Mark's Statements Build Thread

[mlammert]

Thanks guys...

Off to cut holes!!! :T

Mark

[mlammert]

Well, I made good progress today...

I have all the driver circles cut out!!! :B

Picture one shows the scrap I used to gauge the depth of the driver recess...

I took a small bit of the weather stripping and placed it on the board and then squeezed the driver into place until I got the correct depth...

Doing this, I cut all similar drivers on both baffles all at once to keep all the depths consistent and not have to switch back and forth...

I did all the tweeters first, then the midranges, and then the woofers last...

The second picture shows the 1/8" pilot holes I drilled for each cutout...

Picture three shows the carpet tape I used to holed down the circle cutout... Carpet tape is AWESOME... It took tremendous force to pull the cut out circles off the work bench when I was finished...

The last photo shows all the recesses cut and finished...

So far so good!!! :B

Mark

[mlammert]

After all the recesses were finished I moved on to actually cutting the circles out...

This was again very smooth and straightforward using the Jasper circle jig...

Picture one shows the completed baffles!!! :B

The second picture shows the remaining circles still carpet taped to the work bench...

Overall the Jasper jig was extremely easy to use and things went very well...

Using the included self-centering template and pins made things easy as could be...

Using the jig with the router could not be more straightforward...

Mark

[mlammert]

Update after everything was cut out...

Well, I was not very happy immediately after I was done cutting the circles out... :M

The tweeters fit perfectly; but the midrange and the woofers were about 1/64" - 1/32" too big to fit in the holes I cut out...

This was not good... I had a moment of panic on how I was going to consistently enlarge the circle holes for the drivers...

First I took a round file that I had and just began to "scrape" the edges of the recess much like mixing a bowl of cookie dough... This amazingly worked quite well and gave me a good consistent and clean hole that the driver fit perfectly in...

Whew... Catastrophe avoided... 8O

However this process took about 30 minutes for one woofer hole...

So, I got out my trusty Dremel and doing the same thing (consistent circle motion as if mixing cookie dough) I enlarged the holes slightly... This, again, gave very good results and I simply finished it off with a few quick motions of the file... This method took about 5-10 minutes per hole...

I have no clue why these drivers did not fit correctly... :x The tweeters were perfect...

But, I can't complain as my fix worked perfectly and the drivers look awesome in the baffles... :B

I have one teeny tiny gouge that I need to just touch-up with some Durham's and all will be good...

Tomorrow I will hopefully drill the driver bolt recesses and mount the t-nuts and then do the inside scalloping for the driver cutouts...

More to come!!!

Mark

[David_D]

That's a good day's work, Mark

[Ray Collins]

Outstanding!!!

Ray

[mlammert]

Thanks guys!!!

Your kind words are greatly appreciated...

Mark

[mlammert]

Well I didn't get around to doing the driver bolt holes and all that on the baffles today...

Basically because I drove around to all the Lowe's in my area and bought them all out of t-nuts and I still don't have enough... And, luckily I got the last of the hex head black bolts...

Although Home Depot only seems to carry chrome ones and Lowe's only carries the black ones I want... Very frustrating...

I also went to Radio Shack to get the crimp-on terminals to connect the wires and they only had two packs of 4 and they were like $3 each... I need 40 of them and that would mean major $$$... So, back to Home Depot and they had a pack of 100 for $5... Sheesh...

Picture one shows the binding posts mounted to the rear curves...

Picture two shows the inside with the wires connected to the binding posts... You can see where I hollowed out the inside of the holes to make connecting the wires much easier...

All in all that went very well...

[mlammert]

Since I had one of the rear curves completed with the wiring and I didn't want to start partial work on the baffles I decided to glue the one rear curve to the speaker body...

This went good and bad...

Since the sides of the speaker are not 100% perfectly square (they are out by about an 1/8") I had the idea of cutting the rear curve on one side so that it would "bend" slightly and make a perfect alignment with the sides of the speaker...

Picture one shows how I cut through the skinniest part of the rear curve (which is on the side of the 5" x 5" midrange cutout)...

This actually worked really really well...

However, I dropped one end of the curve while carrying it and that caused the curve to split in half where I had cut the one side... :M

Not a huge deal but extremely frustrating none the less...

I laid a bead of liquid nails along the back of the speaker body and all the braces and set the two halves of the curve down on it... Making sure everything was perfectly aligned I then clamped it down... I am very happy with the way this turned out...

It took a while to scrape the still gooey liquid nail out of the 1/8" rabbet; but all in all it turned out well and nothing a little bit of Durham's and light sanding won't remedy... :P

[mlammert]

One slight predicament I am in right now is that while the speaker was drying on the saw horses I decided to route the wires up through the braces...

Well, I know the connectors were on the bind posts pretty darn tight, but two of them slipped off -- I assume because I was twisting the wires around to get them up through the braces... :cry:

I have the connectors of the binding posts pointing upwards... So, once the speakers are upright, there is no way they will slide off... Again, I think this happened because I was twisting the wire while the speaker was on its side on the sawhorse...

Anyway, at this point I was tired and worn out and laying on my back under the saw horses so I could not get the connector back on the binding post...

I am hoping that once I get the speaker standing upright on the floor and can actually see what I am doing I will be able to get the wires back on there...

The reason this is frustrating is since the wires are connected at the back of the 18" deep speaker I assume it is going to be a bit precarious to try and get them on... Maybe I am just tired and making a bigger deal out of it than it is... Crossing fingers... :P

So, all in all it was a very progressive day... Although a few things did go wrong, I don't think it is anything serious... And, as I said early, nothing a little Durham's and light sanding won't fix perfectly...

Tomorrow I will stop by Lowe's on the way home from work and hopefully get the last of the t-nuts I need... And, since I have gone through the paces of gluing one rear on; hopefully I can glue the other one tomorrow night as well...

Thanks guys!!!

Mark

[Hdale85]

Do you happen to have someone to help you move those things? Maybe 2 someones... They are starting to look monstrously large I usually solder directly to the binding posts. This is a spot that won't be removed much. So connectors on the drivers solder on the binding posts.

[mlammert]

Yeah, it is too late to get a soldering iron back there on this speaker since the back is already glued on...

Once I get the terminals back on the binding posts I think I am going to squirt some hot glue back there and that should do it...

[mlammert]

Another question on connecting the wire to the actual speakers...

The 12-gauge wire barely fits in the connectors that I am using...

So, on one of the woofers and one of the midrange, I am going to have to have two 12-gauge wires in one connector...

What is the recommended way of accomplishing this???

I looked for similar sized connectors that accepted larger gauge wire and I could not find any...

Any comments/suggestions are greatly appreciated...

Thanks!!!

Mark

[Jim Holtz]

Another question on connecting the wire to the actual speakers...

The 12-gauge wire barely fits in the connectors that I am using...

So, on one of the woofers and one of the midrange, I am going to have to have two 12-gauge wires in one connector...

What is the recommended way of accomplishing this???

I looked for similar sized connectors that accepted larger gauge wire and I could not find any...

Any comments/suggestions are greatly appreciated...

Thanks!!!

Mark

Hi Mark,

Run one long piece of cable/wire from the top woofer to the crossover and splice into it for the lower woofer. That way you don't have to try to jam two 12 gauge wires in a connector. There are other ways too but this method works pretty neatly.

Jim

[mlammert]

Thanks for the advice, Jim... I understand what you mean...

Thanks,
Mark

[mlammert]

Good progress was made last night...

The first speaker's rear curve glued up beautifully!!!

The first two pictures shows the first speaker standing up with the rear curve glued on... This came out really really well... I am very happy...

You can see the second speaker having the rear glued on to it in the background...

The third picture shows how I routed and attached the wires to the side of the speaker... I used the screw on zip tie anchors... Worked like a charm...

It is kind of hard to tell but the fourth picture shows the wire to binding post connections at the back of the speaker and how I shot some hot glue on them to just secure them a little more (for my peace of mind)...

I made a much bigger deal out of connecting those than it was... Super simple...

I connected the wires to the binding posts and hot glued them BEFORE gluing the rear onto the second speaker...

The last picture shows the second speaker having its rear curve glued on... Having learned many lessons on the first speaker, this went MUCH smoother the second time around...

Next steps are:

1- Stuff the mid section and apply insulation to the rear and sides...
2- Build port braces
3- Finalize wiring
4- Finalize front baffles
5- Apply Durham's to needed areas
6- Sand and smooth
7- Install drivers
8- Finalize crossovers
9- Listen and check everything out
10- Paint/stain as desired

Thanks guys!!!

Mark

[Hdale85]

Looking good!

[David_D]

KICK A$$ Mark

[mlammert]

More good progress...

The second speaker's rear curve glued on perfectly... Again, just some minor Durham's and sanding to finish it up...

Picture one shows a profile shot of the second speaker...

Picture two shows the port braces I made (four in total)...

Pictures three and four show the port braces glued and installed...

I still need to create additional pieces that will attach to the front of the braces... These additional pieces will have a hole the "internal" diameter of the PVC and it will be rounded over...

Finishing up the port braces and installing the insulation is next!!!

Thanks,
Mark

[impala454]

Man these suckers are really coming along nicely Mark. I hope you have a forklift that will fit through the door!

[mlammert]

Thanks Chuck!!! :B

[mlammert]

Quick question:

If I spread a thick bead of liquid nail around the perimeter of the speaker body when I glued the rear of the speaker onto the body of the speaker, is it common to also put a bead of caulk in the inside corners???

Or, is that overkill???

Would like to know others' opinions before I apply the insulation to the inside...

Thanks!!!

Mark

[Hdale85]

I made up some wood filler with left over MDF dust and wood glue and used it to spread some in the inside corners on mine. Caulk works good to though. I personally would do it on the inside as well. If I had the equipment and space I'd probably resin the inside of mine like I did with my car boxes I used to build haha. I like to make sure its completely sealed

[mlammert]

My only concern is that due to the shape of my speakers there are inside corners that I simply cannot physically get to...

If I look around the inside perimeter there is definitely liquid nail "squeeze out" around all the inside corners... And, there was a ton of liquid nail "squeeze out" on the outside of the speakers when I glued them together...

Plus, when I liquid nail the front baffles onto the speakers, there will again be inside corners there that I cannot reach...

I agree with and see Dougie's point; but am I over thinking this and worrying over nothing??? Or, should I do whatever it takes to get caulk into all the inside corners???

Thanks again guys!!!

Mark

[Dennis H]

Liquid nails? Caulk? Mark, with the precision you're building these things, yellow glue should seal them up as tight as a drum.

[Hdale85]

If you can't get to the spots I wouldn't worry about it to much.

[mlammert]

Thanks Dennis and Dougie!!!

I know; I am just getting "nervous" over the little things now that I am SO close to being finished...

I would absolutely be crushed if a minor oversight ruined the speakers after everything was glued together and finished...

Now that I think about it though, you are absolutely right that yellow glue should seal it fine so liquid nail should DEFINITELY seal it fine...

Thanks for the reassuring words and encouragement guys!!!

These things MIGHT be done in time for Thanksgiving!!! 8O

Ordering my Emotiva XPA-2 today...

Later,
Mark

[Hdale85]

Mmmmmm XPA-2.... I'll probably end up getting one in Feb. I want to get 2 XPA-1's but don't think I'll have the funds. Especially since I'm trying to save for a Samsung LN55A950 LCD TV hehe.

[mlammert]

Dougie,

FYI, they are running a "holiday" sale right now on a few of their products... XPA-2 is $100 off and free shipping... Thought you might want to know...

Mark

[Hdale85]

Yeah I know. I just don't have the money right now.

[mlammert]

Well, last night I went and was going to go ahead and create and attach the rounded over MDF pieces for the port brace (as seen in the attached picture)...

Previously I had used a 3 1/2" hole saw to cut all the holes to mount the PVC ports and this worked perfectly...

However, last night I went and got a 3" hole saw for the internal diameter of the PVC and this did not work at all... Very frustrating... :M

I don't think the hole saw cut a perfect circle... It is oblong and slightly oval shaped... I really don't know how this is possible; but the two holes (MDF and PVC) do not match up at all...

So, I cut about a 1" ring of left over PVC and I am going to clamp that to the new pieces of MDF and use the pattern router bit to cut out the exact shaped hole... I made the jig for this last night and it is gluing up currently...

Question:

When I go to attach all this, is it bad if there is a slight ridge or bump where the MDF ring and the inside of PVC meet??? Will this produce audible bad things with the port??? Or, does it really not matter???

Oh, I also bought a few more rolls of insulation to complete the stuffing...

Hopefully I will have lots of cool progress and pictures over the weekend... :B

Thanks,
Mark

[Curt C]

When I go to attach all this, is it bad if there is a slight ridge or bump where the MDF ring and the inside of PVC meet??? Will this produce audible bad things with the port??? Or, does it really not matter???

Don't sweat it, Mark. You can always hand smooth the transition if you want, but I doubt any audible difference will result.

C

[mlammert]

Attached are pictures of the stuffing of the speakers...

The backs and sides of the speakers are completely lined with 2" thick insulation...

Due to the very early advice from Curt:

https://www.htguide.com/forum/showpost.php?p=415060&postcount=29

You can see in the fourth picture that I have thoroughly stuffed the slim gaps between the speaker sides and the midrange enclosures...

I have also stuffed the center area behind the tweeters as well... With all this being said I am pretty confident that the speakers will be "symmetrically acoustically loaded"... :P

I used 3M 77 spray glue for all this... Getting the insulation back behind the port bracing and along the sides near the port bracing was a bit tedious; but it all worked out...

I found that sometimes it was easier to spray the insulation with glue and then apply... And, other times it was easier to spray the sides of the speaker with glue and then apply... It basically all depended on the angle and the area...

I ended up using a total of 7 bags of insulation... And, yes, you will notice that some is yellow and some is pink... Lowe's ran out of yellow so I had to go to Home Depot and they only had pink... It is the exact same thing down to size and R-value... So, I was not concerned...

If anybody sees any major concerns or anything, please let me know as I will be gluing the front baffles on tomorrow (Sunday)...

Thanks guys!!!

Mark

[mlammert]

I just wanted to share two other photos as well...

The first photo shows the holes I drilled through the midrange chambers to pass the wires through...

The second picture shows the method I used to cut the insulation...

Take a long straight edge and press down on the insulation and then just run a utility knife over it and it cuts like a charm...

Note, wear rubber gloves... The 3M 77 glue is nasty and the insulation sticks to you really bad... Also, if you get insulation fibers on your arms and whatnot a neat trick is to use a lint roller on your arms and stuff to pull the fibers out... Works like a charm!!!

More to come!!!

Mark

[impala454]

Are you going to line the mid tunnels with foam as well? Looking awesome mark! LOL @ having a computer right next to the build! Great way to post pics quick and ask questions!

[mlammert]

Thanks Chuck!!!

Yeah, I figured I can line the mid tunnels after everything is pretty much all said and done...

I am working on the baffles right now doing the recessed t-nut holes and back scallops on the drive cut outs... Both my drill batteries died because I accidentally unplugged the charger... :roll: So, I have some time to check the forum...

Ha ha... Yeah, that is the computer that runs the CNC machine... But, it makes a great quick jump to the forums to do quick research while working... I have it connected via wireless...

I'll post some picts in a few...

Things are going oddly smooth right now!!! :B

More to come...

Mark

[mlammert]

Here are some pictures of the port round-overs I made for inside of the speakers...

Picture one shows the jig I made and how I screwed it to the port round-over cut outs... I made the rough cut out using the jig saw...

Then I screwed the jig to the final piece and used the template router bit to cut the inner circle exactly the same diameter and shape as the PVC... I let the router bit bearing run along the inside of the PVC...

The second picture shows all the port round-overs and the jig... You will also notice the actual round-over on teh port blocks that I made with the round-over router bit...

Picture four and five shows the port round-over piece glues to the inside of the speaker... I used a pipe clamp through the port to clamp the port round-over onto the port brace...

They are currently drying...

Mark

[mlammert]

I am currently working on the baffles...

Picture one shows how I placed all the speakers in the baffles and lined them up so that I could take a pencil and mark where the mounting holes would be...

To be sure that the speakers were "centered" correctly, I used a t-square and aligned two mounting holes of each speaker to the t-square... This made sure all of them were properly "centered"...

The second picture shows how I had to "elongate" the inner cutout for the tweeter so that the "square" body of the tweeter would fit into the round cutout hole...

As soon as my drill battery gets done charging I will be back at the baffles!!! :B

Mark

[mlammert]

I almost forgot that the midrange enclosures closest to the tweeters need to be carved out some so that the tweeters will fit...

These pictures show where I just took a chisel and carefully carved out a little notch on the bottom of the top midrange enclosure and on the top of the bottom midrange enclosure...

The tweeter will now fit in perfectly once the front baffle is secure...

Mark

[mlammert]

The first baffle is complete and it came out awesome!!! :B

The first picture shows the front of the baffle with the speakers mounted... Again, I did this so that I could align the speakers and be sure they were all centered with each other...

The rest of these pictures show the t-nut recesses and the scallops on the back of the baffles with the speakers installed...

This is the process that I followed:

1 - Made sure all the speakers were centered with each other...

2 - Drew circles/dots to correspond with where the speaker mounting holes were...

3 - Drilled a 1/8" pilot hole through all the dots...

4 - Flipped the baffle over and using the pilot holes as a guide I then drilled a 7/8" recess using a forrester bit for each t-nut...

5 - Then again using the pilot hole as a guide I drilled a 17/64" hole all the way through the baffle... This accommodates the t-nut threads and the bolts for securing the speakers...

6 - Then a used a 45 degree router bit to go around the drive cutouts...

7 - I then flipped the baffle back over and mounted all the speakers to the front of the baffle again...

8 - Then I fed all the bolts through the mounting holes of the speakers and manually threaded them into the t-nuts which I was holding on the back side with my other hand...

9 - Once all the bolts and t-nuts were loosely mated together I then slowly started tightening the bolts and t-nuts together... I did this very slowly and methodically and allowed the t-nuts to bight into the MDF and secure them selves...

This worked perfectly!!! :B

[mlammert]

Once all the t-nuts were secure and everything was tight and in good shape; I then slowly loosened all the bolts and removed the speakers...

I flipped the baffle over and then squirted a little wood glue onto the t-nut and the recess...

you can see this in these pictures...

It looks a lot sloppier in the pictures; but in actuality I made sure no glue seeped down into the threads of the t-nuts...

Everything with the first baffle went perfectly!!! :B

(Trying not to jinx myself...)

I'm gonna call it quits for tonight...

Tomorrow I will finish the second baffle, solder the splices in my speaker wire for the woofers and midrange drivers, and then hopefully glue one of the baffles onto the speaker body!!!

More to come!!!

Mark

[BobEllis]

Looks great.

FYI, maybe my JP3 ribbons were not manufactured correctly, but I found that they had an air leak around the faceplate/body connection. Tapping the woofer (in an MT) made the ribbons move with no electrical connection to either. A bead of hot melt around the joint solved the issue nicely. Wouldn't want a big bass hit to mechanically do in your ribbons.

[mlammert]

Question and Requested Double Check on Crossover Layout

Hey guys,

Attached are my layouts for the tweeter, midrange and woofer crossover networks...

They are laid out in a non-standard way because I want to layout the components in an appealing manner so that I can have them in a separate box with a plexi top to it...

Picture one is the desired physical layout...

Picture two is the tweeter network...

Picture three is the midrange network...

Picture four is the woofer network...

Picture five is the original crossover diagram from Curt's web site...

If anybody has the time or desire, would you mind checking my layout configuration based on the original networks... I am 99.9% sure I have it correct, but just want to quadruple check... :P

My main concerns are:

1) Do I have everything hooked up correctly???

2) Do I have the two caps in the woofer network wired correctly so that they add up to the intended 60.00 uF???

Thank you SO much!!! I greatly appreciate it!!!

Mark

[mlammert]

My Emotiva XPA-2 just arrived from FedEx!!! :B

This sucker must weigh in at close to 100lbs...

Oh, wait, packing slip says 92lbs... Awesome... :P

Just have to finalize a few things and then start soldering!!!

Mark

[kingpin]

Damn.
Those kinda look familiar.

Image not available

Image not available

Depending on how heavy they are you may want to use a piece of masonite or something on the bottom temporarily so you can move them around without damaging them.

Good Luck
Mike