Mark's Statements Build Thread

[mlammert]

Next I trimmed and applied Heat Lock to the veneer itself...

The sides of the speakers needing to be veneered measure 18" by approximately 74" so I decided to make four panels that were 19" by 76"...

I ordered 10 mil veneer and this was easy to cut with a typical pair of scissors...

Photo Home shows how I cut out the veneer on the dining room table... Photos Forum and Blogs show how I drew lines on the back of the veneer... I made a 1" stripe on on either side of the panels so that I would have an area to roll the glue onto and then trim so that I was guaranteed 100% Heat Lock coverage on the edges...

1" Strip - 19" Left Side - 19" Right Side" - 1" Strip

Since the left and right panels were adjacent to each other I guaranteed 100% Heat Lock coverage there be default...

I followed the same method of using the glue roller to apply the Heat Lock... It went on the veneer the same as the speaker cabinets...

Once the glue on the veneer was absolutely dry I trimmed the 1" strips from each side and cut the two panels apart...

Photos Groups and Uncategorized Groups show the veneer as I applied the Heat Lock to it...

The veneer became VERY flexible and flimsy when saturated with the Heat Lock... This was not necessarily a bad thing... But, don't let it freak you out and handle the veneer with caution as it could probably easily rip...

I had to wait for the first set of panels to dry so that I could move them and then redo the entire process on the second set of panels...

Mark

[mlammert]

At this point my buddy who has been helping me with the speakers since day one came over to assist in applying the veneer to the speaker cabinets...

Photo Home shows how I reapplied new Frog Tape to the sides of the front and back of the speakers...

The was pretty important in my opinion... The first application of Frog Tape that I used when initially applying the Heat Lock obviously had dried Heat Lock on it... I removed that stuff and apply clean Frog Tape so that the veneer would not "bond" with the dirty tape...

Next came lots and lots and lots and lots of ironing... OMG the ironing... I probably did more ironing in this one day than I quite possibly have my entire life... My hands and wrists and fore arms hurt from gripping the iron and pushing it so much... I know; whine whine whine... Ha ha... It was obviously worth it...

We timed it... Approximately 40 minutes per side... For a total of almost three hours...

Photo Forum shows how I wrapped an old t-shirt around the iron as advised... On the first panel I was ironing through two layers of t-shirt... On the rest of the panels I got smart and placed the iron "inside" the t-shirt so that I was only ironing through one layer of t-shirt...

I started in the middle of the panel and worked my way to the perimeter and down to the bottom and then up to the top...

You can definitely hear the "crackling" as the not completely bonded veneer kind of "pops" loose when you move the iron... You are pretty sure the veneer is bonded when you hear no more crackling...

Slow methodical movement is definitely a plus and a time saver compared to large sweeping movements that don't seem to do much...

My buddy stabilized the speakers as I pressed the iron against them and he also held the top portion of the veneer up as I ironed the middle and bottom portions... Definitely a two person job...

When the panel was completely secure I went around the perimeter and slowing went along to get as good of an edge bond as possible...

The rest of the photos show the panels completely bonded and how they overlap at all edges...

NOTE: The speakers were sitting on a couple boards to lift them slightly off the floor... The first panel we did we rested the veneer on the boards... This caused some slight binding at the bottom as we applied the iron... So, we had to do an emergency procedure and my buddy tilted the speaker slightly as I trimmed about an 1/8" off the bottom so that it would no longer be binding... This did the trick... On the rest of the panels we made sure to have the veneer about an 1/8" up off the boards... Prefect...

They are looking VERY pretty at this point...

Mark

[mlammert]

Okay, all that was Saturday... Fast forward to Sunday...

Sunday I trimmed all the panels down to size...

For all the trimming I used a typical utility knife and was sure to use a NEW blade in it... I used a new blade for each panel...

Photo Home shows how any time I cut across the grain I first applied a layer of Frog Tape to protect the grain and hopefully avoid any splits... This worked perfectly...

The remaining photos show the remains of the trimming technique...

If you remember, with my particular design there is an 1/8" rabbet between the front and sides and the rear and sides... This 1/8" rabbet is painted black like the front and sides so the veneer needs to end right at the edge of the 1/8" rabbet at the front and rear...

This really was a pretty straightforward task but having never done anything like this before it was a bit precarious and time consuming...

I first did a rough measurement of where the veneer was overlapped and where the 1/8" rabbet was and scored the veneer with the utility knife and would snap off 1/2" to 3/4" strip of overhang...

Once that was all done I would then gently and carefully trim or more appropriately whittle 1/16" to 1/8" off until I would get to the edge of the rabbet...

I would then go back a third or fourth time and gently remove any inconsistency and get it to be as straight of a line as possible...

Now, I will admit, I did not do a perfect job... But, I think they came out pretty darn good if I do say so myself...

A couple times the utility knife got "caught" in the grain and I slightly sliced the veneer... This was discouraging but not the end of the world...

I applied a very small amount of Tightbond to the back of the sliced area and "rolled" it back in place... Making sure there was no glue squeeze out I then applied some Frog Tape to secure it while drying...

This looked good and the layperson would not know the difference between this and the normal grain in the wood...

Also, every once in a while the utility knife would slip and gouge the black paint inside the 1/8" rabbet... Again, somewhat discouraging but not the end of the world by any means...

A small permanent marker should cover these areas up just fine...

For having freehanded the trimming, the edge of the veneer where it meets the edge of the rabbet looks insanely straight in my opinion... :B

The sides that were not mended with Tightbond and Frog Tape were then sanded down using a sanding sponge...

I wrapped the sanding sponge in two layers of paper towels so that it would not mar the edge of the rabbet... This worked perfectly...

However, I am not quite sure how good the sponge is for this particular usage...

Once the Tightbond is dry and the Frog Tape is removed from the mended areas I am going to give each edge a good once over and do some extremely minor touch up...

I think that time I might take some normal sand paper and attach it to the skinny side of a block of wood and sand the edges with that...

I felt with the sanding sponge that since the edge of the veneer is so small and thin that the sponge really was just contouring and being "cut" by the veneer edge... Yes, it smoothed it down but didn't really flatten it out much on a super fine level... I think normal sandpaper will more than take care of this...

Also, I did notice that once I had all the overlap trimmed off there were a few minor places where the veneer edge wasn't completely bonded to the speaker... Once all the mended areas are good I will go over the edge areas with the iron one more time...

Mark

[mlammert]

Here are the final pictures of the trimmed veneer...

I think one evening of just going over a few minor areas and touching up some little marks with a permanent marker will really take this over the top...

The last photo really shows the overall look of the speaker... You can see the black front and backs contrasted with the light wood... And, you can see the black recessed "foot" of the speaker that once placed on the floor will really give the speakers a sense of floating...

Thanks a lot for all the support guys!!!

Mark

[Ray Collins]

Well done Mark, congratulations on a fine project!!!

Ray

[David_D]

+10000000
Great Job Mark! Your attention to detail & documentation is inspiring.

[mlammert]

Thanks for the kind words guys!!!

Last night I made more good progress on the veneer...

Photo Home shows how I put a strip of Frog Tape down the sides of the top so that any glue from the application process would not get on the good veneered sides...

Photo Forum shows the two pieces of veneer cut and Heat Lock applied...

NOTE: This is the incorrect way to apply glue to veneer... You always want to tape down the sides to prevent glue from accidentally getting on the good side... These particular pieces were small enough to where I could manage them and the top of the speakers are basically skinny trapezoids so most of the veneer got trimmed off anyway... Glue did magically get on the good side of the veneer but again I knew that these areas were going to be trimmed off anyway...

Once everything was dry I went and ironed it...

At this time I also went around the perimeter of the speaker sides and ironed down any loose areas on the sides of the speakers... There were a few and this did a nice final job on the sides...

Photo Blogs shows the glued down veneer overlapping the tops...

I then took my utility knife with a NEW blade and gentle scored the under side of the top veneer several times until it snapped off... The tape on the sides of the speakers also served to protect the side veneer from being marred by the utility knife strokes...

Photo Groups and Uncategorized Groups show the top veneer from multiple angles after it has been trimmed off...

I also removed the mending tape from the sides of the speakers where I had a few mishaps when trimming the side veneer... I could not be happier with the way these turned out... Totally invisible to the naked eye...

Hopefully tonight I will sand down all the edges of the veneer and touch up a few scratch marks in the 1/8" rabbet with a Sharpie marker...

Again, I was using a sanding sponge to sand down the edges and it really just didn't seem to be doing a good job... It was as if the softness of the sanding sponge was conforming too much to the skinny edge of the veneer... Yes, it did take the little whiskers off, but didn't really sand it smooth... I am going to take a normal piece of sandpaper and wrap it around a scrap block and use that tonight and can bet I will get excellent results...

After that - poly, plug in, and play!!! :B

More soon,
Mark

[mlammert]

Last night I got all the edges of the veneer sanded... Man, do they look sharp now... :B

Photo Home shows the tools I used... Again, I originally tried using a sanding sponge but it was too soft/pliable against the hard/sharp edge of the veneer to really do anything... So, instead I took some sheets of sandpaper, cut them appropriately, and wrapped them around a small block of scrap wood... I took a paper towel and folded it a couple times and held it against the back of the scrap block so that it would not mark up the black edge of the 1/8" rabbet as I sanded up and down the vertical edges...

I used the scrap block with sandpaper to also sand the edges where the sides meet the top... After sanding down the minor inconsistencies from trimming the top veneer with the utility knife; I then held the scrap block at a 45 degree angle and sanded along the top edge to give it a nice profile...

I finished up sanding the sides and top with the sanding sponge which worked beautifully...

I am extremely happy with the end results...

Photos #2-5 shows the final outcome with pictures of the sides of the speaker...

I am going to reinstall the drivers tonight so that I can start listening to them again... :B :B :B

All that is left is to (a) finish the crossover boxes (which I have admittedly been slacking on) ops: , (b) touch up the slight scratches in the rabbet with a permanent black marker, and then (c) stain/poly the veneer on the speakers...

Still don't know what I am going to stain it... The light color Maple against the black fronts and backs is really growing on me... I will test a few shades on some scrap but might just end up applying poly and that's it...

So so close!!!

Mark

[David_D]

Just an opinion....
Just oil them. I really like the contrast between the light wood & black features.
Well, there's my vote.

[mlammert]

Thanks for the suggestion, David...

By "just oil them" do you mean just get some tung oil or something and no poly???

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I also made some really good progress today on the speakers...

Photo Home shows the drivers back in the speakers... Man, I am so happy with the way these look... And, this picture was taken BEFORE I touched them up with the marker...

As I had mentioned previously, I was panning on using a permanent marker to touch up the 1/8" rabbet where the utility knife slipped a few times while trimming the veneer...

My idea worked wonderfully!!!

Photo Forum shows the Sharpie markers that I got to do the job... I got a medium tip one and two fine tip ones... These proved to work really well together...

Photo Blogs shows a BEFORE photo of one of the more bad spots I had to touch up...

And, photo Groups shows an AFTER photo of the same spot once I had used the markers to touch up the area... Both sides of both speakers are complete...

The speakers are now COMPLETE except for the veneer finishing!!! :B :B :B :B :B :B

Mark

[mlammert]

I also made good progress on the crossover boxes today...

These pictures are after two coats of the semi-gloss water-based poly...

Photo Home shows the main box structure... They are upside down for drying purposes...

Photo Forum shows the removable back of the box... Again, they are upside down for drying purposes... You can kind of see the holes where the binding posts will pass through the back wall...

Hopefully tomorrow I will apply the veneer to the crossover boxes... 8)

More soon,
Mark

[deucelee]

I also made good progress on the crossover boxes today...

These pictures are after two coats of the semi-gloss water-based poly...

Photo #1 shows the main box structure... They are upside down for drying purposes...

Photo #2 shows the removable back of the box... Again, they are upside down for drying purposes... You can kind of see the holes where the binding posts will pass through the back wall...

Hopefully tomorrow I will apply the veneer to the crossover boxes... 8)

More soon,
Mark

can't wait to see them...

those exterior xovers look like they're going to be drop dead gorgeous...you're giving me too many ideas! :T

[mlammert]

Thanks Deuce Lee!!! Glad I could be an "inspiration" to somebody... Ha ha...

You're in luck because pretty much all that is left is to get the crossover boxes completed...

Today I made good progress on them...

This morning I applied the third and final coat of poly to them... They look really nice now...

Photos Home (the main box pieces) and Forum (the detachable rear piece) show the crossover box pieces after the poly had dried and I was able to take all the Frog Tape off of them... It is amazing how much more "real" things look after you take the masking tape off of them... :P

Photo Blogs shows the Heat Lock being applied to the veneer that will be used for the crossover boxes... This long strip is approximately 4 feet long by 1 foot wide... Once the Heat Lock dries, it will be cut in half to form two long strips and then each strip will be cut into 1 foot increments for a total of 8 12" by 6" pieces for each side of the two crossover boxes...

Photos Groups and Uncategorized Groups once again show the crossover box pieces but this time they have had Heat Lock applied and drying...

For the crossover boxes I simply used a foam pad brush to apply the Heat Lock to the box pieces and veneer since I had such a small area to cover...

Once all the Heat Lock dries I will hopefully be applying the veneer tonight...

More soon!!!

Mark

[JAS]

Very nice job Mark

Sure it was mentioned but I didn't see it right off hand but what is the paint you use on the front and backs?

[mlammert]

Sure it was mentioned but I didn't see it right off hand but what is the paint you use on the front and backs?

Thanks JAS!!!

Here is the process I went through for the front and back painting:

4 coats of ZINSSER 1-2-3 water-based primer... I had this tinted for use with black paint which turned the primer a dark grey color... This was applied with a foam brush...

A thorough sanding between all coats with 120 grit paper...

3-4 coats of American Accents flat black paint made by Rust-Oleum... This is again a water-based product... This was also applied with a foam brush...

A thorough sanding between all coats with 120 grit paper...

Some people will say that you cannot sand water-based paint... This is not true in my personal years of experience... Let it dry as directed on the product label and sand... When you sand American Accents you will have tiny "balls" or "rolls" of paint... Sort of like when you rub a peeling sunburn... These are not big... They are tiny almost like the dust produced when sanding bare wood...

Finally, 3 coats of Minwax water-based Polycrylic in semi-gloss... This was also applied with a foam brush... Personally, I would wait longer than the recommend dry time before sanding and re-coating... Product label says 3 hours... No way... I would wait at least 8 hours... If you are not in a big hurry I would wait till the next day...

A thorough sanding between all coats with 220 grit paper...

This is the process that I went through and it worked beautifully...

Please Note: This will NOT give you a "piano" gloss black finish... If that is what you are looking for then you need to invest in spray equipment...

What this will give you is an extremely high quality and highly durable gloss finish that is smooth to the touch but with some ever so barely noticeable "texture" to it...

The only way you can really see this "texture" is if you are about 6 inches away from the speaker and you have large work spotlights shining directly onto them... In normal room lighting and normal listening and everyday viewing of the speakers the finish is top notch...

I say this simply because I don't want to lead anyone on to a finish that they do not desire...

I used this exact same process when we refinished our kitchen cabinets and I can tell you that we have received dozens and dozens of compliments on them ever since we remodeled our kitchen...

It was these results that lead me to follow the same procedure on the speakers...

Good luck!!!

Mark

[mlammert]

I got the veneer cut appropriately and applied to the crossover boxes and rear panel last night...

Nothing too crazy here... Very straightforward and easy compared to veneering the huge sides of the speakers...

I applied the panels of veneer to the crossover boxes in such a way that the grain would "wrap" around the corners... This obviously isn't perfect since you have to overlap the iron on veneer and trim a little off... But, it does look nice...

Photos Home and Forum show the crossover boxes from a front angle and back angle...

In the rear angle photo you can sort of see the rabbet that was cut towards the top to hold the plexiglass sheet; you can see the larger rabbet that was cut towards the middle/bottom that will hold the previously completed crossover plate with all the components; and you can see the holes drilled in the end that will allow the rear panel to be bolted to the box framework...

Photo Blogs shows the rear panels...

This is right after the veneer was applied and the veneer has obviously not been trimmed yet...

Mark

[mlammert]

I then went ahead and trimmed all the veneer on the crossover box parts...

Photo Home shows the method that I used to ensure very straight lines...

I took the straightedge out of my combination square and (after aligning it to the top/bottom edges) taped it to the surface to avoid any accidental slippage...

This worked perfectly and gave me 99.5% accurate cuts...

I first made a few very light strokes to just mark the veneer... Then once I had a groove for the blade to ride in I then applied more force to actually do the cutting in about 3-4 final strokes...

Photos Forum and Blogs show the final end results of the trimming...

I still need to sand the edges down using the same method I used on the speakers and touch up a few little places here and there with a black permanent marker...

All in all, I am extremely happy with the results... :B

Next/Final steps:

1 - Sand and touch-up
2 - Drill holes through veneer
3 - Install binding posts
4 - Wire up actual crossovers to bind posts
5 - Hook up speakers
6 - Listen and enjoy

Final updates hopefully coming soon!!!

Mark

[FroDaddy]

You said you applied the poly with a foam brush. When I tried this, the foam brush left an "edge" to it on each pass of the brush. I also had my poly diluted with mineral spirits, but I still had the edge.

When I allowed it to dry and then sanded the edge, it left those lines in the finish. I use a different method now, but I was wondering what your experience was with the foam brush.

Thanks

[mlammert]

You said you applied the poly with a foam brush. When I tried this, the foam brush left an "edge" to it on each pass of the brush. I also had my poly diluted with mineral spirits, but I still had the edge.

When I allowed it to dry and then sanded the edge, it left those lines in the finish. I use a different method now, but I was wondering what your experience was with the foam brush.

Hey FroDaddy,

Hmm, the "edge" you speak of sounds kind of odd... If you mean an "edge" appears in the poly where the edge's of your foam brush are at; I have never had that happen to me...

If you are getting an "edge" that dries "higher" than the rest of your coating the only thing I could think of is that you are either not applying a thick enough coat and/or not using the right mixture of poly and mineral spirits...

It sounds as though the finish is drying too fast and does not have enough time to flow and even out...

You (FroDaddy) are probably aware of some of these things but I wanted to give more detail for others who might be reading this...

I have done 3-4 major finishing jobs and several smaller things around our house...

Kitchen Cabinets and Statements - As noted in my above post: (https://www.htguide.com/forum/showpo...&postcount=465)... Again, here I used Minwax's Polycrylics which is a water-based poly and you definitely do NOT want to thin that with mineral spirits...

If you read through Minwax's user forum you will come across many people who claim to apply thick coats of paint and poly... The logic behind this is that the thicker the application the long it will take to dry; thus giving the paint or poly time to even out and all the ridges to smooth themselves out...

Dining Room Table and Matching Hutch - On this project I used oil-based poly and also applied it with foam brushes... On this I applied thick coats and I also thinned this with mineral spirits since it was oil-based... The top of our table has absolutely no streaks, ridges, texture, etc... It is as smooth as glass... I applied about 10 coats of the thinned oil-based poly to this...

Entertainment Center - Same as dining room table but I did not thin it with mineral spirits because it was before I knew of such a technique...

The purpose of the mineral spirits is again to prolong the drying process and to allow everything to flow and even out better...

For water based paints there are products that do the same thing... I think one is called FlowEZ or something like that... You add it to your latex paint and it makes it take longer to dry and even out to get the brush marks out...

Also mentioned several times on the Minwax user forums is the advice to resist the temptation to keep brushing over your already brushed on poly and paint... All this does is keep thinning it which is the opposite of what we want... And, it also makes the application uneven (which is really the opposite of what your brain thinks it is doing) thus causing uneven drying and streaking...

By no means do I claim to be an expert finisher... This is all just based on my personal research and experience...

FroDaddy, what is your new different method you have come up with???

Hope this help somebody,
Mark

[FroDaddy]

The foam brushes I was using were these kind: http://www.decoratingdirect.co.uk/pr...e/RODFBS3P.jpg

Also I got too many air bubbles for my liking on top of the lines on the edge of the brush. I was very careful not to disturb the poly / spirits solution as well as the speed of application. We're on the same wavelength with the mineral spirits / poly procedure, but the difference is that you're getting good results with the foam brushes and I couldn't. (Believe me, I tried several times and different ways.) I'm using oil based poly (for people reading, this is OK to use on water based paint as long as the paint beneath has completely cured). What ratio to poly / spirits are you using with the foam brush method?

Here is where I documented the procedure I was successful with: https://www.htguide.com/forum/showpo...1&postcount=52
The method eliminates bubbles if you do it right. The drawback to this is the shop towel method will shed tiny tiny TINY particles, but if you're more than 2ft away from the finish you can't see it at all. But again, with no bubbles to sand down I like the trade-off. I have finished the mini statement center using this method: https://htguide.com/forum/attachment...chmentid=13027 but only finished one of the big statement cabinets so far: https://www.htguide.com/forum/attach...chmentid=13394

[mlammert]

First of all your speakers look fabulous!!!

I know exactly what you mean by the tiny bubbles...

Honestly the only thing I can think of is that you are not applying the poly thick enough...

No matter what - with foam brushes - you will get some tiny bubbles... If you are getting your entire surface area covered in tiny bubbles then the coat is too thin... When I say tiny bubbles I am talking maybe a dozen or so per square foot or something like that...

But, again, the thicker the coat is the less bubbles you will have to begin with and using the thick coat and the mineral spirits (if appropriate) should result in most if not all of the tiny bubbles popping before it is dry...

Here is a link to the type of foam brushes I use:

http://doitbest.com/Foam+Brushes-Do+it+Best+Imports-model-CC101062-doitbest-sku-776098.dib

My local dollar store sells these same brushes for, well, a dollar per pack... I typically buy them out whenever I am there for something else...

I added about 25% mineral spirits to my oil-based poly when I was doing my table top... I guess that would be a 4:1 poly/spirits mixture... Here is a link to the Minwax user forum thread that discusses this... It is an EXCELLENT source of finishing information!!!

http://minwax.com/bbs/index.cfm?frmid=6&tpcid=11016

Thanks!!!

Mark

[Ray Collins]

I have had great success using the wipe-on method with all Minwax poly finishes; you use clean jersey painter's rags. No bubbles and no brush marks.
Check Fine Woodworking for write-ups on this technique.

Ray

[FroDaddy]

First of all your speakers look fabulous!!!
.
.
.

Thanks for the compliment and for the advice. Once I finish up the other big statement with the poly, I'm going to finish the rest of the speakers a different way.

Anyway, keep up the good work

[mlammert]

Here are some more progress photos...

I got the crossover boxes sanded down and there were a few little scuff marks from trimming and sanding the veneer so I touched those up with the marker...

Photo Home shows the main crossover box now that it is sanded and touched up...

I also was able to drill the holes through the veneer for the binding posts and for the hex-head bolts that will hold the rear panel onto the main crossover box...

Photo Forum shows a close up of the rear panel with all the holes drilled...

I was very careful as to not blow out or split the veneer when drilling through it since I had to drill through it from the back side... Simple way to prevent blow out and chipping is to just put the piece of wood on top of another piece of scrap wood... Just drill completely through the main piece of wood and into the scrap wood... The extra support from the scrap wood reinforces the wood/veneer fibers so they don't blow out or split... This is true for any sort of drilling, cutting, routing, etc...

Photo Blogs just shows another photo with the rear panels and all the tools I used and the 8 boxes of binding posts I will be installing... :P

Hopefully I will be wiring up the crossover boxes tonight or tomorrow night and dying the midrange foam on Saturday morning and listening to my finished speakers Saturday afternoon... :B

More soon,
Mark

[David_D]

Lookin' sweet Mark...
I really do like the two tone look.
Maybe just a clear poly. Try a scrap piece, just for me will ya?

[mlammert]

Hey David,

Thank you for your continued support...

Yeah, the two-tone look is quickly growing on my wife and I as well...

Once I get everything "buttoned up" this weekend (and spend a few hours just listening to them) I will start doing some test finishes on some scrap veneer...

I will definitely just do a test of poly only and take lots of pictures for you...

More soon,
Mark

[mlammert]

Great progress was made this weekend!!! :B

I started off Saturday with completing the crossover boxes...

These three photos show the removable rear panels of the crossover boxes...

I installed the 4 sets of binding posts (Input, Tweeter, Mid, Woofer) and then wrote on the bottom of the panel which posts were which...

This was all fairly straightforward...

They turned out very cool looking in my opinion and I am quite happy with them...

Mark

[mlammert]

Next I inserted the crossover bases into the wide rabbets in the crossover assembly... This was easy, straightforward, and worked quite nicely...

Oh so pretty...

Again, at this point I am very happy with the way this is coming together...

For as straightforward as the bindposts and bases went; installing the plexiglass tops was a major PITA...

As careful as I was to not get paint in the rabbet that held the plexiglass just the build up of paint on the edge of the rabbet made inserting the plexiglass impossible...

So, after removing the bases, I spent about 2 hours for both crossover boxes taking my utility knife and running it over and over the edges of the rabbet until it was just wide enough to allow the plexi to slide smoothly through it...

In the long run this was frustrating but no big deal really... I widened the rabbet and touched up a few little places here and there with my permanent marker and all was good...

The plexi glass slid nicely into the rabbet and all was good and looked good...

Final results so far are exceeding my expectations on how awesome the crossover boxes look!!! :B

Mark

[mlammert]

Next I installed the rear panels onto the crossover boxes...

This went straightforward as planned...

The panels attach via hex head bolts that screw into barrel nuts that were previously embedded into the sides of the box assembly...

This worked beautifully...

After the rear panels were installed I then wired up the appropriate terminal block connectors to the appropriate bind posts...

Again, this went very smoothly and was quite straightforward...

Any place that the connection wires got close to any crossover solder joints I put some heat shrink over the solder connection... I don't think this was really absolutely necessary; but hey why not at this point...

I then loosely gathered the wires up with a zip tie just to keep things tidy...

Mark

[mlammert]

I then connected the crossover boxes to the speakers and ran the input wires from the amplifier to the crossover box inputs...

The crossover boxes sit right next to the speakers...

I am very happy with how all this ended up working and looking!!!

At this point (even though there was no midrange foam installed) I fired up the speakers and once again was overwhelmed with their sound...

Again, even without the midrange foam installed yet, the sounds is so enveloping and exact...

:B :B :B :B :B :B :B :B :B :B :B :B :B :B

Mark

[mlammert]

This morning (Sunday) I dyed the midrange foam black using Rit fabric dye...

This was first tested by JAS and I would like to thank him for his comments and tips on the process...

I bought two bottles of black Rit fabric dye; they were like $2.50 each...

Based on JAS' comments that his last batch of foam did not dye as black as the first batch; I decided to do two completely separate batches so as to get consistent coverage and absorption...

I got one of my Homer buckets and filled it up about 4 inches from the top with as hot of water as I could get out of the tap...

As it was filling I poured in one complete bottle of black Rit fabric dye...

Prior to this I laid out some old towel rags just in case splashes or spills occurred...

More to come...

Mark

[mlammert]

Once the bucket was filled and the dye was thoroughly stirred in, I moved the bucket onto the floor which was covered with old towel rags...

I began dipping the foam pieces into the back water and pushed them down under the water with an old wood stick I had in the shop...

The bucket perfectly fit 8 pieces of foam (2 midrange tunnels worth)...

You can quickly see the foam go from white to speckly gray to black in a matter of minutes...

Now, I couldn't really manage to "stir" the bucket of foam so what I did was take my stick and push down on the foam on one side of the bucket which pushed the other foam up the other side and I kept doing this to basically "roll" the foam down one side of the bucket and up the other...

This worked perfectly...

Be careful when pushing the foam around if you use this method... I did notice on the first batch that there were little snags on some of the foam pieces from the corner of the stick I used... Nothing bad and nothing to worry about; but it did happen...

I did this for 15 minutes...

I then moved the bucket back to the sink and poured the black water out while running as cold of water as I could get out of the faucet...

One piece at a time I would rinse the foam out until the water ran clear...

This was quite surprising as I would have thought it would have taken lots and lots of rinses to get clear water... However, much to my surprise, it only took about 3-4 rinses to get clear water...

I guess I was expecting the foam to act like a sponge and it really doesn't...

Once the the water ran clear for each piece of foam I ran out as much water as I could and moved the foam to an old towel on the dining room table to dry...

I repeated the entire process for the second set of foam; again starting with a clean bucket and a new container of black Rit fabric dye...

Another thing that surprised me was how fast the foam is drying... The first batch of foam was maybe 80% dry by the time I started laying out the second batch to dry...

BTW, the odd coloring on the last picture is not wet towel... It is the shadow of the foam...

At this point all the foam is drying as I type this...

I also want to state how incredibly black the foam came out... I was going to be happy with a really really dark gray... And, what I got was about as black as black can be when talking about foam... Very impressive...

Based on the speed of drying; I should be able to install the foam and really have an excellent listening session by late this afternoon!!! :B

I will post another follow-up once the foam is installed...

Thanks everyone!!!

Mark

[Bastek]

Wow, looking wonderful! (except the foam soup).
Looking forward for your impressions.

[mlammert]

Just wanted to let everyone know that the foam was still just ever so slightly damp last night so I decided to let it dry over night and while I am at work today...

So, no foam install last night...

Should be able to do it tonight!!! :B

Mark

[mlammert]

I got the dyed foam installed on Monday night... It looks and sounds amazing!!!

Photo Home shows all the foam fully dried on the dining room table...

Photos #2, #3, and Groups show various shots of the foam installed into the midrange tunnels...

NOTE: Please note that the foam is black as black can be... The purplish tint in photo Home and the grayish look in photos Forum and Blogs are due to poor lighting and my cheap camera phone... Photo Groups actually turned out true to life as you can see how black the foam is compared to the black paint on the back of the speaker...

Again, for the $5.00 I spent on Rit fabric dye and the minimal effort needed to actually dye the foam; this was an excellent finishing touch to the speakers...

:B

I am going to take a break for a week or so on the speakers as I decide what to do with the veneer... So far the reining idea is to just do a clear coat of poly as the light wood and black paint look very nice... However, I am going to do some sample colors on some scrap veneer and will post the pictures and get some opinions...

But, for now I am going to sit back, relax, listen, and enjoy... :B

Not done yet!!!

Mark

[mlammert]

First listening session after speaker completion:

I had heard some really good things about the Dire Straits album, Brothers in Arms... So, based on these reviews I decided to buy some music the other day with some holiday gift certificates and began looking for this album...

I found the Brothers in Arms album at my local Best Buy and they also had the album Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits...

After comparing the tracks on these two albums the Sultans of Swing album had many of their classics plus about 80% of the songs that were featured on the Brothers in Arms album; plus it was in HDCD format which I absolutely love... So, I decided to get the Sultans of Swing album...

Dire Straits
Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits

1. Sultans Of Swing - The first thing you notice about the album and the Statements' ability to reproduce the album is the high recording quality and the presence of tight and well defined bass and midrange... The highs are excellent but not bright or fatiguing at all... You could listen to the Statements all night long and be totally relaxed at all times...

I do notice a slight improvement in bass quality/tightness since I removed a couple inches of insulation from either side of the cabinets where the woofer are...

https://www.htguide.com/forum/showpost.php?p=438732&postcount=447

5. Private Investigations - Never heard this song before and it was quite the experience... If you are a fan of the guitar you will love this album and this song... I got chills a few times while listening to this track...

One thing that is quite obvious when you are listening to the Statements is how the physical speakers literally disappear... It is as if the music is radiating from a point between the two speakers and the speakers themselves are just lifeless pieces of furniture sitting in your room...

Also, especially on this song, the Statements produce music that is so well layered... The various sounds are not crumpled up and thrown at you in a wad of muddy music... Every instrument is separate but at the same time combined to form the song that you are experiencing...

I know that probably sounds really silly; but I have listened to "high-end" speakers that sounded so "perfect" that it sounded "fake"... If that makes sense...

The best way I can say it is that listening to the Statements is like listen to a studio recording but live...

8. So Far Away - Throughout this album it is quite apparent the 3-dimensionality of the music that is produced by the Statements... There is no longer just left, right, and center... Obviously the center is the focus 90% of the time but the left and right extend well past the speakers and there are an infinite number of points between center and left/right where music and sounds emanate from...

Also - and this is where the subtleties of the Statements really shine - there is now a sense of up and down (height) and front and back (depth) to the sound stage...

I have heard reviews of speakers and songs where people say they can hear the singer turn their head while singing into the microphone... I thought to myself, that is the biggest line of schtuff I have heard, there is no way...

Well, this is one of those things where it is not slap-you-in-your-face obvious; but when you close your eyes and listen to the music you just don't envision a person standing in front of you and singing straight out at you... Instead your mind begins to envision a person walking around on stage as they sing... Or, a person moving their body from one side of the microphone to the other as they sing into it...

That sounds so silly when I re-read it; but I swear it is true...

11. Walk Of Life - This song really sums up the Statements listening experience... Well defined bass... Clear but not bright highs... Clear, non-muddy, well layered sound... Excellent sound stage reproduction... Full 3-dimensional sound in all axises... You are no longer listening to speakers but taking part in a listening experience...

That's the review for now... :P

More to come once I apply stain and/or poly to the veneer in the coming weeks...

I will post final comments and a wrap-up once that happens...

Thanks guys!!!

Mark

[Sefferdog]

Seriously awesome job, I am amazed at the work some of the people on here do. Fantastic job!!!

[Jim Holtz]

Mark,

Curt, Wayne and I really appreciate your comments about the Statements. :T I still go "wow" every time I listen to them. Thank you!

Wade! It's good to see you posting again. I hope all is well in sunny Florida.

Jim

[ahaik]

Mark,
It was/is an absolute pleasure to follow your thread, you did an incredible job :T
If you get to explore different equipment you will find the Statements responding to almost any change you make.

Asi

[mlammert]

Thanks guys!!!

I really appreciate the positive comments on my speakers and on the thread...

I have learned so much from all you guys and from actually building the speakers... I hope others will be able to take away some of that gained knowledge from the thread and apply it to their own speaker build...

I just finished reading through the entire thread and I feel like what I can only imagine a father might feel when flipping through a photo album of his children growing up through the years...

Ha ha... It might have seemed like it took years to build these but it was only a few months... :P

Thanks again... And, as I said, I will post a final review and wrap-up in a couple weeks once I apply stain and/or poly to the veneer...

More soon!!!

Mark

[Jim Holtz]

Mark,
It was/is an absolute pleasure to follow your thread, you did an incredible job :T
If you get to explore different equipment you will find the Statements responding to almost any change you make.

Asi

Hi Asi,

Shhhh! Don't tell him the Statements sound better every time he upgrades his electronics. He might figure out that audio is a bottomless money pit. :rofl:

I hope you are doing well. It's good to se you posting again too.

Jim

[ahaik]

Hi Asi,

Shhhh! Don't tell him the Statements sound better every time he upgrades his electronics. He might figure out that audio is a bottomless money pit. :rofl:

I hope you are doing well. It's good to se you posting again too.

Jim

Thanks Jim,

Yes, it is a bottomless pit, but at some point you have to put a stop to it.....or...... :frypan: your wife will :rofl:
Just like many other things it is a learning process and what sounds good to you today may not sound as good tomorrow, but thats a part of the fun .
Maybe one day I will have a nice HT setup like Wade has, I almost ordered part for the Mini's or the Monitors, but again that thing came down on me :frypan: .
Jokes aside in the future I will certainly complete a Statements home theatre.
I just need to fix my crumbling new house first 8O

[mlammert]

I have been busy listening to my Statements!!! They are so awesome!!! :B

Over the weekend I applied some sample finishes to some of the extra pieces of the maple veneer I used...

1 - Custom cherry stain from when we did our entertainment center
2 - Some golden oak Polyshades that I had left over from a past project
3 - And, just plain poly

Unfortunately, I just realized I forgot to put the pictures on my thumb drive... ops:

I'll be sure to grab the pictures and post them tonight or tomorrow...

Mark

[mlammert]

Okay, here are the photos... Sheesh...

I know David D was really interested in seeing some of the test pieces...

The small pieces don't really do the colors justice against the large speakers but hopefully they show enough to get the picture across...

You can see the plain poly slightly darkened the veneer color but not by much...

The cherry just looks plain cool against the black...

The golden oak Polyshades turned out much better than I thought...

They all really look nice in their own individual ways...

So, any votes, thoughts, or ideas???

Thanks guys!!!

Mark

[BigguyZ]

I'm a fan of the cherry, personally.