BillFitzmaurice.info

Bruce Weldy wrote: ↑Fri Apr 01, 2022 11:42 pmA simple handheld router and circle jig has made all of the baffle cut-outs that I've done....

I started with a jigsaw (with copious amounts of sanding) then the garage sale router and homemade circle jig. But when a friend built a cnc router table, we made templates of every cut that isn't a line in the plans.

I totally get building your first by hand (been there done that). But now having more tools and knowledge, I'd never wanna do it the hard way again. Even most Amish use power tools now

jimbo7 wrote: ↑Sat Apr 02, 2022 9:06 am Even most Amish use power tools now

Where does the horse go?

A little blow out isn't a big deal if its on the back side of the panel/ not touching the driver gasket. A little wood filler or bondo should fill the gap nicely, otherwise.

If you're making multiple cabs at once, sand the first baffle as nice as you like and then use it as your router template for the next one.

Same goes for handle holes.
Cut out one really nice one on some scrap plywood and clamp it anywhere you need a handle.

Strange Kevin wrote: ↑Sat Apr 02, 2022 7:44 pm A little blow out isn't a big deal if its on the back side of the panel/ not touching the driver gasket. A little wood filler or bondo should fill the gap nicely, otherwise.

If you're making multiple cabs at once, sand the first baffle as nice as you like and then use it as your router template for the next one.

Same goes for handle holes.
Cut out one really nice one on some scrap plywood and clamp it anywhere you need a handle.

Oh man why haven’t I thought of doing that? It is brilliant!!!

the first box is shaping up nicely. A few things I will do differently going forward:

1) Use PL construction adhesive. The guy at Rockler recommended tightbond 3 for outdoor speaker boxes instead of PL and against my better judgement I decided to listen to him instead of the instructions. Big mistake.
2) plan my cuts out better when using the table saw. Definitely difficult having to share the table saw with everyone at the makerspace.
3) CNC everything that isn't perfectly 90 degrees. My cuts are getting better, but there's still some slop here and there.
4) take more time lining up panels, I have limited storage time at the makerspace so I definitely rushed myself when I shouldn't.

Also, I like the width of the 24" wide boxes but I'm thinking about shortening the width of my next boxes to fit all the panels on 2 sheets of 5x5 ply instead of 3. It is my first real woodworking project so I guess I shouldn't expect perfection the first go.

Looks like its coming together nicely!

Keep up the good work!!

Looks great!

You're right, the first box is looking good. Nicely done!

nortonw3 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 03, 2022 2:59 pm 1) Use PL construction adhesive. The guy at Rockler recommended tightbond 3 for outdoor speaker boxes instead of PL and against my better judgement I decided to listen to him instead of the instructions. Big mistake.

Air-tightness is the key to making these boxes work, hence the polyurethane based adhesive. I wouldn't be surprised if your box suffers from a leak or two. Be sure to pay close attention when the plans tell you how to check.

Titebond III is a great glue for most any other outdoor project. But it does not swell to fill in the gaps. Best of luck.

Bryan Cox wrote: ↑Mon Apr 04, 2022 5:43 am You're right, the first box is looking good. Nicely done!

nortonw3 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 03, 2022 2:59 pm 1) Use PL construction adhesive. The guy at Rockler recommended tightbond 3 for outdoor speaker boxes instead of PL and against my better judgement I decided to listen to him instead of the instructions. Big mistake.

Air-tightness is the key to making these boxes work, hence the polyurethane based adhesive. I wouldn't be surprised if your box suffers from a leak or two. Be sure to pay close attention when the plans tell you how to check.

Titebond III is a great glue for most any other outdoor project. But it does not swell to fill in the gaps. Best of luck.

Yeah, I’m going to get an extra long caulk nozzle and caulk the shit out of the edges before I put on the other side panel. I already know there’s a few gaps. Is air tightness important around every internal edge or more important where the outside panels join?

"Is air tightness important around every internal edge or more important where the outside panels join?"

DEFINITELY all along the horn path. Without a continuously sealed boundary between subsequent parts of the horn, the pressure will "short circuit" by taking the path of least resistance. Part of the pressure won't be travelling the full length of the horn.

Rich has it right. The box is what determines your tone and tuning. It is important for the air to maintain pressure all throughout the horn path until it reaches the mouth. The horn filters harmonic distortion and certain order harmonics, giving you the cleanest sounding bass youve ever heard. I'm sure Seth, Tom, Bruce, or Bill can be more specific if you wish.

The first cabinet I built was with good ole gorilla glue. I was nervous about it's air tightness so I caulked the life out of each joint before closing it up. So far so good. But it was an Otop 12, not a Tuba 45. The pressure in those tops isn't near what's in the subs. In the future, I'd say use a poly based adhesive and save yourself some time.

Rich4349 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 04, 2022 10:40 am "Is air tightness important around every internal edge or more important where the outside panels join?"

DEFINITELY all along the horn path. Without a continuously sealed boundary between subsequent parts of the horn, the pressure will "short circuit" by taking the path of least resistance. Part of the pressure won't be travelling the full length of the horn.

Good to know! thanks. going to head to home depot to get some caulking supplies now. Also, some of the corner bracing panels were about 1/8" off of the line I initially drew out since I had no way of clamping them to the bottom with all the other panels in the way. will that affect the tuning of the box as a whole? I don't want my first box to be out of tune once I get more accurate in building the next ones...

My spidey sense tells me it'll be fine.

Bryan Cox wrote: ↑Mon Apr 04, 2022 4:54 pm My spidey sense tells me it'll be fine.

+1

Got a the 2nd box pretty much assembled. Still have a lot of sanding/filling to do and I Will install the main braces before painting. However when constructing the 2nd box, I realized I forgot to add the internal braces (not the visible ones) on the first box. This obviously causes the entire box to flex when running at full power and it’s not good. Is there any fix for this? I’m thinking about taking a hole saw and a few dowels the same diameter, cut to match the angle of the horn, lather it up with PL and trim and sand the excess that sticking out the side. I’ll do this in as many places as I can.