BillFitzmaurice.info

Hey everyone,

I started my table tuba build this morning. I'm building it out of 1/2" MDF which will be covered with a 1/4" oak veneer. Tomorrow I'll be ordering the Infinity Reference 860w from Amazon and the Dayton 100 watt plate amp from parts express. Last night I cut the two 29 3/4 x 29 3/4 pieces and ripped all the panel wood... I'm going with 17 inch panels. I traced everything out and installed panel one this morning. I learned a couple things so far:

#1 - Tracing the pattern in a mirror image in order to flip the mouth it is a pain in the a$$! (It would be cool if a mirror image was included in the plans.)

#2 - It pays to measure every panel traced out and compare them to the plans. I was off on the inner point where panel 8 and 9 come together. It was pretty easy to fix with an eraser. However, if I hadn't measured those all out first I would have got to panel 9 during assembly and been off by an inch.

#3 - I think next time I'll cut the inner hole just to the inside of the line then use a flush cut router bit to finish it after all the inner panels are in place.

#4 - It doesn't take much glue and the stuff oozes for like 5 minutes after you release the pressure on the caulk gun. I'm thinking on the next panel I'll only squeeze the caulk gun trigger for about half way through then just use the ooze for the other half.

Here are some pictures of my progress so far.

ecut1 wrote:Hey everyone,

I started my table tuba build this morning. I'm building it out of 1/2" MDF which will be covered with a 1/4" oak veneer. Tomorrow I'll be ordering the Infinity Reference 860w from Amazon and the Dayton 100 watt plate amp from parts express. Last night I cut the two 29 3/4 x 29 3/4 pieces and ripped all the panel wood... I'm going with 17 inch panels. I traced everything out and installed panel one this morning. I learned a couple things so far:

#1 - Tracing the pattern in a mirror image in order to flip the mouth it is a pain in the a$$! (It would be cool if a mirror image was included in the plans.)

#2 - It pays to measure every panel traced out and compare them to the plans. I was off on the inner point where panel 8 and 9 come together. It was pretty easy to fix with an eraser. However, if I hadn't measured those all out first I would have got to panel 9 during assembly and been off by an inch.

#3 - I think next time I'll cut the inner hole just to the inside of the line then use a flush cut router bit to finish it after all the inner panels are in place.

#4 - It doesn't take much glue and the stuff oozes for like 5 minutes after you release the pressure on the caulk gun. I'm thinking on the next panel I'll only squeeze the caulk gun trigger for about half way through then just use the ooze for the other half.

Here are some pictures of my progress so far.

Are you releasing the tension on the plunger after each bead?

Yes, plus it's an anti drip caulk gun. It could just be because that was the first bead I've ran with that tube.

Here's a helpful hint: wrap the tube tightly in the cheap black vinyl electrical tape before you open it. A stripe in the middle, and one half-way to each end of the tube does it. 2 very tight wraps helps cut down on the expansion on the cardboard tube material combined with backing off the pressure early helps cut down the excess squeeze-out from the nozzle.

Thanks for the hint. I'll have to try that before I open the second tube. Here's pics of panel 1 and 2 together. The sub won't be here until tomorrow I haven't been ableo to work on panel 3 yet.

Another question... would it be wise to glue the braces on to each panel before installing the panel? I'm thinking this way I could just use clamps and avoid using nails or screws. So basically... for example, as panel 6 is clamped to the structure panel 7 could be measured, cut, and have braces 2/7 glued and clamped to it sitting on the sidelines waiting to be installed.

Also, I'm using an 8 inch driver with 17 inch panels. The plans call for two braces for panels over 16.5 inches. Brace 3/5 calls for a notch to be cut if the driver does not have a spacer. This is done so the speaker has room to move without hitting the brace. Could I install two braces (one on each side of the woofer) and skip the notches or will that change the sound? In my mind I picture the sound getting blocked by the braces on each side of the speaker. The braces are about 3.5 inches shorter than the panel.

You can put those 3-5 braces right on the edge of the baffle opening.

DJPhatman wrote:Here's a helpful hint: wrap the tube tightly in the cheap black vinyl electrical tape before you open it. A stripe in the middle, and one half-way to each end of the tube does it. 2 very tight wraps helps cut down on the expansion on the cardboard tube material combined with backing off the pressure early helps cut down the excess squeeze-out from the nozzle.

Nice. New one on me.

Panels 3 and 4...

Tom Smit wrote:You can put those 3-5 braces right on the edge of the baffle opening.

Tom,

I got in there to do the 3/5 braces and with the T-nuts in place it was pushing them further out than I felt comfortable with. It probably would have been okay but it only took a few seconds on the scroll saw to cut the channels out and install them over the driver hole.

The braces aren't nearly as bad as I thought they'd be. I'm cheating a bit with a bench sander to get them to just the right size. I dry fit them with screws (hand tighten) through the loose panel being added. Then add glue and attach them to that panel. Finally add glue to the other side of the brace and attach the entire panel with screws and clamps. I'm going to remove the screws and fill the holes with PL before installing the next set of panels.

Panels 5, 6, and 7...

Ecut1: This is looking really great. Nice, clean build. Very impressive! Keep it up!

Glad you got it sorted quickly and easily.

miked wrote:Ecut1: This is looking really great. Nice, clean build. Very impressive! Keep it up!

Thanks Mike, that's quite a compliment coming from you! I've seen your work in your build threads. This TT is quite simple compared to what I've seen you do.

Tom Smit wrote:Glad you got it sorted quickly and easily.

It's funny... I worried about cutting those notches out because I figured it would be a pain with the jigsaw (which it would have). Then as I was standing there brainstorming ways to clamp the brace I remembered I have a scroll saw.

That's what I get for not using the scroll saw enough.

8, 9, & 10...

You're a better cabinet maker than I using that mdf stuff. I just cannot stand to have it in the shop.

Yeah, cutting it is no fun. I wear a dust mask and take my saws out into the driveway and let the breeze take the dust away. Once it's cut it's pretty easy to work with you just have to be careful with whatever fasteners you use while the glue dries. I like that it doesn't warp at all.

Here's the last three panels.

Oh, and...

DJPhatman wrote:Here's a helpful hint: wrap the tube tightly in the cheap black vinyl electrical tape before you open it. A stripe in the middle, and one half-way to each end of the tube does it. 2 very tight wraps helps cut down on the expansion on the cardboard tube material combined with backing off the pressure early helps cut down the excess squeeze-out from the nozzle.

The electrical tape trick is AMAZING! I went from a few inches of ooze after each application to about a quarter inch. Thanks for the tip DJPhatman!