BeerParty AviaTrix build

[BeerParty]

OK, my second build - the AviaTrix by Curt C. I plan to build three of them to use as my mains (LCR) in the family room. After updating our entertainment center, my Statement Monitors are just too big.

I offered to bring these to the New England DIY event on October 23rd, so I'm on a deadline.

Pictures to follow.

[BeerParty]

Two crossovers done. Well, almost done. I bought the AviaTrix kit from Parts Express and then ordered the parts for the third speaker separately. The kit arrived without issue, but I had some problems with the individual order. The order was split into three parts: the main order arrived fine, the second part was lost by Fed-EX in Ohio, and the third part is on back-order until the end of October.

So, two of the crossovers are done while the third will have to wait on parts. I plan to build all three cabinets at the same time, but will only bring two to the NE-DIY event.

[BeerParty]

And, just to show you that I have not been completely idle, here is the obligatory shot of cut wood...



I have not decided on a finish yet, so I am using solid wood for the front baffles and plywood for the rest of the enclosure. These will probably get painted, but just in case I change my mind I wanted to use some nice wood. The speakers are small enough to make the cost difference negligible.

[john trials]

Cool stuff (I love build pictures)! Are you going to use a sub with these?

[absolootbs]

looks good. what species of wood did you go with for the baffles?

[BeerParty]

Cool stuff (I love build pictures)! Are you going to use a sub with these?

Yes, I am planning to build a sub to go with these. My original plan was to build a Shiva-X2 ported sub or a couple of the Exodus Anarchy 6.5" 25hz tapped horns designed by LilMike, but my finances took a hit this summer so I have had to put off the sub build until next summer. I'll make a final decision about what to build then.

Don't worry, I'll post a build thread with lots of pictures of that too. :W

[BeerParty]

looks good. what species of wood did you go with for the baffles?

I cut them from a piece of 3/4" stain grade pine panel. It is narrow stripes of kiln dried wood edge glued to form a larger panel - sort of a ready made glue up. I picked it up at the big-blue box store. I wanted the option to stain the baffle, but I didn't have the time to look for and machine a nice piece of wood.

[BeerParty]

More progress (proof is in the pictures... :B )

The front baffles driver cuts are done.



Here is a close up of the back of the baffle, you can see where I have relieved the rear so the mid-woofers can breath a bit. I don't know if it was necessary, but I figured I did it on the Statement Monitors so I might as well do it here.



Rear panel, with a cut out for the binding post cups.



I am almost ready to start gluing up the pieces...

[bmaupin]

I doubt that is enough of a relief for the ND140, but I could be wrong. Try holding the woofer in the hole and view how much the air flow is blocked. If I remember correctly I had about 1/4" of unchamfered baffle on my project.

Images not available

[BeerParty]

I doubt that is enough of a relief for the ND140, but I could be wrong. Try holding the woofer in the hole and view how much the air flow is blocked. If I remember correctly I had about 1/4" of unchamphered baffle on my project.

I will try it and post a picture tonight, thanks for the heads up.

Those are some nice looking speakers... :T

[BeerParty]

OK, here are some images of the rear of my baffle with the ND140-8 woofer installed. This isn't just placed in the baffle, I did screw it in.







It looks like plenty of space around it to me. If anyone thinks that it needs more breathing room I could cut down some more of the baffle.

[bmaupin]

The way that the openings are a bit away from the edge makes the champher less of an issue. Looks good to go.

[BeerParty]

The rear panel of the third speaker is glued in, you can see the first two in the background have their backs and sides attached to the bottom already. I should be able to attach the sides to the third piece later this evening.



You can see why it is taking a while - while I prefer working with plywood (mainly because of the MDF dust) the pieces I used warped pretty badly after being cut. I have to use straightedges and a bunch of clamps to get the bottom and rear panels on straight.

Note to self - next time don't settle for the cheap handy panels, spend the money and get some good pieces.

Luckily I remembered to over-sized most of the panels; I will flush trim the sides after everything is attached (learned that trick the hard way on my Statement Monitors). Since I used a table saw, I could get all the critical sizes cut at the same time, and I used a jig to make sure my critical circular saw cuts were square and straight.

Here you can see a close up of the over-sized panels that will get trimmed down:

[BeerParty]

The way that the openings are a bit away from the edge makes the champher less of an issue. Looks good to go.

If only I could claim that was deliberate... ops:

Luckily, these drives seem pretty forgiving. I traced the edge on the front before removing the driver and there is plenty of meat around the edges to make a good seal.

Thanks for the heads up, feedback and warnings like that are one of the reasons I post so much detail.

[Russ_L]

Pictures???

Guys- Am I doing something wrong? I only see pictures in post number 9. This happens to me occasionally too in other threads. :roll:

Thanks.

Russ

[Silver1omo]

looking good!

[BeerParty]

Guys- Am I doing something wrong? I only see pictures in post number 9. This happens to me occasionally too in other threads. :roll:

I am using Photo-bucket for my pictures (and just pasting the I-M-G tags in my posts), bmaupin is using a comcast account for his pictures. Sounds like your network is blocking access to Photo-bucket, are you by chance reading this at work? :naughty:

[Renovator]

are you by chance reading this at work? :naughty:

:rofl:

Reading HTG at work is one of the things that makes me take a break. So I see it as a good thing. :B

[Russ_L]

Pictures

I am using Photo-bucket for my pictures (and just pasting the I-M-G tags in my posts), bmaupin is using a comcast account for his pictures. Sounds like your network is blocking access to Photo-bucket, are you by chance reading this at work? :naughty:

Yes Chris; cannot see the pictures at work but no problem at home here today. Looking good; keep up the good work.

Russ

[BeerParty]

Yes Chris; cannot see the pictures at work but no problem at home here today.

It figures... :rant:

Looking good; keep up the good work.

Thanks! I have been inspired by PassingInterest's build thread ;x( and tool pics :drool: , so I am trying to get more pictures into my build thread.

[BeerParty]

Reading HTG at work is one of the things that makes me take a break. So I see it as a good thing. :B

Goof off while at work, I would never do that! :takecover:

[BeerParty]

Last side is on all three boxes:





Now on to the baffles...

[BeerParty]

As you may have noticed, I cut all the way through the tweeter holes without cutting the rabbit so I can flush mount the driver ops: . So, I needed to make a jig for circle cutter:



Not as fancy as Passing Interests stuff, but I now have a centered hole for the circle jig. The baffle fit is very snug; I have to use a mallet to get the baffle onto and off of it.



All measured out and ready to cut:



Three cuts to clear out the wood, and a couple of hits with the sandpaper, and this is what you get:



Drop in the tweeter - it fits!

[PassingInterest]

It's looking good, Chris.
You should be able to make your deadline if you keep pressing on.
I can hardly wait to see how they turn out.
I'll be following this build thread. :T
Thanks for mentioning it at AVS.

Edit: I've been a member here since March and this is my very first post here.
Yeah, I'm a little slow.

[BeerParty]

It's looking good, Chris.
You should be able to make your deadline if you keep pressing on.
I can hardly wait to see how they turn out.
I'll be following this build thread. :T
Thanks for mentioning it at AVS.

Thanks!

Edit: I've been a member here since March and this is my very first post here.
Yeah, I'm a little slow.

For anyone reading this that hasn't followed PI's builds over at AVS, the 'a little slow' crack above should have had the sarcastic icon after it... :roll:

[BeerParty]

I was home sick today, so didn't get much done. Today's pictures are actually from last nights work.

I have a tool failure last night - the router trim bit decided it had had enough for one lifetime and the bearing decided to die while trimming the rear of my box. I didn't see the problem until I had gone the length of the box :M . Damage wasn't too bad, but I'm definitely going to have to paint the back of this box. A couple of other areas had minor damage as well, so there was quite a bit of patching to do.

Here are a couple of the boxes, you can see the patch jobs:



I finished the trimming with a new bit. After that and a little sanding, they remaining edges are looking pretty good.



Here is a little tool porn for you - my workstation/clamping table, a Christmas present from my Dad last year (thanks Dad!).



Up next, sand down the patches and sealing up the insides.

[PassingInterest]

I was home sick today, so didn't get much done.

I hate wasting perfectly good Sick Days on an illness.

Looks like you recovered from the bearing bit problem nicely with the putty.
After sanding, you might want to apply a sealer to the putty areas, as they are likely to absorb more of your finish or primer

Edit: Looks like a really handy work table.

[DeathMonk]

I have a tool failure last night - the router trim bit decided it had had enough for one lifetime and the bearing decided to die while trimming the rear of my box. I didn't see the problem until I had gone the length of the box :M . Damage wasn't too bad, but I'm definitely going to have to paint the back of this box. A couple of other areas had minor damage as well, so there was quite a bit of patching to do.

Flush trimming is a PITA imo.... Its near impossible not to have some mess ups.

[Solid7]

Flush trimming is a PITA imo.... Its near impossible not to have some mess ups.

I don't know... I wouldn't rather do things any different way.

Although I am reminded of the time I was making a final pass on my subwoofer, and the bearing rode up on the shaft, and made me a nice offset. :M :E :B

[BeerParty]

For me, flush trimming has produced the best results so far. If I had paid attention and replaced the old flush trim bit before the bearing died, the results would have been nearly perfect. You can see from the second picture how nice the corners were after switching to the new bit. But that is just me, YMMV.

[jliedeka]

I agree with the importance of a flush trimming bit. When I saw how much use mine was getting, I bought a spare just in case. I haven't needed it. Freud bits will stand up to MDF pretty well.

Jim

[DeathMonk]

I never said it wasn't important.. Just a PITA ;P

[BeerParty]

T-minus 14 days and counting...

Yep, only 14 days until the DIY GTG. It has been a very busy week, between weddings and festivals I have not had time to do much, but now I need to crank it up a notch to finish in time. A little progress to get things rolling...

Cabinet interiors sealed up:



Front baffles attached:

[BeerParty]

T-13 days, and some more progress...

Baffles have been trimmed and rounded over, and the cabinets have been sanded down to 150 grit. Of course, I had to do some more filling, and one corner has already been damaged, but its all good. Patch and paint, right?

OK, full disclosure time - I am not building these exactly to Curt's plan. According to the write-up in the Parts Express catalog, while Curt designed these for a 6.5" wide cabinet with a 1/2" round-over, he said you could go as wide as 7.5". I have a 3/4" round-over bit from my Statement Monitor build, so I made the cabinets 7.0" wide and used the 3/4" round-over bit on the front baffles. I adjusted to depth to keep the internal volume the same. If they sound terrible, I only have myself to blame.

Baffles rounded over:



Close up of the corner:



Gotta love Photoshop, makes it easy to get the images "right":



And a picture of the 3/4" round-over bit, its a big one...

[PassingInterest]

You really are doing a fantastic job. Keep up the good work. Great photos.

[Curt C]

OK, full disclosure time - I am not building these exactly to Curt's plan. According to the write-up in the Parts Express catalog, while Curt designed these for a 6.5" wide cabinet with a 1/2" round-over, he said you could go as wide as 7.5". I have a 3/4" round-over bit from my Statement Monitor build, so I made the cabinets 7.0" wide and used the 3/4" round-over bit on the front baffles. I adjusted to depth to keep the internal volume the same. If they sound terrible, I only have myself to blame.

No worries! Your enclosure adjustments will be fine. :T

Another nice build thread! Thanks for sharing!

C

[BeerParty]

No worries! Your enclosure adjustments will be fine. :T

Another nice build thread! Thanks for sharing!

Thank you, Curt!

I am trying to do justice to your design ;x( , and I hope I can inspire others to build some of these as well. The Statement Monitors had quite the reception at the NE-DIY event last year, so I have my work cut out for me... :g>

[exojam]

Chris,

I will not be able to attend the DIY event but if you ever feel like taking these on another trip I would be interested in hearing another design by Curt.

James

[BeerParty]

I will not be able to attend the DIY event but if you ever feel like taking these on another trip I would be interested in hearing another design by Curt.

I'll be in touch soon, but it won't be until after the 23rd. I'll be lucky to have them ready by then.

[exojam]

Chris,

Not a problem at all. Just when you have some free time.

James

[BeerParty]

T-minus 9 days and counting...

...and I'm in a foul mood. I was sure that I was almost ready to finish these - I even had a plan. Since I had to patch up the non-baffle areas due to the poor quality plywood I used, I was going to paint everything except the baffle and stain the baffle. I even had the stain all picked out.

Then, after patching and sanding them down to 220 grit, I cleaned them up using the shop vac and a clean tack cloth. That is when I saw this:





That is the edge of the baffles; the edge grain of the panels I used pitted badly when I rounded it over. Even a couple of the sides where I was going with the grain have this pitting. At first I though it might have been the router bit, but there are sections that were perfectly smooth that were cut after the pitted areas.

I have just finished patching them up, they will get sanded down tomorrow. Then it's prime for painting, and since the baffles will now be patched, I'm going with paint on all sides:

[PassingInterest]

Dang!
I'm sorry to learn of your tear-out.
Your mind is probably made up about painting, since you've already patched the problem areas.
But if you haven't primed for painting yet, you might still be able to recover from this problem and get back on track. Maybe.
I know you're running out of time, but here goes...

The problem was likely caused by taking too big of a bite.
To avoid this in the future, make 3 passes with your roundover bit, taking off only a little material with each pass. You will reduce the likelihood of tear-out by making shallow passes.

I know you have a bearing on your roundover bit, but if you have any depth adjustment left, you can shave off just a little and it may be enough to remove the damage along with the dried putty--without causing further damage, since it is a shallow cut.

I don't think you have time to experiment with different bits if your current bit has no further depth adjustment left, so my second suggestion would be to do some careful sanding. You still could recover from the tear-out problem that way.

But, they won't look bad if you paint them, either.
In fact, with your eye for detail, I know they will still look great.

[numberoneoppa]

How sharp is your round-over bit?

[BeerParty]

The round-over cuts were made in several passes, with the last one being a very shallow final cut. I actually used a 1/2" round-over to make the initial cuts before switching to the 3/4" bit. That is why I was pissed, I was being super careful so I would have something that would look good stained. The bit is practically brand new, the only other cuts it made were on the MDF of my Statement Monitors (which it cut perfectly). It has to be the material I am using, it couldn't be me, right? :roll:

I have spent the last couple of days patching the pitted areas and sanding. The filler I used looks like it might blend in with the baffle, so I am reconsidering staining it. I figure I can try the stain on the baffles, and if the patches show up I can sand it down and paint over it. After all, it is not like I am on a deadline, right?

[PassingInterest]

It sounds like you did everything right, so yeah, I think the material was the problem.

Remember to use a pre-stain sealer before you stain, to avoid blotchy results.