Curved Ansonica Speaker Build

[lcolbur1]

****EDIT*****

HERE IS THE LINK FOR PICTURES:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91180571@N05/sets/72157632282529826/

After completing curved versions of the Dayton TMWWs, I decided to apply the same technique to cjd's Ansonicas. Here is the build (so far) in pictures.

[cjd]

Oh this should be fun to watch! Looks very interesting.

[---k---]

Looks like a nice start. Solid construction. :T

In the dark, I wouldn't have guessed that those were the Ansonica. I see the bevel cuts on some of your individual pieces, so I assume that is for the angled front baffle. But man the assembled photo is deceiving and the tilted front baffle isn't obvious. And the bottom hole is for a big round port instead of the slot port?

[Hdale85]

Wow a curved and slanted speaker......curved was hard enough lol.

[lcolbur1]

Thanks for the comments.

In the dark, I wouldn't have guessed that those were the Ansonica. I see the bevel cuts on some of your individual pieces, so I assume that is for the angled front baffle. But man the assembled photo is deceiving and the tilted front baffle isn't obvious. And the bottom hole is for a big round port instead of the slot port?

They are pretty deceiving. In fact, the internal structure suggests a non-angled speaker. It's the top and bottom offset that will angle them, effectively creating a facade. I wanted to build the braces perpendicular to the front and back because I was afraid the whole thing might just collapse when I ratcheted them together. Either way, hopefully it becomes clearer as I progress and post pictures through the build. Thankfully I had Sketchup to figure out the design constraints of such a project, as the curve + angled approach introduced some complicated compound curves!

Also, that bottom hole is just for crossover access.

[---k---]

You know, that makes sense. Thanks for clarifying. I'm looking forward to seeing your progress.

[lcolbur1]

Here's some more progress. The MDF skeletal structures glued. Next will come the bendable plywood.

[---k---]

Ahhhh. Very nice. So, how are you handling the port and are you recessing the drivers?

[cjd]

So where exactly are you planning to put all the crossover boards? ...

Series or Parallel version?

Man, I need a studio/workshop.

[lcolbur1]

how are you handling the port and are you recessing the drivers?

I was thinking of putting the port in the back, perhaps up top behind the tweeter, and the drivers will be recessed and attached to removable front baffles.

So where exactly are you planning to put all the crossover boards? Series or Parallel version?

I'm thinking of velcroing the crossover boards to the bottom solid braces (the ones that are doubled up). That worked well with my other Dayton TMWW build. Also, I was thinking of building the series version, but would definitely love to hear your thoughts on the series vs. parallel, as I don't know what the difference is or might be.

[cjd]

I haven't heard/built the parallel version. I suspect the sound will be very very similar - into the annoyingly small detail category to find differences.

If you can fit it all on one board along the bottom (and if you like to pack 'em together, you can) the series isn't really much worse to manage wiring. For me, with 3 crossover boards, it was rather miserable making sure I had all the right wires going to the right places.

Parallel is theoretically a little easier to wire up if you're not super confident about following the wiring diagrams.

[lcolbur1]

I just got finished gluing the bendable plywood sides on. I've also included some pictures of the tweeter backs as well. Here they are so far.

[bbcmp1979]

Glad i didn't missed this build. subscribed.

[---k---]

Those are looking great!
How much time is it taking you? It would take me a year to make the progress you've made.

[Hdale85]

He's going WAY faster then I did that's for sure.

[yousuredo2]

nice, I used the same method to do natP's... turned out very sturdy, dead, and appealing!

[yzracer14]

Those are looking great!
How much time is it taking you? It would take me a year to make the progress you've made.

Tell me about it! I started mine a few weeks ago and I haven't even gotten the braces fully cut yet. Great looking build though. Lots of sexy curved enclosures :T

[lcolbur1]

Thanks for the comments! I bet you say that about all the builds

It will actually be 1 month today since I started. I'm trying to get most of the work in before the weather gets too cold.

So far the cabs and sides are glued together. Also, I was able to get everything sanded and ready for the HDF layers, which will be the next set of pictures.

[lcolbur1]

Here's the first layer of HDF glued to the sides. I'll probably do at least one more layer and post more pictures of the completed cabs.

[mrdsllc]

Looking good! keeping my eye on this one for sure

[---k---]

Very nice. I hope you're not worrying about that little gap in the last photo. Nothing a little filler can't fix. :T

[lcolbur1]

Very nice. I hope you're not worrying about that little gap in the last photo. Nothing a little filler can't fix.

Absolutely! There's a few little voids here and there, but nothing serious. The final 1/8 inch HDF layer should take care of them.

[lcolbur1]

Here are the completed cabs. I ended up changing my mind about using removable front baffles and instead glued to them to the cabs. I did this because I wanted to veneer the fronts instead of painting them. The only issue is that I won't be rounding the edges over for fear that the veneer won't make the curve. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. I'll follow up with pictures of the veneered speakers shortly. I'm going with some really nice planked rustic walnut from oakwoodveneers.com

[---k---]

Those look fantastic. So, are you going to wait until after they are veneered to make sound?

[bmaupin]

Did you champher the rear of the woofer holes?

[lcolbur1]

Those look fantastic. So, are you going to wait until after they are veneered to make sound?

I will test to make sure they sound correct, but I'll do that after I veneer.

Did you champher the rear of the woofer holes?

I did, but it's hard to see. I used a 1/2 inch chamfer bit and hand sanded the edge down.

[joeybutts]

Gorgeous build. Wish I would have thought of curved cab's before I started mine...they seem to be the hot thing right now....

[cjd]

Closer!

The design calls for a chamfer not a round-over, and that can be veneered.

[lcolbur1]

Thanks for the advice. I've decided to go with a non-chamfer only because I prefer the look. Hopefully this doesn't have too large an effect acoustically. Here's the progress. The cabs are veneered and just about ready for some sanding sealer and satin polyurethane.

[Hdale85]

Those look fantastic! Are you just going to put a clear coat on them? That's the way I'd go I think, it might not look that warm at first but wood colors as it ages under varnish and what not, so the color develops over time

[---k---]

Wow. Just wow. You're welcome to build speakers for me any time.

[mtmpenn]

WOW!

Gorgeous. Would you mind sharing some details of the veneer? Walnut, right? I'm wondering how you applied it over the hardboard and how you chose to trim it?

Thanks,
Mike

[Hdale85]

You can apply it over the hard board just like you do the MDF, hasn't peeled or bubbled on my speakers in 3 years?

[dar47]

You do real nice cabs. Thanks for the hard board idea, veneering over it works well hiding the joints. :T

[mtmpenn]

You can apply it over the hard board just like you do the MDF, hasn't peeled or bubbled on my speakers in 3 years?

I was more curious to hear if it was backed vs raw veneer and what adhesive/technique was used (cold press, heatlock glue, contact cement, etc).

Mike

[cjd]

Those look just fantastic!

[Hdale85]

I used heatlock and it was paper backed veneer.

[lcolbur1]

Thanks for the great comments!

Are you just going to put a clear coat on them?

That's exactly what I'm going to do. I'll use a few coats of sanding sealer and then finish them off with a few more of satin polyurethane.

Would you mind sharing some details of the veneer?

The veneer is bubble-free paper-backed rustic walnut. I used contact cement to adhere it to the HDF and trimmed it with a razor blade.

[Hank]

Great work! Nice new idea in veneer figure.

[Paul Spencer]

Great build! Just wondering why you used HDF?

[Sylvan]

Looks great!

What was the purpose of the large hole that got covered up near the bottom of the cabinet? Was it just for installation of the crossover board?

[lcolbur1]

Great build! Just wondering why you used HDF?

I have found that applying a final layer of HDF helps to eliminate any sanding mistakes made throughout the build, as they provide a very even and smooth surface for applying paint, veneer, etc. This is especially applicable regarding the sides. Bending HDF around the cabs yields a constant curve with little imperfections.

What was the purpose of the large hole that got covered up near the bottom of the cabinet? Was it just for installation of the crossover board?

I originally planned to use a removable front baffle with access to the crossovers, but later changed my mind and instead glued the fronts to the cabs. Those bottom holes, in this case, became irrelevant.

[richnen]

Very nice indeed! :T

[djkest]

These look fantastic!

I was thinking about using this construction technique. One thing I can't figure out is, how do you flush-trim the edges? With a square speaker box, it's easy to use a flush-trim bit. I don't know that it would work on this shape though. Very cool. I found a place that sells bending ply, it's 3/8" thick. I was thinking 2 layers of that and 1 layer of HDF. I don't have a bunch of bags of salt to weigh mine down though- do you think you could still use straps ? Also what do you think of the structural integrity of bending ply- is it pretty solid? Obviously it's not baltic birch...

I can't find the website you got your walnut veneer from. The website you listed isn't right.

[Tieftoener]

These look fantastic!

I was thinking about using this construction technique. One thing I can't figure out is, how do you flush-trim the edges? With a square speaker box, it's easy to use a flush-trim bit. I don't know that it would work on this shape though. Very cool. I found a place that sells bending ply, it's 3/8" thick. I was thinking 2 layers of that and 1 layer of HDF. I don't have a bunch of bags of salt to weigh mine down though- do you think you could still use straps ? Also what do you think of the structural integrity of bending ply- is it pretty solid? Obviously it's not baltic birch...

I can't find the website you got your walnut veneer from. The website you listed isn't right.

djkest,

In this case, rather than using a flush trim bit like below...


you'd use a normal straight bit, as you would for doing flush mount counter sinks - like this.


The router wuold be placed on the baffle, rather than running down the "side" to trim the side to the baffle. As you point out, the angle/slope would not allow this to work. By setting the router on the baffle with spacers under one side, you can then adjust the height of the straight bit down so that it is flush with the baffle surface. This allows you to run the bit across the surface of the baffle and into the protruding side panels... and in the process, trimming them flush with the baffle.

A visual can be seen in this DIYaudio post, here.