woodturnerjosh Posted July 10, 2011 Posted July 10, 2011 I've been building my 2.2 setup for what seems like ages and today I put the final coat of lacquer on the boxes and finished wrapping the baffles! (Yippee) There is still a bit to do with cabinet damping, stuffing, mounting crossovers and attaching baffles but these are all small jobs. I built a pair of Rythmik ds1501 subs (probably should have gone for 12's but it's a bit late now) and some sealed stand-mount Scanspeak ReDiscoveries (from Madisound). The boxes are hand veneered in figured Redgum (a trial, and steep learning curve, in itself) with baffles wrapped in leather and vinyl for the speakers and subs respectively. The attached photos are quick, rough and will be updated when the job is finished. I also have some RG-213 speaker cables in the making...... I'm looking forward to hearing these things Cheers Josh
woodturnerjosh Posted July 10, 2011 Author Posted July 10, 2011 Thanks! Halfway through the build I was thinking that I would never venture into DIY again (at least not for a while) but now that I'm almost finished I'm already thinking about different ways I could do things for next time. Oh well, anytime in the shed is time well spent in my opinion.
hasaudio Posted July 10, 2011 Posted July 10, 2011 Looks supurb! Really like them. Great job. What design is it?
Guest Posted July 10, 2011 Posted July 10, 2011 Hi WT They look really good and the leather baffles are very cool:thumb: . CHeers
woodturnerjosh Posted July 10, 2011 Author Posted July 10, 2011 Thanks Has, the design is this https://www.madisound.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=8830 with the upgraded crossovers. I realise that it's a relatively unknown designer but I was pretty confident that anything would be better than what I currently have! ;-) I read the designers comments comments on another forum about using the design in a sealed cabinet of around 22 - 25l which is what I've done. I guess we'll see/hear how they go! Cheers 56, I'm pretty happy with the leather. It's the closest I'll get to Sonus Faber or SGR's for the time being!
tassie tiger Posted July 14, 2011 Posted July 14, 2011 Josh - top notch stuff. How did you go with the veneering; lessons learned for the rest of us mere mortals? And the leather, how did you deal with the tricky corners? Is there a particular type or grade of leather that you used? Cheers J
woodturnerjosh Posted July 15, 2011 Author Posted July 15, 2011 Hi J, For the veneering I used the traditional hide glue technique and if you want to go down that path here are some observations: Before applying the glue each time, make sure you thoroughly stir the pot. Thicker veneers (thicker than 0.6mm) are apparently easier to work with when using this technique. Flatten and soften your veneer first (there is a great article in the latest edition of the Australian Wood review magazine all about this, I wish I had read this info first). When squeezing out the glue make sure you heat it all up properly other wise it can bust app through the veneer! (this happened to me a couple of times and I spent a fair amount of time patching up these mistakes, hence the thicker veneer comment) Even if the veneer comes pre-stitched do your own joints, they will no doubt be better. And finally, practice, practice, practice (get yourself some cheap veneer to play with) Next time I do this sort of thing I'm going to experiment with fibreglass resin coated fabric on the outside, kind of like an un-compressed micarta. As far as the leather goes; I just used some furniture grade off-cuts I bought online and it was probably too thick for the job. In reality the corners are not as neat as I would like (a close inspection shows the cuts in the very corners). The subwoofer baffles are vinyl which is way way harder to wrap. Anyway, this is something I would also practice and experiment. One thing I found is that you have to come to a relatively sharp corner with your timber/mdf if you're to have any chance of getting your corners neat. Let me know if you plan on going down this path and I'll try to dig out the test piece that I did to better demonstrate things. I'll post some better pictures in a new thread after I put the subs together (tomorrow, yay!) and everything's looking pretty. While these haven't even come close to the standard I would demand of my carvings I must say that I'm quite happy with the result and absolutely thrilled with the sound! Cheers Josh p.s. I apologise for any spelling and grammatical errors (I'm absolutely stuffed)
tassie tiger Posted July 17, 2011 Posted July 17, 2011 (edited) Josh, Thanks for your comprehensive info on veneering and the leather for my intended floorstanders. I'm contemplating veneer over the mdf base for all panels exept the front baffle at the top half, where I will have a thicker section (e.g. 25mm mdf + 6mm mdf) covered with black leather. So, as you say, practice practice practice. Any additional pictures you can dig out would be appreciated. Cheers, J Edited July 17, 2011 by tassie tiger
woodturnerjosh Posted July 18, 2011 Author Posted July 18, 2011 No worries! I'm supposed to be having a few weeks off after next week so I'll dig out my test piece and photography how I set it all up (if I can find it in the colossal mess that my shed has become). I've attached a photo of the completed speaker which I'm relatively happy with for a first effort (I'm stoked with the sound but more on that in a new thread). But I think I need some extra foam gasket behind the tweeter as its recessed a bit too deeply (about 1mm past the surface). I'll be happy to live with them for a couple of years though!
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