BillFitzmaurice.info

Hey,

My OT12's are in build and I'm approaching the tweeter portion. I had originally planned on just the straight 6 array, but I've almost talked myself into the melded 12 array since I'll probably be with just one pair for quite a while. The more I look at the plans the more comfortable I am with it. I'm planning to cut these with a miter saw using a jig and then assemble on a jig per the plans. Other than following the plans of course, any other tips or nuggets of wisdom you all could offer from your own experiences building these?

Thanks!

Donny

don't inhale the little plastic pieces when they come flying at your face

I built a fast jig on my sliding mitre saw and it went great. Just a simple piece of wood with the angle cut on it already, and then added some pieces of wood to lock the piezo in place, and another to hold it down so it didn't move.

Just go slow on the cuts, but not too slow that the plastic starts to melt. If you go too fast you can chip the plastic (I learned the hard way)

Just did this very thing today. Built the right-angle jig, cut all the piezos on a miter saw, and did the first pass at gluing it up. Without more extensive jigwork the array pieces won't fit exactly together, so be prepared to touch things up with the PVC cement.

Also, I disassembled my piezos before cutting them. This made me more comfortable, especially when trimming close to the screw lugs. Also, I plan to paint the array.

I have not built an array, but I have the pleasure of using them. You do want to use them!

melded For the WIN! If you can build the flat, the melded is actually quite simple. As I did I decided not to build a gig, I actually simply built (and glued) 8 flat arrays. Then, I would just do the 45 degree angle once the flat array was in a single piece. This might not work for the bigger arrays like the ot15/dr250, but for the smaller ones I found this quite handy. Also, like I said no gig, I used two of the bad tweeters and ran them through for a test run. After I was satisfied, I ran the whole array.

however, if you're building a gig for the piezos, simply follow the plans to get the results.

Cutting after melding works on a table saw but not on a miter saw. Well, maybe if your saw slides and you're building a short array.

I forgot to mention two obvious things - wear real eye protection and gloves help, too.

ian wrote: Also, I disassembled my piezos before cutting them. This made me more comfortable, especially when trimming close to the screw lugs. Also, I plan to paint the array.

I like the idea of that alot, so I just took apart the twelve that I have. I found two that I think may have trouble however. Can I just pull out the sections that are tucked in?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/monoheadph ... 168246319/

Thanks!

Donny

doncolga wrote:

ian wrote: Can I just pull out the sections that are tucked in?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/monoheadph ... 168246319/

Probably. That's a manufacturing error, and why you should always order a couple of extras.

Crap...I may have to stick with straight 6 for now because I don't think I can find 12 more of these for the other melded OT and I'd like to use the OTops for some gigs in two weeks...everyone seems to be out of stock...

Is there an alternative for the Goldwood piezos, model 1016?

I did come across these: http://www.amazon.com/Pyramid-TW12-2-In ... =de_a_smtd

A search only brought up one thread here, but it was a while back.

Thanks!

I believe Leland will be restocked shortly. Also, http://billfitzmaurice.info/forum/viewt ... 11&t=14526

I just got 12 from Drey. His packing is nowhere near as fun as Leland's, but otherwise great service and fast shipping.

I got the OT12 kit from Leland back in December when I was planning on 6 straights each box for the pair, so that pair will likely become my single meld now. I would like to have some spares, but since I took them apart, I can go ahead and put the frames together today and go from there.

Thanks!

Donny

Can I just glue this one back together? Gorilla glue?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/monoheadph ... 168246319/

doncolga wrote:Can I just glue this one back together? Gorilla glue?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/monoheadph ... 168246319/

I use Krazy glue on those ones.

This wasn't so bad at all. I'd almost say this is easier than building the boxes. Of course I've still got a little to finish by adding the top and bottom sets, wire it up and mount, but this was not near as bad as I anticipated. I only had to scrap three.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/monoheadph ... 170382871/

Is this a deal breaker for this one?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/monoheadph ... 168246319/