BillFitzmaurice.info

Nono... not passing you up. I don't think!

I cut the rest of the wood last night at 10 PM... I think I might have pissed off the neighbors.

I found that cutting everything right to the dimensions listed in the plans (not the cut list) would have been very good. I have yet to find a need to re-cut anything based on warpage or other issues. The plans are perfect!

That being said, I've got the stack of panels all pre-cut for the second THT, based on how good this one went! The only things I still need to cut are the braces. Going to do that today I hope.

Going to see if I can glue on the final panels this evening.

I haven't loaded pictures because things got scary inside mine due to a few whoopsies. I had to dis-assemble/re-assemble a bit because I had one dimension wrong on my original pencil marks. I found it because the piece I cut was not the same as the pencil drawing length! The sketch and marking up the panel positions on the bottom panel is INVAULABLE!

I had to dis-assemble and the PL got everywhere! Better when the PL is still soft, then later when there's no chance for change, though! This one will be built per the dimensions (except for speaker position and brace sizes... I was a bit casual on the brace lengths), but there will be tons of misc brads popped through and glue everywhere inside...

Next one starts later this week, and it will be much better. I'll be marking all joint areas to be able to nail correctly and I'll mock it up before I start building. I hope it doesn't sound different! (but it shouldn't).

Hmmm... maybe I should build a third and use the first one as a riser rumbler!

- M

Ha! Well, it sounds like you are figuring it out. I'm sure it will be fine. I'm just taking my time on mine, which won't make it sound any better. Should be good though. 2 of them should be awesome....I don't think I need 2 of them. Nevermind that the wife would kill me. I'm going to finish this one over the next few weeks and then start a T18 for the garage. Building this THT in the garage, I decided I needed some bass in there.

OMG... I have an idea...

I'll take the first THT and cut a hole into my theater seat risers (in the back) and set the THT so the mouth fires right into the hole! I bet it'd resonate the huge cavity under the risers with the LFE!!!

The risers are made up of two levels, open to each other, 6" x 7' x 14' and 12" x 8' x14'. Lots of volume, but maybe not enough to satisfy the THT...

I know, not the intended purpose... but wonder if that'd work... I bet it'd rumble the seats!

You don't need to set your THT up like that to make your seats rumble! Just turn the sub amp up to about "3".

How is it coming? I just hit brace 10, you getting further?

Today's another building day... starting in a few minutes...

OK, so it looks like Unit 1 is built to the point of wiring up the driver and adding the covers...

NOT pretty, but it did fit together!

I am covered in PL!

- M

Nice! It's coming together.... mine is a little behind you! I'm getting there though. How wide was yours? Looks like 36?

My observations thus far... (Lessons Learned, maybe?)

Please note... if you are not comfortable or familiar with building things, or you are looking for perfection, follow the plans!!! Also, if you did not cut your wood very carefully and absolutely square, the following observations will NOT work for you!!!

- Your mileage may vary on this one, but it worked for me. Cut ALL the wood to the correct dimensions right off the bat if your plywood is extremely close to 1/2" thickness (make sure!). The plans are so good that, if you did things right, everything will fall into place! Dealing with the cut list and then re-cutting the last 1/4" off was a PITA (but YOU need to decide for yourself... it is a safety step, for sure!). Since the braces slide into place, and the placement is non-critical (they can be slid in an inch or two more or less than the diagram) even they can be cut first! If something doesn't match up within 1/16", you either cut wrong, or you're not following the plan correctly... (i.e. you goofed somewhere!).

- The height of your THT (the dimension you are allowed to vary) is key... When you cut your wood, set your saw to that dimension and cut ALL the wood that requires that dimension at the same time, before you change the saw again! Then you won't have any pieces that stick up that you have to sand later...

- Building this carefully, but fast, so you get a few steps done with the PL uncured, is a lifesaver if you find out you made a mistake! You can take it all back apart within a few hours... if you wait a day before proceeding, you don't have that option!

- The brad nailer makes the build SUPER fast, since you don't have to wait for any PL to dry. It also lets you assemble the next step to keep the previous step square, so you can get away without a square for the project! Clamp things into position, then sink a 1-1/4" brad every 3-4" on all mating edges, aimed so that they go into the other board. Once this is done, you can UNCLAMP and move on to the next step! I put two brads within an inch of the edges to hold them while I slid the panels the last 1/16" or so into place, then I nailed the whole thing up.

- Use more PL than the minimum, since it's better to have it squeeze out then find out you didn't have enough and there's a leak. It is easy to just slice off with a utility knife on the outside of the cabinet before you sand!

- Draw position lines on both sides of the panels for the braces and center the brace edge on the lines, then you can just brad nail down the lines once the brace is slid in.

- Someone might argue this matters, but you can tack a small (very small) block of wood/plywood in on the panel sides offset from the position of the braces with super glue. Sets in ten seconds, and allows you to have a resting spot for the inside part of the brace while you assemble the panel. I left the inside ones in, but you can always just knock them off later. I also used pre-cut stands to space out the panels, but the little bits glued in worked much better for me. The next time, I might dado the brace positions in just 1/16. That should work VERY well, and the PL will fill the gaps on the edges, where the dado runs off the board.

- Before the last panel, nothing really matters too much as long as you get the dimensions and positions right and things are leak-free. So what if you have some extra glue or a brad punched through in the wrong place... Nobody is going to see it (Unless, of course, you post it here... like me... ).

- M

Hey Bryson!

It's a 30" (29" panels). I'm going to set them into the front of my theater (if I can). They'll be sticking through the front wall, so 2/3 of the units will be outside of the room. The 30" height will allow them to fit into something "counter height".

- M

I'm done... With the first one...

I, uh-hhh... Well... I really... uhhhh... ONLY NEED ONE!!!

IT DEFIES EXPLANATION!

With just the THT connected and maybe 100W, cut off at 80Hz, you FEEL more than hear it! It's liquid smooth and it makes anything not tightly locked down travel on its own!

My other unpowered woofers are playing in sympathy, vibrating as if they were actually playing... ALL OF THEM!

If I happen to stand in front of it, I feel like a sheet of paper being jack-hammered... and I'm a big guy!

It's still sitting on sawhorses in the middle of the room, 2 feet off the floor, and not near any wall! I haven't even done the subwoofer walk yet!!!!

I don't have the words... THANK YOU BILL!!!!

-Melifluonze

Melifluonze wrote: My other unpowered woofers are playing in sympathy, vibrating as if they were actually playing... ALL OF THEM!

They're actually acting as bass traps. Don't have any unused subs in your listening room when you get the THT into place there.

Looks.awesome. I can't wait to build mine. Any more thoughts on it? How big is the room it's going in? Mine is roughly 5000 cubic feet. I will probably build another eventually. Gotta see how I do on this one.

You fellas haven't seen the youtube of two THT bouncing the candles clear off the table upstairs. Should be compulsory viewing before planning twins.

Gregory East wrote:You fellas haven't seen the youtube of two THT bouncing the candles clear off the table upstairs. Should be compulsory viewing before planning twins.

Just watched it. WOW. Looks like two might be overkill.....