First Speaker Build
August 10th, 2014, 8:11 pm
So the wife and I have been discussing and looking over countless designs for my first pair of speakers. While I am mechanically inclined and with the right tools, confident in my cabinet building skills, we both decided on going a bit simpler on this first build. This way, I can see if it is going to be something I want to make into a serious hobby, and if not, I am stuck with a nice pair of speakers. Because of this though, it does not make much sense to invest in a quality router, jigs, router bits, etc until after this build so I can really assess how serious I want to get into building my own speakers.
I have found a design I like, and what is great is the designer Paul Carmody has been great in answering questions etc. There is a group online that sells the flatpacks for them. This would be nice as I wouldn't have to worry about cuts and alignments, and instead can focus on the fun of putting them together, building my first crossover network, and doing something nice finish wise.
The only problem is the flatpacks come with blank front baffles. I would need to router the openings for the tweeter and woofer, and roundover the edges for this particular design.
Paul has specific plans online, and it would be easy for me to have everything scribed out on the panels. Where I fall short is the routing part.
Is there anyone in the area good with a router that would be willing to help me out? Would be happy to compensate you of course for your services. If not, if anyone knows of a good woodworking shop in the area that might do it for a reasonable fee. The woofer opening is 5.75" DIA and the tweeter opening is 2.88" DIA.
I have been back and forth on what to do, and while I would definitely like to have something nicer down the road, like the LX Mini and other designs, I think its vital for me to build something first. Hopefully I will come away from it really having a fun time, and be highly motivated to build another.
That's the plan anyway. Am ordering all the parts tomorrow, including the cabinets with blank baffles, so I should have everything by the end of this week. My boss is out of town for the next few weeks so work weeks will be brutal, but I am looking forward to it being a nice weekends project.
Thanks!
Jeff
I have found a design I like, and what is great is the designer Paul Carmody has been great in answering questions etc. There is a group online that sells the flatpacks for them. This would be nice as I wouldn't have to worry about cuts and alignments, and instead can focus on the fun of putting them together, building my first crossover network, and doing something nice finish wise.
The only problem is the flatpacks come with blank front baffles. I would need to router the openings for the tweeter and woofer, and roundover the edges for this particular design.
Paul has specific plans online, and it would be easy for me to have everything scribed out on the panels. Where I fall short is the routing part.
Is there anyone in the area good with a router that would be willing to help me out? Would be happy to compensate you of course for your services. If not, if anyone knows of a good woodworking shop in the area that might do it for a reasonable fee. The woofer opening is 5.75" DIA and the tweeter opening is 2.88" DIA.
I have been back and forth on what to do, and while I would definitely like to have something nicer down the road, like the LX Mini and other designs, I think its vital for me to build something first. Hopefully I will come away from it really having a fun time, and be highly motivated to build another.
That's the plan anyway. Am ordering all the parts tomorrow, including the cabinets with blank baffles, so I should have everything by the end of this week. My boss is out of town for the next few weeks so work weeks will be brutal, but I am looking forward to it being a nice weekends project.
Thanks!
Jeff
Re: First Speaker Build
August 10th, 2014, 8:30 pm
Jeff:
I have a good router and a Jasper Jig to route virtually any sized hole. If you bring the front plates and drivers over I can route the holes for you.
Tom
I have a good router and a Jasper Jig to route virtually any sized hole. If you bring the front plates and drivers over I can route the holes for you.
Tom
Re: First Speaker Build
August 12th, 2014, 7:14 am
Thank you Tom! Really appreciate it. Will reach out once everything is in to plan a time to come down!
Jeff
Jeff
Re: First Speaker Build
August 12th, 2014, 8:36 am
It might make sense to put together a list of tools/skills that exist in the group so we can help each other with projects.
Roscoe: Is there a way this application could handle such a list?
Tom
Roscoe: Is there a way this application could handle such a list?
Tom
Re: First Speaker Build
August 12th, 2014, 9:06 am
I don't know, but we could always setup a sticky thread...
Re: First Speaker Build
August 12th, 2014, 10:19 am
If possible there should be some way to index the items so you could easily find what you are looking for.
Tom
Tom
Re: First Speaker Build
October 7th, 2014, 8:28 am
My apologies for not updating this more frequently. This summer has been a whirlwind with work, family stuff, house stuff, new vehicle and the list goes on. Have been plugging away with these for the past few months. Actually putting the finishing touches on them this week, and should be able to listen to them both by Friday night. For some reason I had not been getting emails from this site- thinking somehow a message got into the junkmail folder or something. Suddenly got one today and looks like we are back in business.
So the speaker I went with is the Core-2Way by Paul Carmody. I ended up going with this as the flatpack was available for it- and I was not up for buying a table saw and other misc equipment for a first build. Also the crossover network was pretty straight forward- so I felt comfortable with that. The designer Paul is readily available via email or on PE so that has been helpful. Lastly was power requirements. While I do intend on making the LX Mini or Pluto down the road- the power requirements and DSP- quickly added up, and would have put me over budget pretty quickly. Of course now that I am nearing the end of this journey, there are things I would do differently. There were simply things I just didn't think of that caused some minor issues. Still pretty proud though, can't lie.
Alright so the Core-2Way. It is a sister project to his Amiga Speaker- which is known as the Boutique Killer. Paul is known to tread lightly in the crossover areas so to not make the speaker so revealing that some lesser quality tracks would sound horrid. Of course there were downsides to this, but I can't always have a FLAC file to listen to, so having something that wouldn't trash lower quality tracks was important. https://sites.google.com/site/undefinition/core-2-way His website offers more detailed information and specs.
So I got the flatpacks from Eric H from diysoundgroup via PE- They offered free shipping and he was busy on other things. Met a guy in Odenton who offered to help router the openings for the tweeter, woofer, and port and it was a lot of fun. Looking back- I would do it differently next time as far as trying to get a bit closer to size of the tweeter. I was worried when installing this week, I was not going to have enough material to screw in to.
Got the cabs glued together per Eric's instructions. No fasteners of any kind were used as all cuts were CNC and dado so the fit was snug. Clamping was a learning experience. I had bought a bunch of clamps that none worked perfectly and then decided ratchet straps and cushions worked much better.
Decided if I was going to get my feet wet- I might as well do the best job I could. All the furniture in the house- save for a couple of things are all antique oak. Some mission era- some more primative- but nearly all oak. Thought a nice quartersawn oak would fit the bill so I ordered a sheet of Paperbacked slip match quartersawn with heavy flake. Was a bit nervous as I had never veneered anything but followed the instructions and took my time. Overall I was incredibly pleased with how it turned out.
Decided on special walnut to get me closer to the color I was looking for. Couple of coats of stain, and then went on to poly. This is where I would do things differently next time. I had some helmsman left over from other projects and decided to use it. It has a good UV protectant in it so I figured no problem. Well spar urethane is a pain in the @#$, and caused a lot of headaches. Ended up with 2 undiluted coats- 5 thinned coats, and then wetsanded with 800. 1000. 1500, cut and buff on top of that. They are as slick as an antique crisscraft now - still see some imperfections and some buildup near edges. I did not realize Helmsman is designed to remain softer- and that made things complicated. All in all though- and from the normal listening distance- I think they look awesome.
Had the baffles painted by a shop after I realized the difficulty in getting a quality matte black finish. There's a story in itself.
Lined the cabs with dampener- installed the crossovers and wired everything up. Binding posts through the back. I ended up placing them wider apart than most as I like having some room between. Port is nothing special- an adjustable from PE.
Listened to the one I have finished last night for a few minutes just to make sure everything was good. Floored at how amazing they sounded. The bass was just perfect for the piano and classical songs I listened too. Never overpowering from either component- nice and smooth.
Am gluing the second baffle on tonight- let it sit for 24 hours and then install the drivers. Should be listening to sweet music Thursday or Friday night.
Attached some pictures below along the way.
So the speaker I went with is the Core-2Way by Paul Carmody. I ended up going with this as the flatpack was available for it- and I was not up for buying a table saw and other misc equipment for a first build. Also the crossover network was pretty straight forward- so I felt comfortable with that. The designer Paul is readily available via email or on PE so that has been helpful. Lastly was power requirements. While I do intend on making the LX Mini or Pluto down the road- the power requirements and DSP- quickly added up, and would have put me over budget pretty quickly. Of course now that I am nearing the end of this journey, there are things I would do differently. There were simply things I just didn't think of that caused some minor issues. Still pretty proud though, can't lie.
Alright so the Core-2Way. It is a sister project to his Amiga Speaker- which is known as the Boutique Killer. Paul is known to tread lightly in the crossover areas so to not make the speaker so revealing that some lesser quality tracks would sound horrid. Of course there were downsides to this, but I can't always have a FLAC file to listen to, so having something that wouldn't trash lower quality tracks was important. https://sites.google.com/site/undefinition/core-2-way His website offers more detailed information and specs.
So I got the flatpacks from Eric H from diysoundgroup via PE- They offered free shipping and he was busy on other things. Met a guy in Odenton who offered to help router the openings for the tweeter, woofer, and port and it was a lot of fun. Looking back- I would do it differently next time as far as trying to get a bit closer to size of the tweeter. I was worried when installing this week, I was not going to have enough material to screw in to.
Got the cabs glued together per Eric's instructions. No fasteners of any kind were used as all cuts were CNC and dado so the fit was snug. Clamping was a learning experience. I had bought a bunch of clamps that none worked perfectly and then decided ratchet straps and cushions worked much better.
Decided if I was going to get my feet wet- I might as well do the best job I could. All the furniture in the house- save for a couple of things are all antique oak. Some mission era- some more primative- but nearly all oak. Thought a nice quartersawn oak would fit the bill so I ordered a sheet of Paperbacked slip match quartersawn with heavy flake. Was a bit nervous as I had never veneered anything but followed the instructions and took my time. Overall I was incredibly pleased with how it turned out.
Decided on special walnut to get me closer to the color I was looking for. Couple of coats of stain, and then went on to poly. This is where I would do things differently next time. I had some helmsman left over from other projects and decided to use it. It has a good UV protectant in it so I figured no problem. Well spar urethane is a pain in the @#$, and caused a lot of headaches. Ended up with 2 undiluted coats- 5 thinned coats, and then wetsanded with 800. 1000. 1500, cut and buff on top of that. They are as slick as an antique crisscraft now - still see some imperfections and some buildup near edges. I did not realize Helmsman is designed to remain softer- and that made things complicated. All in all though- and from the normal listening distance- I think they look awesome.
Had the baffles painted by a shop after I realized the difficulty in getting a quality matte black finish. There's a story in itself.
Lined the cabs with dampener- installed the crossovers and wired everything up. Binding posts through the back. I ended up placing them wider apart than most as I like having some room between. Port is nothing special- an adjustable from PE.
Listened to the one I have finished last night for a few minutes just to make sure everything was good. Floored at how amazing they sounded. The bass was just perfect for the piano and classical songs I listened too. Never overpowering from either component- nice and smooth.
Am gluing the second baffle on tonight- let it sit for 24 hours and then install the drivers. Should be listening to sweet music Thursday or Friday night.
Attached some pictures below along the way.
Re: First Speaker Build
October 7th, 2014, 8:36 am
Picture of the crossover. Took me having to completely disassemble the first one I made. Tried to do the connections on underside for a more professional look, but getting the connections right doing that was very difficult for me. Then it dawned on my that this would be on the inside of the cab so why care about its look? It was great duh moment
The painted front baffle- They built too much paint on the recess so I had to chisel down to get the depth I needed. This is one that I am gluing on tonight. I ordered some black india ink to dye the MDF ring so I don't see bare MDF around the woofer.
Re: First Speaker Build
October 7th, 2014, 8:41 am
The complete veneered cab, with dampener, port and posts installed.
Another pic of the back
This last picture was just before installing the drivers. Took my time drilling the holes and tested thoroughly on scrap MDF before screwing in. Also ran the screw threads on a bar of soap before installing per a tip I was given. Think it made a difference as even when 1/8 inch from the edge on the tweeter- I got no cracking of any kind. Was nerve racking for sure.
- This pic also shows the veneer now wetsanded buffed and polished.
Another pic of the back
This last picture was just before installing the drivers. Took my time drilling the holes and tested thoroughly on scrap MDF before screwing in. Also ran the screw threads on a bar of soap before installing per a tip I was given. Think it made a difference as even when 1/8 inch from the edge on the tweeter- I got no cracking of any kind. Was nerve racking for sure.
Re: First Speaker Build
October 7th, 2014, 8:43 am
And last but not least- the pic of the completed speaker I finished last night. Not the greatest of pics, got a new phone and didn't know the settings just yet, but will take a better one tonight. Pretty floored with how it turned out and sounded. Not to the same level as a Salk speaker by any stretch of the imagination. But sound wise I would put it up against a Totem any day of the week.