My RBR Build! (Help with screws size!)

[mx2]

I'm a newbie building the sealed version of the RBRs. I have the MDF cut to size and now I'm ready to work on the baffles. (Making the holes, recesses and all).


Update: 29 Sept 2010
Okay, I finally made some progress this week after putting it off when other priorities came up and my amplifier build blew up. It went up in smoke after I put it inside the box even though it worked fine outside of it. :cry: (I am still perplexed unless I unknowingly shorted something... Anyways enough rambling. On my RBR, I'm now done making the driver holes and recesses. Next up is chamfering and screw holes. The tweeter is flipped in the pic because I didn't drill the holes for the tabs yet :P

Now to seek some advice...if any of you experienced builders could help this newbie ops: I would very much appreciate it

I don't have many pictures so far..but I promise more later




I chose to veneer first before making the holes as I don't have a rabbet bit. It did leave some light marks on the surface, but gentle sanding should take care of it. There are actually a few splits in the veneer. I'm inclined to think I got some thin/poorly made BEM off ebay. :M I've tried every tip I could find online to avoid splitting but nothing's worked so far. Oh well...the holes cover most of it and BEM hides the rest quite well after some similar colored wood filler + sanding. I just hope the other surfaces turn out fine.


Update: 30 Sept 2010
Chamfers done and holes for the tweeter tabs drilled. I also worked out the screw locations but it's getting too dark outside to drill with accuracy now.




Update: 1 Oct 2010
Drilled the holes and test mounted the drivers. The woofer fits incredibly nice, but the tweeter is slightly off. Also soldered up the wires to the crossover. Guess what wire I used? I had some extra from a DIY speaker cable







Update: 2 Oct 2010
All glued up, flush trimmed and sanded. The screws were primed and painted. I had some Krylon Fusion satin black on hand. It's supposed to be "fully chip resistant in 7 days" (*crosses fingers) On a side note, I'm really liking my band clamps. A single one costs $10 and does the work of two regular clamps and it does a broad range of sizes too. Maybe not as much clamping force...but enough for me and it's very cost effective. :T

[ThomasW]

The PDF for the driver shows the hole size, not too hard to decide on the appropriate size screw armed with that knowledge.

http://www.madisound.com/pdf/15s_8531k01.pdf

One can always put a dab of black paint on a chrome screw to change the color of the head

Never heard of the cotton stuff so can't comment about it.

No pictures = no project....

[numberoneoppa]

http://mcmaster.com for bolts, they have a superb selection of sizes and finishes.

And yeah, pics please! :P

How long have you had your RBR kit lying around?

[mx2]

The PDF for the driver shows the hole size, not too hard to decide on the appropriate size screw armed with that knowledge.

http://www.madisound.com/pdf/15s_8531k01.pdf

One can always put a dab of black paint on a chrome screw to change the color of the head

Never heard of the cotton stuff so can't comment about it.

No pictures = no project....

Hrmm...it seems like #8 will fit and #10 will be real tight. I'm going to try the 8 first. If the head is still too small for my liking, I'll just throw a hissy fit and get the 10s. :lol:

I'm working on the pictures but I can't seem to find a clean corner in the messy garage. I'm too embarrassed of the mess I made ops:...gotta bring it inside for pics :P

[mx2]

http://mcmaster.com for bolts, they have a superb selection of sizes and finishes.

And yeah, pics please! :P

How long have you had your RBR kit lying around?

TY for the link, I'm in Canada though and their site says they'll review international orders before accepting them, so I'm thinking ebay unless I can't find the length I need. :twisted:

I've had my RBR kit since ages ago, probably October of last year?
I didn't have any time until the summer. (Just finished my undergrad and I'm spending the summer building these toys as a "vacation" before looking for a full-time job.

I'm also building a TA3020 Tripath amplifier, which I DO have pictures of. To appease you two for now...

The sides are Oak with one coat of tung oil after a few coats of a home-made stain. (vinegar/steel wool/tea) I'll probably do a coat or two of amber shellac followed by wipe on poly. The top is bird's eye maple with two coats of BLO + light sanding. I still have to cut the holes for ventilation once all the parts are fixed. Then I'll likely throw on a coat of clear shellac + wipe on poly

[mx2]

Updated - See first post

[numberoneoppa]

Very nice but I fear you may have gone a bit overboard with stuffing. Wait on others' opinions, though.

Love the baffles - very pretty.

[Hdale85]

Yeah if it were me I might try and peel 2-3" off that.

[Jed]

Looking real good on the cabinets. I used #8 screws on my pair and it worked fine.

Jed

[evilskillit]

I used the same stuff to line my cabinets, close to fiberglass in sound damping quality, but cheaper and without the itchies. I didn't bring it right up to the back of the woofer tho as you might choke it. I'd go with nothing, or something thinner or a thinner layer closer to the woofer basket.

[mx2]

Thanks for the replies guys. :T

I used the same stuff to line my cabinets, close to fiberglass in sound damping quality, but cheaper and without the itchies. I didn't bring it right up to the back of the woofer tho as you might choke it. I'd go with nothing, or something thinner or a thinner layer closer to the woofer basket

Good to see I'm not the only one :B It definitely gets dusty though.
I actually got them for room treatments, but I have so much left over.

Anyways, I ended up tearing out a bit of the lining in the front chamber especially near the woofer. I looked at Madisound's site. It seems they include 0.5lb of Acousta-Stuf, which is quite a bit. So I decided to leave the rear chamber alone and just use less stuffing I'm thinking 0.25lb for both speakers instead of 0.5. I hope it won't sound too "dead and lifeless".

I found some #10 screws that are perfect, but I'll need to spray paint it black.

[BeerParty]

I found some #10 screws that are perfect, but I'll need to spray paint it black.

You can try it, but I'll bet the paint gets scratched up when you install the screws. If you want your screws black (and didn't buy black ones to begin with), I would suggest you get a little bottle of black paint from the craft store and just put a drop of paint on the screw heads after installing them.

[ripcard]

Nice work so far mx2. Those baffles will look great. Where in Canada are you?

[mx2]

You can try it, but I'll bet the paint gets scratched up when you install the screws. If you want your screws black (and didn't buy black ones to begin with), I would suggest you get a little bottle of black paint from the craft store and just put a drop of paint on the screw heads after installing them.

I really hope priming + spray paint would do the trick.
But if it fails, what paint do you recommend? Any specific choices/brands?

Nice work so far mx2. Those baffles will look great. Where in Canada are you?

Thanks ripcard. I'm crossing my fingers. I would have liked to redo certain things and perhaps in a different order...this is the first time I'm building a speaker, and it is my first woodworking project of this scale. I'm in the Greater Toronto Area.

[BeerParty]

I really hope priming + spray paint would do the trick.
But if it fails, what paint do you recommend? Any specific choices/brands?

I can't recommend a specific brand, I used some I had available. Just use a small brush to touch up the scratches.