Building a set of ZMB4 (Build Log)

[cyberspyder]

Hello all, I'm posting a build log on my set of ZBM4. I've just gotten referred to this site, so the build is halfway done. Have taken alot of pics, so it'll be better if I just give you a link to my build log to date. Further updates will be included here.

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=120271

Brendan

[yousuredo2]

welcome to the site
Love the shop, Lots of good tools...
chris

[cyberspyder]

Thanks!

update!

April 10, 2008

(the SCREAMING/YELLING text has been removed by the moderator)

If the behavior of the OP doesn't mellow out I'll lock this thread.


Some pics, along with my naked speakers & tweeters.

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Brendan

[Operandi]

Nice to see your build here, looks like a great 1st project.

[cyberspyder]

Nice to see you too....For people who ask, I'm just 16, so don't kill me over tiny details (please!)

Brendan

[cyberspyder]

Zaph, Port placement

As per title, where am I supposed to put my port tube? There wereno exact measurements on the plans...

Brendan

[Gir]

As per title, where am I supposed to put my port tube? There wereno exact measurements on the plans...

You can kind of put it wherever you please. Just don't place it directly behind the woofer, and leave at least 3" between the end of the port and any obstructions, namely the wall of the enclosure. Some people like to put it in the front, some in the back, others on top. Wow, that sounds kind of dirty 8O

[ch83575]

Nice to see you too....For people who ask, I'm just 16, so don't kill me over tiny details (please!)

Brendan

Wow, only 16 and already OCD with the diy projects. Looks great so far, keep up the good work!

-Chad

[bikedave]

Six zipties per inductor ought to hold em! Looks good man, keep it up!

[cyberspyder]

Little touchy there mod...I'll stop the cyber yelling

[cyberspyder]

Another update! (God, don't you just love them?)
April 11, 2008
-One enclosure done, and mocked-up with baffle & Xover as reference; the other one will be completed on Tuesday, as I don't have class until then. Oh, and a small change in plans...originally I was aiming for varnish, but after trying it out on a scrap piece, I can safely say that it looks like crap. So, no varnish, but staining is the next option. Going to pick up some of this Golden Oak stuff next time I go to Home Depot, as well as my carpet padding.

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I'd say it turned out pretty nice, all the mitres came out perfectly, everything is square...all that's left is to route the roundover/chamfers and drill out the holes.

Brendan

[Landroval]

Very nice to see what can be done with good tools. Although you could have gone with a non-box design as you have the possibility to easyly cut fancy shapes. Non-parallel walls would do good. Well, you'll do more speakers.. good job so far.

[Bill Schneider]

Since John hasn't yet posted the xover modification for the Dayton tweeter you are using, have you made any changes yourself?

Your attention to build detail is _very_ nice for someone who is 16 years old. I know plenty of older guys who couldn't hold a candle to your workmanship and planning. This skill will serve you very well in the future.

[cyberspyder]

John actually has, but I'm not allowed to show you guys...will reveal when he says it's OK...I was talking to him about the issue about a month ago.

[cyberspyder]

I went to Home Depot today for some stain and carpet padding. Outcome? A can of Golden Oak, and no carpet padding, because 'they couldn't cut section of a roll for me and there weren't any scraps'. Yea, bullcrap. Anyhow, will try the carpet store beside my mom's workplace...

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Brendan

[Gir]

Why couldn't they cut you any? I got a few feet from HD for my sonotube no problem.

[cyberspyder]

I wish I knew, but the guy was like oh, we can't cut you any, you're going to have to buy the whole roll, so I was like screw you.

Meh

[Gir]

I wish I knew, but the guy was like oh, we can't cut you any, you're going to have to buy the whole roll, so I was like screw you.

Wow, what jerk! I'd call HD and complain. I hope you got the guys name!

[JasonB]

I wish I knew, but the guy was like oh, we can't cut you any, you're going to have to buy the whole roll, so I was like screw you.

Meh

Last time I needed some carpet padding I asked at my friendly local carpet store and they said I could take whatever I wanted out of their garbage bin.

Jason

[WillyD]

Your attention to build detail is _very_ nice for someone who is 16 years old. I know plenty of older guys who couldn't hold a candle to your workmanship and planning. This skill will serve you very well in the future.

Like me, at 21 years of age! I'll just use my lack of a good workshop as an excuse to make myself feel better....

[cyberspyder]

April 15, 2008
-I'M PISSED. The forstner bit I'm using (1 3/8") is a millimeter Too small for my POS tweeters. Whoever made the tweeter must like to torture people. The hole is fine for my port, but it looks like I'll have to sand/file off the excess by hand or a drum sander...(*!@&(^!$#(^!#(^$(

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ARRRG!!!!!! GET IN THE HOLE YOU STUPID POS!!!

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That is all...
Brendan

[ThomasW]

There's this thing called the Metric System. Most speaker mfgrs and speaker parts mfgrs use it.

BTW there will be a limited time when you can effectively change the title of this thread. I've never timed it, but eventually you will be able to edit the title in the box, but that edit won't change the title on the forum. So you might want to leave the "Updated" extension off unless you want it stuck on a day never to be changed.

[stangbat]

I used the Aura tweeters when building the ZDT3. Like you, I used a 1-3/8" bit and then sanded. It didn't take too long. But yes, it would have been nice to just drop them in.

[bonehead848]

If nothing else, better too small than too big

[JonP]

I used the Aura tweeters when building the ZDT3. Like you, I used a 1-3/8" bit and then sanded. It didn't take too long. But yes, it would have been nice to just drop them in.

Check Zaph's blog several entries back. He does mention on the ZBM4 pages that the 1 3/8" would be too small. In the blog entry, he talks about where to order a 1 7/16", (rare) that is actually just a hair large, but a layer of tape makes it snug.

What we really need is a true 36 mm bit, and that seems to not be available. Ah well, either the 1 7/16", or some finger exercise will do it!

Me, I've lost the 1 3/8" bit I bought a month or two ago.. :M and will try the third path of seeing how well my Jasper Jig and router will do at 1 7/16".... :T

[cyberspyder]

The problem is that the tweeter is tapered, and is wider at the base when compared to the front. Anyhow, I'll see how it goes tomorrow. Bought some pre-stain today and will test it.

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Brendan

[Rich Jura]

Thought I posted earlier today...GONE....Anyway great looking miters you have there. Even with the pre-stain the edges will be considerably darker.
I always stain my left over pieces to see how it looks and try different topcoats.
For the tweeter dilema I wound up buying the larger bit and ran it down to a local machine shop to have it ground down. He charged me $15 it was well worth it.

NICE PROJECT

Later
Rich

[cyberspyder]

OK, so I just tried the combo on a piece of scrap, and the results were pretty shiesty..I don't know if I like the stain, as it's still a nasty colour...my guess is that the birch is really white, compared to other wood species, so there's no yellow in the wood to compliment the stain. What about oils? I can try it with tung oil tomorrow.

Brendan

[JonP]

You might try some amber shellac, or better, the Seal Coat product by Zinnser that basically is very dewaxed amber shellac. The amber color (which isn't strong) will add warmth, and cause the grain figure to stand out more.

Pigment stains seem to not do as well with light or varying grain woods, and birch qualifies... Clear dye types might do better, and the shellac will act like one. Haven't acutally used it on Birch, but I used some on some Mahogany veneer a while ago, ended up using nothing but Seal Coat for the entire finish...



Check in the rest of my disorganized 'Bucket to see a shot of the pair with the unfinished veneer to get an idea of how much they were darkened by, uh, lots of layers... A few layers gets most of the way there, though.

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You could put anything on top of the Seal Coat, that's the purpose of getting it fully dewaxed... it is compatible with anything out there...

Give it a try on some scrap...

[Rich Jura]

Minwax now has a water based stain that also comes in pastel colors. I just finished a baltic birch plywood project and did it in a purple, looks sort of neat. You have to have them mix it and only comes in quarts.

Later
Rich

[stangbat]

I've used the Minwax Golden Oak stain several times, but only on oak. And it looks very nice when applied to oak. So I'd guess that the birch is too light as JonP mentioned.

[phisch]

You might try some amber shellac, or better, the Seal Coat product by Zinnser that basically is very dewaxed amber shellac. The amber color (which isn't strong) will add warmth, and cause the grain figure to stand out more.

Jon- how did you apply the Seal Coat to the veneer, spray or brush? Is there sanding steps in between coats? Nice finish on those Modula MTs.

Mike

[cyberspyder]

OK, so I tried the tung oil today, and I must say that it's a better finish overall..I would go and get the other finishes if it guarantees a good result, but the polymerized tung oil is provided by my class (covered by our course fee), so therefore free. Will return the stains today, here are some pics:

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(top: stain, middle: plain wood, bottom: tung oil)

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Brendan

[JonP]

Jon- how did you apply the Seal Coat to the veneer, spray or brush? Is there sanding steps in between coats? Nice finish on those Modula MTs.

Mike

Thanks...

Uh, yes... I started by doing a few brushed strokes of thinned Seal Coat, originally thinking to just use it as a sealer and grain figure improver. Then, I decided to go ahead and do a full Shellac finish, and literally kept going with full strength Seal Coat. I went to a HVLP sprayer after the first few. Spraying is much better, it's easy to get brush marks.

Good thing about Shellac, it dries very fast. Bad thing, it takes a lot of layers to build. I got on a schedule of 3 coats, 30-45 min between, then dry for 3 or more hours, than block (wet) sand. And repeat... A lot.

This is sounding disturbingly close to a piano black finish, isn't it? I used Micro Mesh sanding products for final sanding... great stuff BTW.

Doing it all over again, I'd probably use Urethane or something else as the top layer, it would have needed less. But I really like how it turned out.

Brendan... you guys have a big roundover bit! I like how BB looks in a roundover.

[Gir]

OK, so I tried the tung oil today, and I must say that it's a better finish overall..I would go and get the other finishes if it guarantees a good result, but the polymerized tung oil is provided by my class (covered by our course fee), so therefore free. Will return the stains today, here are some pics:

Did you wipe off the extra stain after a few minutes on the left one? It looks like you let it sit on there too long or didn't wipe it off.

[cyberspyder]

I did wipe it off, but ths BB must've been super absorbent.

[cyberspyder]

April 21, 2008
-Did all my dado work, and cabinets are starting to look like cabinets. Just missing the routing & holes, then I'm GTG for finishing.

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My coworker/friend/fellow student in the background

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Brendan

[cyberspyder]

This is really a tiny update, as I've just finished putting the second coat of tung oil on my sample piece, and boy is it smooth! I'm hoping after several more coats the piece will reach a semi-gloss finish, much better than polyurethane in my opinion. This coat was put on using 320 wet/dry paper and finished up with a rubbing using old t-shirts.

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Oooh reflective.....

Brendan

[Dennis H]

Brendan, what brand of Tung Oil are you using? There are a lot of different varieties -- some pure unprocessed Tung, some mixed with varnish, some boiled to make them harden faster.

[cyberspyder]

The 'Antique Refinishing' thing from Minwax---polymerized tung oil.

[Rich Jura]

Nice dado cuts, were those done on a table saw or shaper? If saw would you be kind enough to mention the brand.I've tried a couple ( dado blades ) but none have cut that clean.

Thanks
Rich

[cyberspyder]

Table saw, using a dado head. I cant' remember the brand of the top of my head, so I'll check tomorrow.

[Rich Jura]

Thanks...appreciate it

Later
Rich

[David_D]

Hi Brendon,
Great build log.
Your cabinet is coming out beautifully!
Great attention to detail. Let us know how they sound.

Rich,
I've been using a Freud 8" Dado on a 10" Ridgid Table saw. Great combo, great cuts. 3/4"w x 1/2"d - no sweat.

Keep it up guys!
-David

[cyberspyder]

Yes, but I'm pissed/sad/angry currently. I was a bit careless on the router today when routing my pieces, and whaddaya know...disaster. I'm pissed at myself because I shoulda routed everything BEFORE I cut them up into little pieces, and now that decision has come to haunt me. Long story short, the piece dove headfirst into the bit TWICE, and I now have some divots that'll give my speakers some character....Bahumba. I don't have anymore wood so that's that.

Also, as you can probably see/guess, I routed all the pieces today. Oh, and I redid the routing/finishing on another scrap piece, and the results were nothing short of spectacular.


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Brendan