hifibob wrote:Mike I have been using pocket screws to install the braces when the next panel goes on over the braces I screw through the panel into the brace.

Doing that on a Titan will add an enormous amount of time in measuring exactly where on the panel each brace needs to go. Too far forward or back and you'll put the next panel in the wrong place.

It's a whole lot easier to slide 'em in or rotate 'em in, hit 'em with some brads and let 'em dry.

Thanks very much for all thoughts on how best to install braces. ALL of your ideas are valid. Obviously, all of us know how to work with wood; but with varying degrees of adeptness...and I'm at the bottom of that ranking. However you arrive "at four" is up to you. 2+2, 5-1, etc...they all add up to the same thing. As long as the cab is air-tight and doesn't rattle, everything else doesn't matter.

I decided that panel 5 was important enough to merit its' own work night. Panel 5 is the first part of the horn and it's also the first panel you see when you look at the cab. I did not want to risk it being misaligned with respect to the sides, nor did I want it to be bowed due to shoving braces in there when panel 5 itself had not cured into its' place. So I installed panel5 on all 4 cabs and called it a night. I am VERY happy with the results. These are assorted pics from all four cabs. They all turned out the same, so I snapped pics as I went. You guys know it's not easy taking pics when you have latex gloves on and they are full of PL. You snap pics when/as you can!

First off, I got jiggy with it. Yeah...I went there.

Piece of 1/2" BB scrap used as jig to ensure panel 5 was dead-even with the front of the cab...the top, in this case.



Panel 5 screwed in place, before PL'ing. 5 screws thru the top and three from the bottom (side). Keep in mind all holes were first pre-drilled with a 1/8" bit. This doesn't look like much but it is labor-intensive.


All lined up and ready for glue.


Result? Simply perfection. The panel 5/side joint had just as much squeeze out as you see on the top, but it got all stuck to the jig. There was nothing but a film of PL left across the panel 5 when I pulled the jig off. You can see where I wiped it clean.


Inside squeeze out.




It's weird not being able to reach the PL bead to smooth it out. Glad I laid down a super-thick bead.




I love this pic. The alignment says it all.


Tomorrow morning I will install the 2/5 braces. In the afternoon, panel 6 and I'll probably stop there. Thanks for looking!

Again, dont worry about smoothing pl. if it must look pretty a chisel is your friend, untill you slice your finger with it like i did last week

Bruce Weldy wrote:

hifibob wrote:Mike I have been using pocket screws to install the braces when the next panel goes on over the braces I screw through the panel into the brace.

Doing that on a Titan will add an enormous amount of time in measuring exactly where on the panel each brace needs to go. Too far forward or back and you'll put the next panel in the wrong place.

It's a whole lot easier to slide 'em in or rotate 'em in, hit 'em with some brads and let 'em dry.

Thats gotta make a mess with the PL! It takes a matter of seconds with a square to run a line off the leading edge of your brace to locate them perfectly.I found this method will keep all your panels pretty dam straight. When you slide the brace in and there's a bow in your panel its going to stay there

Many ways to skin a cat my friend.

On another note Mike.. Just make a few brace spacers to hold the brace in the exact location while you fasten it..

hifibob wrote:When you slide the brace in and there's a bow in your panel its going to stay there

Using Baltic Birch, I have never had a bow in a panel. But, I still wouldn't spend that kind of time measuring, drilling pockets, etc. It's just a brace and it can't be seen. I guess that's one part of the build that I wasn't very anal about.

Many ways to skin a cat my friend.

No question about it. And you've been skinning yours quite nicely!

miked wrote:Byacey: Do you brad nail your braces in or screw them in? I'm taking a poll here. LOL! I'll be home in a couple of hours and plan on hitting the garage right away.

I brad nail them as the situation allows. If I can get access to both sides, I'll shoot brads through the panels into the braces. I recall there were a few I had to toe-nail in because the other side of the panel was inaccessible.

Be careful if you try toe nailing with a brad nailer; sometimes the nails will deflect and rebound to where you don't expect them to go. Keep your fingers out of the way.

Oh, I learned long ago to keep my hands and fingers away from the line of fire from the brad nailer. The first time you shoot one through your finger is all it takes for you to learn that lesson.

I'm about to start putting in the 2/5 braces. I will have to do a bit of PL chopping first though. The dried PL squeeze out at the panel 2/4 joint is preventing me from sliding the brace in all the way and due to the length/width of the brace, I can't put in sideway b/c that PL ridge still blocks it. Ah, the fun of DIY!

My brad nailer will only get into the driver chamber at it's widest point. I may be able to get one brad in from the baffle side. Not sure if that would do any good. These will probably wind up nailed through panel 5 and just PL on the baffle side. More later.

One side nailed will be fine. They basically just hold the piece in place until the glue sets. The real strength is the glue bond itself.

Thanks, byacey. That is reassuring.

So far, so good. Got the 2/5 braces and panel 6 on two cabs. But of course, there's a problem. First some pics.




Getting panel 6 on was a little tricky. Fastening it to panel 5 is bit of a chore. Will have to do a bit of cutoff disc on the Dremel action, then some filling/sanding. Lots of brads sticking out like this.


Panel 6 getting lined up.


Peek at the 2/5 braces along the already installed panel 6.


Here's the problem I've encountered This is a 4/6 brace, and it's too small.


They are EXACTLY 2-1/2 x 3-1/8" per the plans. Why don't they fit? Anyone else have to remake their 4/6 braces? Crap. More wasted wood. Oh well. Back to the garage to get the other two cabs done, then that'll be it for cab ASSEMBLY for the day. Then I'll have to try and figure out exactly what dimensions the 4/6 braces are supposed to be.