yet another T48 and OT12 build thread.....

[David Raehn]

I'm building the current design, front-loaded.

Actually I think the blanks I cut for the anchors will work for the access covers. Heck I even have blanks sized for panel 7 at 23" wide.... just in case.....

[miked]

Better to cut slightly oversize, than to be undersize later.

[David Raehn]

Great progress today. I took off yesterday for my middle son's 18th birthday and some much needed r+r. Today, added panels 2,3,4 and 5, the 3/5 braces and prepped panel 6, panel 6 extension, the access hatch flanges and panel 8. I wanted to give the PL overnight to cure and then get with it first thing tomorrow. It may seem like I'm rushing but I thought everything out and made sure all was correctly supported. By the end of tomorrow, I feel that the first two cabinets will be just about wrapped up as far as construction. I plan to start the next two on Saturday.

[miked]

Holy blazing progress, Batman! Sure, make me look bad. j/k You've got skills, my friend. Looking great so far! I cut all the angles per the plans and my layout of the panel locations on the side panel was meticulous. Yet I needed a lot more PL than you used in order to effect a solid seal. Guess I just suck. LOL!

I waivered back and forth b/t the new build and the old. I didn't feel my woodworking skills were up to snuff to do the new version of the cab. Keep the pics coming and continued good luck.

[David Raehn]

I'd have to say that Bill deserves most of the credit! His instructions eliminate nearly all questions.

Tomorrow should be most enjoyable!

I have not purchased the OT12 kits yet, but I'm wondering how far I can go in building the cabs without the 12" driver in hand.... I will be doing the flat array by the way.

Thank you for the compliments! My build isn't as neat as yours, Miked, and I'm hesitant to post daylight photos of my shop because it is an absolute mess. The small area in the pictures is in the middle of a 2 car garage! That's all I could get cleared out in time for the build!

[sine143]

what width are you building? progress looks very nice, as do your cabs!

one question about this pic, why are the braces 3/5 pushed in different depths between the panels

[David Raehn]

Hey sine,

I am building 24" total width with 23" panels. Good catch on the braces! I was actually cutting my teeth on using the saw sled two weeks ago. I had a handful of 15mm BB scraps to play with and decided to learn by making braces while I waited for the 12mm stuff. So what you see there is slight variation in overall length of the brace but the taper is correct. I knew these were a little out of tolerance but decided to go ahead and use them since by the end of the week nobody will ever see them .

[sine143]

oh dont worry about the length man, all my subs probably have different length braces lol, I was just making sure they were not the same length and pushed in different amounts (which would cause bowing)

[David Raehn]

Yeah, I was really careful about bowing. That is another reason I am moving at a good clip on these: I don't want the bowing to show up at all. I have everything stored flat at the moment but it would be much better to have the cabinets glued, screwed and braced.

[David Raehn]

OK so not quite as much progress as I anticipated today as there were a few interruptions in the shop. Otherwise, panel 6, 6 extension, most of the flange assembly, panel 8 (back) and its braces went on smoothly. I go back to work tomorrow and Friday so just evening work until the weekend. I feel that the next two will go together much more quickly since I am prepping all the panels now and only assembling two at a time.

I opened Audacity and made a 60 minute CD of 30Hz sine for when I do the driver break-in early next week. I will probably go to Amazon this weekend and order the DCX.

The plan is indeed coming together!

[miked]

Glad to hear you're getting a DSP. A simple crossover simply is not enough with these cabs; too many people don't get that until it's too late and they let the magic smoke out of the driver.
I go way overboard with the PL, typically smearing an additional bead of it on all joints. Sometimes it is necessary, most times it's not. The rule of thumb is that if you have good, even squeeze out, the joint will be airtight. I'm OCD so no matter what, if I can reach it, I smear the squeeze out flat with my finger, run an additional bead and smear it too. Honestly, it's probably a waste of PL 75% of the time...and it's why my cabs look like a tube of PL exploded inside them. But hey, it's inside and nobody will ever see it.

Your build is looking great, draehn. Keep it up!!

BTW, when I looked at this pic I said "Oh crap, why does he have a hole in the side panel?!" Then I realized it was sandpaper.


ps
Do not worry about rushing and making progress. Let panels dry overnight so the PL cures properly. Airtight, airtight and airtight. Everything else doesn't matter.

[David Raehn]

I haven't been purposely stingy with the PL, but I surprised myself today: I was getting near the end of the tube while putting the back braces in and wondering at which joint I would run out........

THE FIRST TUBE!!!!!!

Jeesh, I'll have to start using more...

[miked]

No need to be messy like me, but no need to be purposely stingy either, especially on these types of cabs where you simply cannot reach 99% of the joints after putting on that second side. If there's the slightest hint of doubt that a joint may be suspect, smear a big old bead of PL in there with a gloved finger. PL is cheap. BB and your time are not.

[David Raehn]

Yeah, when the second side goes on there will be a considerable amount of squeeze-out because I am taking NO chances!

Nice job on your wheels. Looks like it will be strong enough.

BTW, I couldn't find 1/2" quarter-round at the hardware store so I stuck a full length piece of 45deg (1/2" x 1/2") scrap in there. Feels like it will do fine.

I also picked up some #6 x 1-1/4" wood screws from the hardware.... I took some of the cabinet screws in to see if they had them and they just looked at me like I fell from the moon...

Imagine if they saw what I'm building.....

[miked]

I have found (or not) that Lowes and Home Depot don't sell a lot of what we need for our cabs. Black screws, in particular. I have bought a lot of screws from this place. Most of the #6 screws we need for corners are square drive, but not a big deal. http://www.mcfeelys.com/search/black+oxide+screws

I have found regular Phillips, black oxide screws in the sizes we need online, but most suppliers want you to order a box of 1,000 to start. It's just not practical for guys like us to spend $30+ on a thousand screws when we can get 100 for $7 or so, albiet with square-drive heads.

I've had mixed luck on EBay for screws, but have found really good deals on terminal plates and Speakon connectors.

The wheel mounting idea is Bruce's; I can't take credit for it. But I can tell you that I only rip off the bestest of the best of ideas. You could ride one of his T39s down the highway on the casters. That's how solid that mount is.

ps
Be REAL careful when installing your backing material for the hand holds. Have extra b/c there's a good possibility it will split when you nail it. If you are just gluing and clamping, you can disregard.