Full Statements build - couple questions and some pics

[deepfriedbutter]

Hello! I'm wrapping up my statements build that my buddy has been guiding/holding my hand through (this is my second wood working project). I have a couple of questions for those of you who have done this already.

1. We only have a 1/2" roundover bit for the sides of the front baffle - will that suffice or do I need to buy a 3/4"? Going to the 3/4" will give me need to buy a new router that will take a 1/2" collet.

2. I saw Jim mention in another thread that one should use the 3/4" roundover on the backside of the baffles for the 8" woofers. As previously stated, I currently have a 1/2" roundover bit and a 1/2" bevel bit that I bought for this purpose. Which should I use?

3. Where are you guys running the wiring for the mid tunnels? Do you just drill holes and calk after? Does anybody have pics?

Thanks in advance for any replies!

We're doing the build in my buddy's patio that's only about 12ft x 12ft.

And a few pics to liven up this thread if you don't want to spend a click.

[kevinm]

Looking good so far! What're you planning on finishing with?

Question I can answer with confidence - #3. I drilled a hole, slipped my wire through and caulked over it.

Questions I can't answer nearly as confidently - # 1 and 2.

As far as I understand it, there is room for preference and give in the front baffle round over, so I *think* you are ok.

As far as the backside, I used a chamfer rather than a round over. How thick is your front baffle? 1.5in or 1.25in? That'll greatly influence the needed depth.

Hopefully one of the more qualified builders/designers will chime in!

[deepfriedbutter]

Looking good so far! What're you planning on finishing with?

Question I can answer with confidence - #3. I drilled a hole, slipped my wire through and caulked over it.

Questions I can't answer nearly as confidently - # 1 and 2.

As far as I understand it, there is room for preference and give in the front baffle round over, so I *think* you are ok.

As far as the backside, I used a chamfer rather than a round over. How thick is your front baffle? 1.5in or 1.25in? That'll greatly influence the needed depth.

Hopefully one of the more qualified builders/designers will chime in!

Thanks, kevinm! I read through your thread a lot as I was going through my build and planning phase. Excellent build!

As far as finishing them, I think I will be using some sort of vinyl or 3M di-noc...although I have never done this before. I will probably practice on my dual opposed 18" sub box. I was thinking glass or flat black and carbon fiber for the face. Not sure yet.

My front baffle is 1.25" thick.

Thanks again!

[bigjohn]

another option for the sides, and the back of the woofers, and mids a 45 bit. You should be able to get a big enough one for the 1/4 collet.

I also just drilled a hole through the mids and caulked it over after.

[deepfriedbutter]

another option for the sides, and the back of the woofers, and mids a 45 bit. You should be able to get a big enough one for the 1/4 collet.

I also just drilled a hole through the mids and caulked it over after.

Thanks! I have a 45 degree 1/2" router bit.

[kevinm]

As far as finishing them, I think I will be using some sort of vinyl or 3M di-noc...although I have never done this before. I will probably practice on my dual opposed 18" sub box. I was thinking glass or flat black and carbon fiber for the face. Not sure yet.

Thanks again!

HIGHLY recommend practicing before you go after the big boys. I have been working on piano black finish it's a lot trickier than anyone can truly describe. Not necessarily the amount of steps or type of steps, but how much things vary from each environment (climate, available tools, type of wood, type of paint).

I have been practicing on a pair of 0.5 cubic foot enclosures I am using for surrounds and I am quite glad I using them first and not my big speakers!

[deepfriedbutter]

HIGHLY recommend practicing before you go after the big boys. I have been working on piano black finish it's a lot trickier than anyone can truly describe. Not necessarily the amount of steps or type of steps, but how much things vary from each environment (climate, available tools, type of wood, type of paint).

I have been practicing on a pair of 0.5 cubic foot enclosures I am using for surrounds and I am quite glad I using them first and not my big speakers!

Thanks for the advice! What steps are you using to piano black? Ideally, I would also want to do piano black since my NHTs are all piano black and I can't really think of a wood finish that would complement my almost completely black system.

[kevinm]

I am about to do a full right up on my current procedure, but I wanted to try a different sanding/polishing process on the other half of this pair. The short version - sand, sand, sand, fill cracks/dips with bondo, and sand some more. Quite a few coats of primer, then sanded smooth. Then 4-5 coats of black, sand smooth. Then 1 coat of black, immediately followed by 6 coats of clear. Let sit for 2 weeks, then sand and polish. My breakdown will include details on the types of sand paper, sander and different methods.

But here is a picture of the current progress.

[JonMarsh]

And if you want to do a finish like this, plan on a good random orbital sander with dust collector VAC, and recommend using Mirka sanding disks and Mirka Abralon pads. After you've built up the layers of clear, you knock down the orange peel and dust roughness by starting with wet sanding with about 500 grit, then up to 1000 and 2000. Follow that up with buffing pads with something like 3M rubbing compound. That's worked very well for me on lacquer. Note, I don't use the water borne lacquer; I'm a traditionalist.

[deepfriedbutter]

I am about to do a full right up on my current procedure, but I wanted to try a different sanding/polishing process on the other half of this pair. The short version - sand, sand, sand, fill cracks/dips with bondo, and sand some more. Quite a few coats of primer, then sanded smooth. Then 4-5 coats of black, sand smooth. Then 1 coat of black, immediately followed by 6 coats of clear. Let sit for 2 weeks, then sand and polish. My breakdown will include details on the types of sand paper, sander and different methods.

But here is a picture of the current progress.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]23137[/ATTACH]

Looks awesome! Looking forward to that write up!

And if you want to do a finish like this, plan on a good random orbital sander with dust collector VAC, and recommend using Mirka sanding disks and Mirka Abralon pads. After you've built up the layers of clear, you knock down the orange peel and dust roughness by starting with wet sanding with about 500 grit, then up to 1000 and 2000. Follow that up with buffing pads with something like 3M rubbing compound. That's worked very well for me on lacquer. Note, I don't use the water borne lacquer; I'm a traditionalist.

Thanks for the advice!

[deepfriedbutter]

I saw a couple of people scalloping the backside of the driver holes. Do I need to do this if I'm only going to be using regular screws? I figure I should be able to make a complete pass, right?

I was thinking about using inserts w/ machine screws like I've seen in some other threads. I just worry about removing and replacing the screws over and over again as I go to finish these.

Thanks!
Jaime

[kevinm]

I've never dropped in t nuts and I have cabinets that I've pulled the screws in and out of a fairly large number of times...I think it's mostly personal opinion. A lot of the guys here don't use them.

[Carl V]

t-nuts, inserts can be a Pain...not always needed.
Scalloping allows for both breathing room & plenty of
thick baffle material for both thread bite & rigidity.
I have most always used an inner layer of BB ply,
either 1/2 or 3/4", under a layer of MDF or HDF.

[deepfriedbutter]

Thanks for the replies, everyone!

I'm currently using 3/4" and 1/2" laminated together for a grand total of 1.25" baffle. Approx 1/4" rabbet in the front to recess the drivers, so with a bevel all the way around, about 1/2 to 3/4" for the screws to bite into.

Do you guys think it would be safe to go all the around w/o scalloping? Sorry for all the questions!

[BeerParty]

The 1/2" round-over should be fine for the front baffles. A 3/4" round-over bit would be dangerous to use freehand, you'd want to use it in a router table (which means even more expense).

The same goes for cutting breathing space in the rear of the baffle for the drivers, a 1/2" chamfer bit should be enough (a chamfer bit cuts a 45º bevel, I assume this is what you meant by '1/2" bevel bit'). If you are worried about enough breathing room for the driver, you can cut a 1/4" deep rabbit first and then use your 1/2" bit below that. That will give you almost the the same cut as a 3/4" bit.

[deepfriedbutter]

The 1/2" round-over should be fine for the front baffles. A 3/4" round-over bit would be dangerous to use freehand, you'd want to use it in a router table (which means even more expense).

The same goes for cutting breathing space in the rear of the baffle for the drivers, a 1/2" chamfer bit should be enough (a chamfer bit cuts a 45º bevel, I assume this is what you meant by '1/2" bevel bit'). If you are worried about enough breathing room for the driver, you can cut a 1/4" deep rabbit first and then use your 1/2" bit below that. That will give you almost the the same cut as a 3/4" bit.

Thanks!


I won't be able to work on the speakers this weekend, but I did get one of my other projects in last night. It's a dual opposed 18" Fi Car Audio Q18. Coming from an SVS PB2000...this thing is so clean and crisp sounding. Powering it with a Behringer EP4000. I managed to trip the breaker on my power strip.

[deepfriedbutter]

Finally finished up the Statements but haven't had much time to listen as I finished around 11PM last night and my friend's girlfriend shoo'd me out the door. ops:

I hope to pick them up tonight, give them some break-in time and wait for them to open up.

Onto the pics!











And here's the finished pair temporarily set up at my buddy's house. His Pioneer VSX1122 was getting pretty hot pushing these behemoths at casual listening levels.



Thanks to everyone here for the help!

[Jim Holtz]

They look great! Give them about 20 hours break in time and then sit down for a critical listening session. Let us know what you think.

Jim

[5th element]

Once you get to that stage it is often hard to dismantle things for the final cosmetic changes. I bet they sound great What are they replacing?

[JonMarsh]

Finally finished up the Statements but haven't had much time to listen as I finished around 11PM last night and my friend's girlfriend shoo'd me out the door. ops:

I hope to pick them up tonight, give them some break-in time and wait for them to open up.

Onto the pics!











And here's the finished pair temporarily set up at my buddy's house. His Pioneer VSX1122 was getting pretty hot pushing these behemoths at casual listening levels.



Thanks to everyone here for the help!

By casual listening levels, do you mean not particularly loud? A lot of HT gear doesn't care much for 4 ohm loads, and that might be the case here- something for you to think about with any future purchases, perhaps?

[kevinm]

Those looks great deepfried!

From personal experience, they sure sound purrdy with a pair of XPA-1 monoblocks driving them

[sawdust]

Those looks great deepfried!

From personal experience, they sure sound purrdy with a pair of XPA-1 monoblocks driving them

Agreed 100% Palpable bass and boy those kettle drums are tangible against the chest. :T

[deepfriedbutter]

They look great! Give them about 20 hours break in time and then sit down for a critical listening session. Let us know what you think.

Jim

I'm at about 10-15 or so hours. 5 or so of my own listening and about 10 from my friend who helped me build them. I just got them home last night...and surprisingly they fit in the trusty work mobile! So far they exceed all expectations I had. They are a force to be reckoned with!

By casual listening levels, do you mean not particularly loud? A lot of HT gear doesn't care much for 4 ohm loads, and that might be the case here- something for you to think about with any future purchases, perhaps?

We only hooked it up to that receiver to test it out quickly. He hooked it up to his Crestron 16ch amp yesterday and they sounded amazing.

I have a Carver AV705X (125w @ 8ohm / 200w @ 4ohm) and an Emotiva UMC-200. Both of which I bought just to power these suckers. They work well!

Once you get to that stage it is often hard to dismantle things for the final cosmetic changes. I bet they sound great What are they replacing?

I can totally see that. I might just seal them with 50/50 wood glue and water and then finish with 3M dinoc. Undecided at the moment. Too busy listening!

They are replacing NHT Absolute Towers. My buddy recommended running the towers as my center until I build the statement center...so I did :twisted::twisted:

Those looks great deepfried!

From personal experience, they sure sound purrdy with a pair of XPA-1 monoblocks driving them

Thanks! I may upgrade eventually but for now, my carver is powering them well beyond what my ears can take.


Thank you everyone for the kind words!

[383S10]

They look great! Looks like you may need to put feet on the speakers to let the port breath or put some channels in the bottom plate...

[deepfriedbutter]

They look great! Looks like you may need to put feet on the speakers to let the port breath or put some channels in the bottom plate...

Thanks! There's actually feet down there. I got the cork feet from meniscus http://meniscusaudio.com/bvd-feet-p-744.html

I'm thinking I might need more height, though.

[5th element]

Those NHT towers looks tiny in comparison

[deepfriedbutter]

Those NHT towers looks tiny in comparison

I chuckle every time I walk in the room and compare them.

[Philzeemon]

Deepfriedbutter...
Nice looking build...Have a question for you..(I have some statement monitors in the works and was wondering).What size t-nuts and machine screws did you use for attaching the drivers to the baffle?