FrostEOne Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 One stand arrived yesterday, second arrived early today, very impressed with the improvements I'm hearing. Enough so that I put off my chores today to listen to music and already planning to put the chores off again tomorrow. Being single and retired does have it's perks! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elcamry Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 4 hours ago, FrostEOne said: Being single and retired does have it's perks! It does 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alistair W Posted October 28, 2018 Share Posted October 28, 2018 (edited) Here's a rack I completed recently. I wanted something to store records in, and to house the electronics. This meant I was aiming more towards a bookshelf type of unit, rather than an open rack, as I need the sides to keep records standing up! In the end I couldn't find anything ready built that was just right, so I went and made it myself. I'm very happy with the result, and have finally got my records out of storage and in the lounge where they belong! The rack measures approximately 1000mm square, with 2 shelves for records, then one larger equipment shelf and one smaller shelf. The TT sits on top. Cheers, -Al. Edited October 28, 2018 by Alistair W Deleted one photo 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alistair W Posted October 29, 2018 Share Posted October 29, 2018 The panels are laminated Victorian Ash, bought from Bunnings. I used 26mm panels for the sides, top and bottom. The shelves were thinner 19mm panels. They only needed a light sanding before applying sanding sealer, then 3 coats of furniture oil. Sanded down with 240 grit between coats, and the final coat was sanded down with 240 then 600 grit wet'n'dry paper. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
explorer2203 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Excellent thread!! I find hifi racks have been basically the same for a long time. Good reason for that...but the materials / style / appearance doesn’t vary greatlyI am about to make a pair of 5 way active speakers out of GFRC - glass fibre reinforced concrete for the uninitiated. I will also be making racks out of the same material2.82m long.84m highEach shelf is 50mm thickIt’s 30% the weight of normal concrete. Not easy to do. A lot of steps / ingredients. Effects I can create are awesome from a stone look to sprayed finishes. Photos are of my 80mm benchtops at home and fire place surround. Will post details of the racks in due course, I would be interested in making them for others. As the mold is a throwaway, every rack is individual and no two can be identical even in texture / finish 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
explorer2203 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 I should also mention the material is very god from a resonance perspective. That’s why I am making speakers out of it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peter the Greek Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 @explorer2203 nice job on the benches. Do you spray a top coat of concrete first then fill the mold? We've done half a dozen concrete benches in the past 1-2 years....nothing sexy like GFRC, just use high strength concrete and steel. I was toying with the idea of doing concrete cabinets as well - please post more on the technique when you do. (I don't think I can be bothered with it). What drivers are you using out of interest? big builds like that get lots of attention here typically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
explorer2203 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 [mention=108130]explorer2203[/mention] nice job on the benches. Do you spray a top coat of concrete first then fill the mold? We've done half a dozen concrete benches in the past 1-2 years....nothing sexy like GFRC, just use high strength concrete and steel. I was toying with the idea of doing concrete cabinets as well - please post more on the technique when you do. (I don't think I can be bothered with it). What drivers are you using out of interest? big builds like that get lots of attention here typically.Several things you can do depending on the mix. The kitchen benchtops are 4mm spray coat (food grade) with layers of fibre / cement mix (also sprayed) then scrim then structural foam. More scrim and concrete / fibre. It’s a big job but the effect is awesome. The other things are a hand press mix to create a stone effect. Also incorporates the the fibre / cement / scrim etc. just a different face coat and much thicker than a spray coat. Also why it’s not cheap. Mess it up and it’s landfill. Molds are throwaways typically. And it is very time consuming. The speaker boxes will be truly amazing. Big and dominating. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
explorer2203 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Peter, please see my thread under speakers section. Using VAF drivers (seas) for everything except the 15 inch. They are peerless (at this stage). So it’s 4 x 15 inch peerless4 x 8 inch out of Vaf DCX4 x 6 inch out of Vaf dc74 x 4 inch out of vaf bookshelves 4 x tweeters out of those boxes It’s all a bit of fun [emoji16][emoji106] 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peter the Greek Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 @explorer2203 Wow, that's quite sophisticated. I look forward to seeing them built! We're a bit more old school here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
explorer2203 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 How did it turn out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peter the Greek Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 On 02/11/2018 at 10:42 PM, explorer2203 said: How did it turn out? Pretty well. Not qite as sharp as I'd hoped, but good enough. Once the joinery goes in it'll look great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caminperth Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 (edited) A couple of different iterations of gear on the rack. Made from bunnings table tops and M24 threaded rod. Very, very heavy. Probably overkill but works well and is adjustable depending on gear used. Unfortunately we are moving house this month so this may have to go... Edited November 5, 2018 by caminperth 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leinster Lad Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 Here's mine that I knocked up a while ago. I used a bamboo bench top from Bunnings, 32mm dowel, threaded rod and those flush mount panel nut things. The nuts are hex-head which is perfect to locate the spikes from the Norstone glass shelves, which sit on top. Speaker wiring for two amps is built in 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caminperth Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 A couple of different iterations of gear on the rack. Made from bunnings table tops and M24 threaded rod. Very, very heavy. Probably overkill but works well and is adjustable depending on gear used. Unfortunately we are moving house this month so this may have to go... This will be posted for sale soon. Moving house next week and it won’t fit into the new place. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Lighty Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 (edited) My contribution - has taken much longer than is justified by its relatively simple build and small size - but happy with the result! Made with Blackhole Blackbutt veneered MDF - not going to work with veneer again - takes ages sorting out the edge veneer! Yes, the top panel, with the grain running the wrong way, was not a mistake, but a disappointing outcome! Edited November 18, 2018 by Joe Lighty 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 (edited) 8 minutes ago, Joe Lighty said: My contribution - has taken much longer than is justified by its relatively simple build and small size - but happy with the result! Made with Blackhole Blackbutt veneered MDF - not going to work with veneer again - takes ages sorting out the edge veneer! Yes, the top panel, with the grain running the wrong way, was not a mistake, but a disappointing outcome! Nice, well done!. Edited November 18, 2018 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter_F Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 On 09/11/2018 at 2:05 PM, Leinster Lad said: @Leinster Lad Hi Dave, I know your Gale 401C's are in near mint condition but they look so much better with the brown grille cloth replaced in black. Cheers Pete 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leinster Lad Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 25 minutes ago, Peter_F said: Hi Dave, I know your Gale 401C's are in near mint condition but they look so much better with the brown grille cloth replaced in black. Cheers Pete I think you are right Pete. I've got a roll of black in the store room......... might just give it a go ! Any tips on getting a perfect finish ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter_F Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 11 hours ago, Leinster Lad said: I think you are right Pete. I've got a roll of black in the store room......... might just give it a go ! Any tips on getting a perfect finish ? The tedious aspect is carefully removing all the staples holding the brown cloth without damaging the softwood timber frames. Once that's done I sand the frames and refinish in black stain and then take my reattaching the new cloth to the frame. Not a fun job but very worthwhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewantsmoore Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 (edited) On 02/11/2018 at 1:01 PM, explorer2203 said: I should also mention the material is very god from a resonance perspective. That’s why I am making speakers out of it... Is there any more high-level info you can provide? You mentioned 1/3rd the weight of concrete.... but the density of concrete varies quite a bit. What's the rough density of GRFC then? I originally calculated about the same as high-ish density wood.... but a page I found said 120+ lb/ft^3, which is about double that of MDF. Google says (heh) that the MOE of GRFC is about 3x to 6x that of MDF. This is all very encouraging. EDIT: I should move this to your build thread.... Edited November 19, 2018 by davewantsmoore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leinster Lad Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 1 hour ago, Peter_F said: The tedious aspect is carefully removing all the staples holding the brown cloth without damaging the softwood timber frames. Once that's done I sand the frames and refinish in black stain and then take my reattaching the new cloth to the frame. Not a fun job but very worthwhile. You wouldn't have a couple of spare frames by any chance ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
explorer2203 Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 Is there any more high-level info you can provide? You mentioned 1/3rd the weight of concrete.... but the density of concrete varies quite a bit. What's the rough density of GRFC then? I originally calculated about the same as high-ish density wood.... but a page I found said 120+ lb/ft^3, which is about double that of MDF. Google says (heh) that the MOE of GRFC is about 3x to 6x that of MDF. This is all very encouraging. [emoji4] Will find some data sheets. It depends on how it is made. A normal bench top for example would be 24 mm thick with 80mm edges. If you want it smooth on both sides then you use foam sheets to plug it then do a thin coat and trowel it off on the underside. With the speakers, they will be 10mm hand press to get the effect I want then 20mm structural mix. Then polystyrene. I don’t need the inside to be smooth as it’s not going to be viewable. Weight calculation as follows:Total speaker weight 228kgs not including back, sound deadening material, foam and drivers. Breakup as follows: Sand 183kgsPoly 18kgsWater 52kgsRetarder 2.37Pigment 7.29Eco poz 36.45White cement 145kgsGlass fibre 14Scrim 2kgsI could drop the weight by 25% if I didn’t do the face coat the way I am doing it. Yes they are heavy but they are big speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewantsmoore Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 25 minutes ago, explorer2203 said: It depends on how it is made. Mmmm... I very much figured this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewantsmoore Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 27 minutes ago, explorer2203 said: Breakup as follows I' not near a calculator right now - super rough comparison to MDF? Double? Triple? More? Just consider the outer box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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