Clearwave Dynamic 4T build.

[Hdale85]

Well I got the MTM portion cut out. Here are a few pictures. It's nearly midnight now so I should probably stop as the upstairs neighbors may complain about the router haha.






Really starting to like the way this looks. The bamboo is really ticking me off though... Oh well at this point I don't even care. If it doesn't work out after the finishing then I'll redo the veneer later. Probably cherry or something that's easier to work with.

[shame302]

They look great man.

so I can't do Bondo work on the second cabinet unfortunately

epoxy works great and doesnt stink.

bondo sucks. i use 5 minute epoxy. i mix the epoxy and then add in baby powder for a 50/50 mix. i have small mixing cups, mix small ammounts and work quickly. it would work the same with 10 or 30 minute etc. epoxy though. 5 minute epoxy is ready to sand within 10 minuts and it fills way better than bondo. it doesnt stink like bondo so you can use it inside. it s super strong and wont shrink.

walmart has those little seringe like tubes of epoxy but if you can hit a local hobby shop they may have it in larger quantities. if not you can get it from:

Tower Hobbies

[Hdale85]

Last time I tried epoxy it smelled pretty bad and gave me a funky headache for a couple hours.

[shame302]

to each his own i guess. bondo is 100x worse. ive used them both, i know wich one performs better and my house doesnt smell like a body shop.

im asuming you didnt try it with baby powder or micro balloons either.

[Paul W]

Great looking speaker project!

[Ray Collins]

Looks great, very spiffy!!!

Ray

[Hdale85]

Well got the rest of the holes cut. I cut a chamfer in behind the midranges with the jig saw. I have a bunch of saw dust left over so I mixed it with a bunch of glue to create some wood filler. I actually feel its better then the crap you get in the stores. So I sealed up the midrange chamber real good. Drilled a hole in the back of it for the wire. In the last pic here you can see the wood filler, also you can see the edges of the recesses where the wood just kind of splintered away. I would not recommend bamboo if anyone is considering it.

[Hdale85]

Well unfortunately I have to get ready for work now but I almost got done! Got the fiberglass in and started wiring everything up. I used the fast connects but I soldered them to the wire for a nice solid connection. But at least I can still pull them off when I need to now. Here are a few pictures



Image not available

[Jed]

You're going to need something on the walls of the mid chamber and the entire thing should be filled with poly/fiberglass or acousta stuff.

The woofer holes don't look like they are open enough- could just be the angle of the pic though.

Also, there is a pic of the woofers' wiring somewhere in the build on my website.

[Hdale85]

Yeah I remember how to wire them. I just have to remember if the positive goes at the top or the bottom. I have to get some polyfill tonight. I'm not done with the midrange chamber either. The piece of fiberglass that's in there isn't even glued in yet. I should have this one all together tonight though and tomorrow it's not supposed to snow so I should be able to bondo the other speaker. I already have the whole can of bondo so figure I should use it. I didn't cut away from the back of the woofers because I though it would be opened up enough through the basket. I'll mess with it later tonight though.

[Hdale85]

Yep that's what I thought.

[Hdale85]

I put some wood filler in the hole that was too big for the 3rd port. So that's still drying. But other then that speaker one is done.

[impala454]

friggin nice. are you going to stain them to match that stand or some other color?

[Hdale85]

They will be stained with a blue aniline dye (Transtint). I'm not sure when though. I still have to finish the other one. I have to work this morning so hopefully there is still enough daylight when I get home to do the bondo.

[Hdale85]

I will say one thing about the sound before having the other one. The woofers aren't even broken in mind you but even so the bottom end on these are rather amazing. I couldn't crank them to loud because it was like 1am and the neighbors would get upset but even at lower volumes there was a nice strong bottom end.

[TacoD]

Wow nice speaker, hopefully you can finish the second one pretty fast.

[Johnloudb]

TacoD beat me to it - Wow!

Can't wait to see 'em both finished in Blue trans tint.

[JohnA]

to each his own i guess. bondo is 100x worse. ive used them both, i know wich one performs better and my house doesnt smell like a body shop.

im asuming you didnt try it with baby powder or micro balloons either.

Here is a source for good epoxy already thickened up somewhat as a putty, and for a great price. $21 for a quart is cheap! Scroll down until you get to the "Super Lite", good stuff and lightweight and it also is the lowest price one they offer. The "Wet Dry 700" and "Quick Fix 2300" are good also, but they cost about twice as much as the "Super Lite".

http://www.epoxyproducts.com/3_putty.html

I have been using quite a bit of epoxy for repair on a few sections of wood on a house lately, and this stuff is some of what I have been using. Along with a lot water thin penetrating epoxy, that soaks into the wood to firm it up. I've gone through almost 20 gallons of that type so far.



I really don't like bondo, not even when I work on cars. Not only because of the smell, but it's also prone to breaking loose. It's also don't really bond that well to wood. And it's faults are compounded if you mix it wrong.

[Hdale85]

I think I paid 18 bucks for a gallon of bondo. I'll have to remember the epoxy for next time though.

[David_D]

Thank You JohnA

[Hdale85]

John, and that stuff is safe to use in doors? That was the big problem with the bondo is I have to do it outside and it's been snowing. I got some of it done tonight luckily. May be able to do a bit more we'll see.

[Dennis H]

Next time, check out Durham's Rock Hard -- water based putty with no fumes. I think that's what Mark is using on his Statements build.

http://www.waterputty.com/

[JohnA]

John, and that stuff is safe to use in doors? That was the big problem with the bondo is I have to do it outside and it's been snowing. I got some of it done tonight luckily. May be able to do a bit more we'll see.

Yeah you can use most epoxies indoors, with the exception of a lot of the penetrating versions. With some of those you probably do not want to, due to the strong solvents solvents some of them use to make it thin enough to have a long pot life in order to soak into the wood.


The main one of that type I use is called "CPES", and it is very pricey stuff. The warm weather formula of "CPES" has a really really strong solvent smell, and the smell can last for more than a day even outdoors with the warm weather formula. So you probably DON'T want to use warm weather formula indoors! The cold weather formula which I am using right now is not even half as bad as the warm weather and the smell goes away pretty quick, and you can use that indoors. But even so, it still has a above average strong smell for a epoxy. And it definitely does have a fairly strong smell for something used indoors. Pot life on the cold weather formula at 50 degrees is about 4 hours, it's good to use down to 28 degrees, where the pot life then turns to about 8 hours. Because it warmed up fairly nice today outside, I even just used almost 2 gallons of it today in fact.

http://www.smithandcompany.org/CPES/index.html

http://www.star-distributing.com/smith/products.html

http://www.rotdoctor.com/products/product.html

With the exception of "CPES", I have not used any other epoxies that smelled worse or evan as bad as bondo smells. Granted a lot of epoxies have somewhat of a strange smell to them, but usually it's not a real strong smell like bondo is. Open a can of bondo or polyester fiberglass resin in a room or a garage and mix it up, and the room and anything in it that can absorb odors, will smell like a body shop for days after you are done using it.

[JohnA]

Next time, check out Durham's Rock Hard -- water based putty with no fumes. I think that's what Mark is using on his Statements build.

http://www.waterputty.com/

Durhams is good, but like anything else, it also has a few "gotchas" in how it should be used. It's not the best thing to use for stuff like smaller surface defects like dings and dents in wood, it's better for holes and cracks.

That and it's not good to use anywhere there is any moisture around it or a application where there might expansion/contraction movements, but if used in speaker building these two should pretty much be a non issue in most cases.

http://www.waterputty.com/pages/view.htm

"Moreover, Durham's will absorb moisture, as from underneath a porch, deck floors, and from condensation within walls. Thus, an extremely humid environment such as a plaster shower or bathtub enclosure will prevent Durham's from completely drying and adhering to the surrounding material.

For repair jobs, Durham's Water Putty fills voids like holes, cracks, and the like. Just fill the void completely until the putty bounces back. After the putty has set up, remove the excess. It adheres to the sides of the hole for permanence. That means Durham's isn't designed to be spread in thin layers over large, smooth surfaces. For example, if a wooden door panel is weathered, replace it or sand it down. A thin layer of Durham's spread over the panel will look great -- but it may pop off with the first good slam of the door. Remember, Durham's is meant to fill voids.

Where there is movement, expansion, or contraction -- as between floor boards -- Putty may become loose. Durham's is not intended for load-bearing repairs. Finally, Durham's Putty expands slightly as it dries so it will "stick and stay put." This expansion, however, may also cause Putty to "pop" from a smooth concave surface."

[impala454]

I really don't like bondo, not even when I work on cars. Not only because of the smell, but it's also prone to breaking loose. It's also don't really bond that well to wood. And it's faults are compounded if you mix it wrong.

Well typically people use way too much bondo. Even though it literally is called "filler" it only fills so much. I've seen it caked on nearly an inch thick before, and in that case yeah it will break loose easily.

[Hdale85]

Well I have some spots where its probably about 1/2" thick. But it's also grabbing quite a bit. Feels pretty solid to me and bonds to this hardboard quite well.

[Hdale85]

Well I got most of the speaker filled with the bondo. I think I need to buy another little can of bondo though as I don't think I got the back part of one side filled enough... I'll find out when I go to sand it but it doesn't seem like it is filled in enough from the looks of it. Pretty has I used an entire gallon of bondo on these haha. Oh well they look good when its all set and done.

[dpc rep]

Looks like you are making good progress ... I really like the overall shape and slim profile of the cabinets.

Have you tried to stain any of your scraps of bamboo yet? I ask, because the bamboo might not take the stain like you want it to. I have never triedto stain it, but bamboo is used for kitchen cookware because of its resistance to staining because it is not actually a wood, but technically a grass. I am interested to find out how this process works for you. If the stain doesnt take too well, maybe you could spray a translucent (candy) blue over the veneer to get the effect you are after.

Too bad you dont live closer, or I would be more than happy to help you with the finishing process. I have been finishing/spraying coatings for the better part of 25 years now and I enjoy working with wood.

Please keep up with the pictures ... they are looking nice.

[Hdale85]

If it won't take the stain well there are other ways I have been thinking about just adding the dye into a clear coat. This would probably give them a nice candy sort of look which would be nice.

[TacoD]

If it won't take the stain well there are other ways I have been thinking about just adding the dye into a clear coat. This would probably give them a nice candy sort of look which would be nice.

This only works if you mix enough to do both speakers, otherwise it is hard to match the colour if you have to mix up an extra couple of liters.

[Hdale85]

That's why I'm waiting until I finish the other 3 speakers before I stain them.

[Hdale85]

Ok so I started sanding the other speaker today finally. I need to do another run of bondo to fill in the little holes and mishaps. Unfortunately I only have about 3 or so hours until it starts raining. Fortunately I just need to do the bondo stuff outside so after that I can do everything else inside. I should probably have some pictures later today/tonight.

[Hdale85]

Well the rain came earlier then it was supposed to So not sure if I can get it done now. If it stops long enough I'll try and put it under the dry spot on our porch and see if I can finish up the bondo work.

[Hdale85]

So it stopped raining for about an hour last night at 11pm. I quickly setup a dry area outside and sanded the remaining side. I got the last layer of bondo on. I get off pretty early today so I'm hoping when I get home I can get that sanded and start working on veneer and get this cabinet done tonight

[Hdale85]

Ok so I sealed off my little work room and turned on the window AC to filter out the air some and what not and then sanded the rest of the speaker. I couldn't sit and wait for the weather anymore I was getting to annoyed. So the speaker is fully sanded now and I'm not sure if I can work on the veneer before my son goes to bed or not. I'm going to have to see but regardless these speakers will be done at the very latest early tomorrow.

[Jed]

Doug, slow down and enjoy the build. Once it's over you'll just want to build more speakers. Not that there is anything wrong with that. :-)

[Hdale85]

I am going slow.... snail slow haha. Nah it's fine I have what 4 other speakers to build anyways :B.

[Hdale85]

Veneer is done, in the morning I'll start cutting the driver holes before I have to do my chores for the day and head to work. It may be thanksgiving day before I actually get it working but getting close.

[Russ_L]

Kerf Method

Hi Doug- speakers look fabulous; what a great job you did. ;x(

The "kerf" method was mentioned several times above. Could you explain what that is. Thanks.

Russ

[ahaik]

Hi Russ,

Welcome to HTGuide.
Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do with Your Table Saw
About 40 minutes into the clip there is a Kerf Bending demo (might be easier to download the clip first).
I am not sure how Dougie did it, but it sure came out great :T
Looking forward to meeting you again on Friday.

Asi.

[Hdale85]

The kerf method didn't work out for me so I used multiple layers of 1/8" thick hard board. This worked pretty nicely and I felt offered a more solid side panel.

[Hdale85]

Well veneer is done holes are cut and everything was in the middle of wiring them up but I have to go to work now so I will do the last hour or so of work tonight when I get home. Tomorrow it will be time to crank them and see what they're all about.

[Jed]

Well veneer is done holes are cut and everything was in the middle of wiring them up but I have to go to work now so I will do the last hour or so of work tonight when I get home. Tomorrow it will be time to crank them and see what they're all about.

It's going to take some time for the drivers to break in. I wonder how different your speakers will sound from mine without the Sonic Barrier as well.

[Hdale85]

Would bet less of a difference then you think. The fiberglass really seems to work well.

[Hdale85]

Alright! Well the day has finally arrived. Now to just get the center and surrounds haha.