BillFitzmaurice.info

Finally got the W8 Lite parts cut out, since I need to do a rush build on this, and finish the J10's for next weekend. Similar construction to the J10 Lites.

Decided to cut the angles on the table saw to save time. Went through and marked what side to cut, which side of material gets cut off, and degrees very clearly. Reminder to self, get new blade

Here are a few pictures of the dry fit. Only found one cad mistake, made the top 1/4" too long, and to re-cut the angled side, now everything fits as expected.

Don

More pictures.....

This sucks!
Joking, I'm just cutting out regular W8 blanks for 3 cabs.

Honestly,
Working them (and the other cabs you are sorting) in CAD and then seeing the results is frigging awesome to say the least.

And you have an outlet for your efforts as well

The great thing about your method is when you say "I need them this weekend", it's most likely achievable...

CNC is cheating and should not be tolerated...

But seriously seeing your builds and checking out that link you send me i keep dreaming about stepper motors and extruded aluminium and building my own cnc...

Looking flawless again so far!

Nice. I need to get the fpack kit for the Jack sorted on the site still for the options.

Finishing up and 1/2" W8 and a W8 lite today. Down to the wire on this one. Had to borrow a pair of Mackie 450's, since no way to get the Jacks and the monitors done in time. I used the Mackies last time we did this, and they worked fine. Just 3 folk/bluegrass bands in a small outdoor setting. Would have liked to have the Jacks ready, but this weekend.

Just a couple pics, didn't take many while in a rush to get these done.

First shows how to get the horn to line up with the cabinet. I placed a couple of 1/2" pieces, wider than the cabinet, under the sides of the horn section, so the not yet flat top and bottom fronts don't reach the table. Then the cabinet can slide right over the horn, also resting on the 1/2" pieces, making everything fit nicely, no fasteners needed at all. This may not make sense until you are building one, kind of hard to describe. Wish I had of thought of this for the 1/2" W8.

Be sure to reach inside and glue the top of the baffle and the side braces. Much easier to do when puting it together this way.

Oh yeah, the picture was taken after the fact. Be sure to cover the two 1/2" pieces with freezer paper, or whatever you use, so the 2 pieces don't stick to the W8

The other is the glued in horn section, with a little scraping done. Top and bottom fronts haven't been sanded flat yet. The hole is for the tweeter wire.

Will get finished pics up when done. Don't know if I'll pause for pictures. Just getting the gasket tape, xover coils, and corners later today. Why wait for the last minute?

Don

2 Melded arrays built and wired. CHECK

Sanded and painted 1/2" W8. (1 side to go) CHECK

Isn't it amazing how painting the cab makes it look SO much better.

The tweeters look much better live, not sure what the flash did...

Only have to paint the other side panel, add the foam batting, the choke to the LP filter, and add the gasket tape and feet when they arrive, and install the speaker. Then button up the 1/2" W8, and do final leak test.

Onward to the W8 Lite...

Don

Got the Wedgehorns done in time, just barely

Only one quick coat of black paint, and they ROCKED!!

Long day yesterday, 4 bands, from a bluegrass duo to a 6 piece doing eveything from bluegrass to Greatful Dead, and a spattering of KILLER blues...

Every band commented on how well they could hear themselves, including all the DI'd guitars and mandolins... The drummer was even happy. This with just 2 W8's, powered by one side of an old XLS202..

Now that they did their job, they get more sanding, the corners rounded, and a coat of Duratex...

One of the melded arrays had a piezo problem, so I stuck the 4 array in at the last minute. Actually not much difference between the two, but the melded array will be fixed and installed. Nice to know eihter will fit on the brackets.

I am a very happy sound guy right now. If the almost finished Jacks live up to the Wedgehorns proven ability, I will be even happier!

Thanks, Bill, for making this possible !

Don

Good to hear they worked out so well for you!!

Are you going to "grill" your wedges or are they staying this way?

I guess this would add a bit of weight but i don't think the piezo's and theyre brackets will survive long on the floor without a grille.

This thread is absolutely disgusting (I don't have a better word for it)!

What does that mean? Couple years ago I was at Winter NAMM, and Monte Montgomery performed at the Acoustic Cafe'. After a series of leads, my friend jumps up and yells "I QUIT!" That was funny!

Seriously, you've managed to make the builds TOO EASY, yet, for most of us currently, unattainable (until Leland gets the G-codes . . . Is that how it's done?).

Honestly, I love it! I feel substandard with my builds, but, I appreciate to no end what you've shown can be done.

Thanks for sharing.

Can't wait to see the DR250's . . .

Aaron

kekani wrote:This thread is absolutely disgusting (I don't have a better word for it)!

What does that mean? Couple years ago I was at Winter NAMM, and Monte Montgomery performed at the Acoustic Cafe'. After a series of leads, my friend jumps up and yells "I QUIT!" That was funny!

Seriously, you've managed to make the builds TOO EASY, yet, for most of us currently, unattainable (until Leland gets the G-codes . . . Is that how it's done?).

Honestly, I love it! I feel substandard with my builds, but, I appreciate to no end what you've shown can be done.

Thanks for sharing.

Can't wait to see the DR250's . . .

Aaron

That is funny. I felt that way this weekend listening the the guitar player in the last band. As a guitar player for years, he made me want to either cut my fingers off, or practice a LOT. I'll go the practice route.

Actually check out Leland's site... The J10 lite is up there, with the J12 and J15 lite to follow. Working on getting the W6 and W8 lites ready next. You order from him, I drop ship them from here, so it all works with Bill and Leland's agreement.

Thanks for the compliments on the cabs. The W8's were worth all the work, they are the best monitors I've ever used. Loud, they cut through, and don't like to feed back. I did the tabs and slots because it made the builds easier for ME, since I have the toys, after how much of a PITA the 1/2" W8 was to build without them. I didn't think any one else would be impressed at all....

And a couple DR250's are in my future, but have to finish the J10's first... I actually was going to do them instead of the J10's, but the construction and building time scared me off. Won't be afraid to tackle them after the W8 lite & J10 lite experience. I think I have me sea legs now.. or is that building legs

Don

kekani wrote:This thread is absolutely.....

A very powerful point. I agree in that the build quality is great.

eac wrote: I didn't think any one else would be impressed at all....
Don

Don,
Having done a few builds myself lately lol, I have to say good on you once again!
Perhaps to you it's no big deal to draw things up in CAD then cut them with a CNC, as that's what you do.
However, watching you knock up builds in no time flat because of that is just astounding, compared to what has taken me months in dribs and drabs.
Guys who are hiring Pro sound gear can now look at these builds and say, "well it won't cost me a lot of down time", important criteria there.
And your lite version is saving more weight as well.

If you didn't think anyone would be impressed, you were mistaken.

Great to see your build results and also to hear how well they went...

Grant Bunter wrote:

eac wrote: I didn't think any one else would be impressed at all....
Don

Don,
Having done a few builds myself lately lol, I have to say good on you once again!
Perhaps to you it's no big deal to draw things up in CAD then cut them with a CNC, as that's what you do.
However, watching you knock up builds in no time flat because of that is just astounding, compared to what has taken me months in dribs and drabs.
Guys who are hiring Pro sound gear can now look at these builds and say, "well it won't cost me a lot of down time", important criteria there.
And your lite version is saving more weight as well.

If you didn't think anyone would be impressed, you were mistaken.

Great to see your build results and also to hear how well they went...

Thanks... That means a lot seeing how nice your stuff looks..

Yes it does speed up the builds, and really helps with alignment, especially for guys like me that would produce mediocre looking, yet functional cabinets, without the 'fitting aids'. The aesthetic difference between the 1/2" and 1/4" version of my W8's are noticeable, especially in the throat area, which says loads about my building skills

Don

Been super busy here, Just working

Mid December I had to do sound for my wife's expo, http://www.healingpathexpo.com , in a pavilion down the road from us. This is the 3rd year, and never been happy with the sound til this year.

The room is 'L' shaped, all beautiful wood floor to ceiling, and one side a wall of windows. NO sound absorbing anywhere, a sonic nightmare. You drop a pin in 1 corner, you hear it at the other end. Luckily, no music this year, just 14 speakers over 3 days.

The speakers where in the short section of the "L", vendors and food in the long section. To add to the problem, she preferred that the speakers wouldn't bleed into the vendor area.

Have used a couple Mackies in the past years, with mediocre results. At least mediocre to my ears, the people were happy Not covering as evenly as I would have preferred.

This year, I tried the J10's, and the results were pretty much the same as the Mackies, too much projection, too much bleed. Decided to try something new.

I put Top Hats in the Wedgehorn 8's, as shown in the picture. Did a bunch of measuring beforehand, to be sure there where no obstacles, of course Drilled the holes, cleaned up the inside, put in extra batting, and installed the top hats. Put two rings of PL around the hole before installing, so no air leaks. After the screws were in and the PL cured, took out the screws and filled the holes with PL, and reinserted the screws. Been too busy to even put on the Duratex, but since they get used so rarely, black paint is fine.

I figured even if they didn't work for what I needed, having stand mount monitors may be useful anyway ....

The results were beyond my expectations. After some RTA time, a day before the expo, I fired them up with some music I was very familiar with (Early YES Albums), and walked around the pavilion. Except for some lacking bass end, which isn't needed for speakers only anyway, the sound coverage and consistency was the best we have ever had there! The shorter, and as I found out, very even throw from the pair of stand mounted W8's was perfect in the speaker area, with very little bleed into the vendor area. Even a lot of the attendees that have been there for the last 3 years even noticed the difference. Even coverage everywhere it needed to be, without anywhere too loud

For kicks afterwards before tearing down, a added a small sub, a single 15" bass guitar cab I had sitting around and biamped the system, and the results were now even great for small room music content...

If you need a 'small room' PA without building a second set of cabinets, try your wedgehorns....

Happy New Year

Don