# Mission Accomplished!



## shops2k (Jan 31, 2009)

As previously posted in Another newbie,I embarked on a winter project to maintain my sanity during what seemed to be an unusually long winter. I wanted to build a pair of front speakers for my home theater system. I wanted a pair of speakers that would be good for listening to 2 channel music and also had to be visually appealing to my better half of 24yrs.Additional pictures of the build can been see in "Another newbie" thread.
Concept,







Layout,







Installed arborite(plastic laminate) on the fronts and prepped the cabinets for the 3/4" solid cherry sides.







Laminating process,







Rough after glue-up,







Sides and top after initial sanding,







Finishing the feet,







Stained with the feet attached,







Prepping the grills,







Showing the backs,







Spraying the finish, 2 coats of sealer, 3 coats lacquer,







The finished pair,







With the grill cloth,







Finally back at home,







Mission Accomplished,








I hope I posted enough pictures of the process...Mark
Pssst...golfing is just around the corner:yay:
For Information on the drivers and other photos http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/diy-speakers/16395-another-newbie.html


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## Mike P. (Apr 6, 2007)

Awesome looking speakers!


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## robbo266317 (Sep 22, 2008)

I cannot see it in the picture, did you kerf the sides to bend them?
A very nice job you have done.


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## shops2k (Jan 31, 2009)

No Robbo, I glued-up the sides just like the stave's of a barrel. Each piece of cherry was about an 1 5/8" wide with a bevel of around 4*. When you clamp them they just want to close on the radius. The radius of the side is 24".


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## shops2k (Jan 31, 2009)

BTW, Thank you guys for the compliments on the speakers. They really were a labor of love. I really enjoy the woodworking aspect now that I don't do it for a living. What surprised me was how much there is to know about building speakers. Now the challenge is to convince the wife to upgrade all the surround speakers.:spend:


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## JCD (Apr 20, 2006)

OOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!! I must NOT be jealous!! :hissyfit: :drool:

Awesome work on those cabinents. That's just.. really really really good! :hail::hail::wow:

Next step is to post some REW charts.. addle:rder:addle:

And then, a trip to Northern California..


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## jvcustom (Mar 17, 2009)

wow! very nice!


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## fbov (Aug 28, 2008)

Not to throw a damper on what is clearly a beautifully executed design, but I have to ask, did you fill the sides?

I'm seeing curved spacers between what I assume is an MDF inner box and the cherry outer side panels (3rd photo). These cavities present a great opportunity for damping enclosure resonances, or if empty, a great opportunity to create a bunch of new ones. If you don't hear anything untoward in loud, low frequency sweeps, I'd leave them alone. If you hear resonances, I'll suggest an injection of self-expanding foam to fill the cavity and damp any resonances.

Beautifully executed, otherwise!
Frank


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## shops2k (Jan 31, 2009)

In response to the question of the space behind the solid cherry and the mdf, I was told that because of the curved surface and the flat surface opposing each other no standing waves of consequence could be produced. I was also told that because of the minuscule area involved if there was something produced a bee fart would sound like a fog horn in comparison. I honestly don't know because I don't know if I will ever get the chance to really let them out at really high volumes. I really haven't heard any difference since testing them when they were just square tuned boxes. I know the sides built this way are much more rigid and massive( heavy ). Maybe that is a question for the experts on this forum to discuss.

Mark:scratchhead:


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## robbo266317 (Sep 22, 2008)

With the internal bracing and the external moulding strips they are attached to It's unlikely to be a problem.


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## jeremy7 (Feb 7, 2008)

great build!

thanks for all the pictures.


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## ripcard (Sep 30, 2008)

Gorgeous cabinets Mark. You should feel a little better with the weather now. It was beautiful today. Compared to last year this March has been a lamb.


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## maxserg (Dec 11, 2008)

Superb work!

2 questions

1- How did you glued your laminate to get that shape? I love the way it looks! If I had to make an enclosure for mains and center chanel this should be the WAY to do it!

2- Why so much spacing between the speakers components, they seem to be far apart? Have reasons for that(Xover points, listening distance, baffle step compensation network, imaging, dispersion)

Thanks for your reply and congrat for your finished work!


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## shops2k (Jan 31, 2009)

Thanks guys for the compliments on the cabinets. 
Maxserg asked


> How did you glued your laminate to get that shape?


You build the sides out of small pieces 3/4"X1 5/8" with a small bevel to the edges like building a barrel as you clamp it across the width it naturally wants to curve downward towards the surface of the cabinet. Then it is just a matter of planning, scraping, and sanding to finish.
Maxserg asked


> Why so much spacing between the speakers components


The software WinISD determined the interior volume for the twin woofers to have a tuned cabinet, volume of internal bracing,a sealed enclosure for the midrange and tweeter, plus I didn't want a cabinet to be too deep determined the height. I figured why squish them all together on the front baffle.
Crossover points are 600 and 5000hz,6/ 6/ 12 slope per octave low mid high.(pre-fab crossover by Phillips)
I have no equipment for measurements other than my ears(they might be questionable) and what others have said so far. 
Ripcard...Thanks, I am feeling much better now(that flu hit me hard and I had a flu shot..go figure) Like you said there is a lot less snow to get rid of this year, I even heard that Mapleview golf in Perth might open in another week :yay2::yes::yay2:
Thanks again for the nice comments, Its nice to hear when you put so much time into something.

Mark


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## fbov (Aug 28, 2008)

shops2k said:


> In response to the question of the space behind the solid cherry and the mdf, I was told that because of the curved surface and the flat surface opposing each other no standing waves of consequence could be produced. I was also told that because of the minuscule area involved if there was something produced a bee fart would sound like a fog horn in comparison. I honestly don't know because I don't know if I will ever get the chance to really let them out at really high volumes. I really haven't heard any difference since testing them when they were just square tuned boxes. I know the sides built this way are much more rigid and massive( heavy ). Maybe that is a question for the experts on this forum to discuss.
> 
> Mark:scratchhead:


You and robbo are right that this is far more bracing than in most DIY, and probably all but the best commercial speakers. Whenever I see a double wall design, I also see an opportunity for a constraint layer damping system. Dead boxes seem an obvious advantage, but I can't claim any objective results. That said, the flat surfaces most DIYers eliminate through curved sides are the internal surfaces, to prevent standing waves inside the box. It took me a bit to understand what you were doing. 

My comments aren't really fair, since the project is done and the results are beautiful and their sound pleases you. My apologies for addressing a non-problem.

Have fun,
Frank


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## Anthony (Oct 5, 2006)

Very nice woodworking there. Those turned out great!


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## ktaillon (Apr 3, 2007)

My jaw is on the floor!!!! Nice job... I bet your happy..

How long did it take to accomplish?


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## shops2k (Jan 31, 2009)

Thanks Ken,
As I said it was a labor of love. There is probably somewhere in the range of around 60 hrs around 5 weekends and a few evenings and that doesn't include the months researching DIY on the web and reading a thousand or so posts all before starting anything. It's hard to put straight time in on something like this with 2 teenage kids and a wife always wanting to go somewhere. But you know when I sit down and listen to and old Pink Floyd song or some finger picking by Mark Knopfler and see what a person can create, the sweat equity is worth it.

Mark:bigsmile:


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## johngalt47 (Oct 10, 2008)

What did you stain them with?


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## stnick (Mar 20, 2009)

Well Mark , you have spent a long time on this , but I hate to say I've seen better , and heard better too. but it's a good first try.


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## stnick (Mar 20, 2009)

stnick said:


> Well Mark , you have spent a long time on this , but I hate to say I've seen better , and heard better too. but it's a good first try.


When I heard and saw the unfinnished speakers while my brother was testing them.
they were lovely both to look at and hear. he's not just a great cabnetmaker, or furniture maker but is truly an artist


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## shops2k (Jan 31, 2009)

johngalt47 asked


> What did you stain them with?


The answer to that is not so easy, I mixed a little of varathane premium gel stain 
COLOR:224499 - Traditional Cherry with a little
COLOR:224503 - Dark Walnut 
then added a little red oxide universal tint for lacquer and voila...I hope that helps? It's probably the closest to traditional cherry.:yes:


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## shops2k (Jan 31, 2009)

Nick wrote


> Well Mark , you have spent a long time on this , but I hate to say I've seen better , and heard better too. but it's a good first try.


I was wondering what that was about??:scratchhead:
Then Nick wrote


> When I heard and saw the unfinnished speakers while my brother was testing them.
> they were lovely both to look at and hear. he's not just a great cabnetmaker, or furniture maker but is truly an artist


Thanks for the compliment little brother. I guess the first post was trying to get a reaction out of me?:huh:


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## keelay (Dec 11, 2008)

Wow. Very nice work. I love the curved edges. That is really a nice touch. The whole project is top notch. I image your wife is pleased?

- Kyle


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

Ummmmmmmm... :clap:

Beautiful work Mark. I LOVE the curved sides and the way you beveled them in to the baffle. I wish I had seen this before I built my last little sub, and I would have tried your technique on the top. I wanted 1 curved panel, and I experimented a bit with bending ply, but nothing worked really right. Any chance you have some closeup shots or more detail of the sides? Either process or the finished result... they really look fabulous. If I ever decide to build a pair of bookshelves for our new dining room or something, I might just have to make a mini-clone. 

P.S. I've golfed at Mapleview, but we usually end up at Blue Heron while I'm out camping in that area every summer.

Edit for more questions... what is that on the back, above the binding posts?


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## shops2k (Jan 31, 2009)

Thanks Kyle, my wife loves them. Amazingly so do the kids( I think dad surprised them with his capabilities ):yes:
Owen I sent you a few more pics in higher resolution that I think might help.

Mark


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

Thanks Mark, those were perfect. they're going in the "future project ideas" folder.


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## shops2k (Jan 31, 2009)

Owen asked


> what is that on the back, above the binding posts?


They are L pads for adjusting the tweeter and midrange spkrs, I was worried they might overpower the woofers. http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=260-240Parts express


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## lcrooks (Jun 25, 2008)

These are truly spectacular. Kudos. Made the mistake of letting my better half see them. :foottap:


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## waldo563 (Apr 26, 2009)

Awesome workmanship! It is obvious that you take great pride in your craft. I wish I had your woodworking skill and patience. One question...did you consider making the curved sides as part of the enclosure volume and discard the idea in favor of straight sides? Just wondering because it would seem to significantly increase the build difficulty. Hats off to you.


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## Rodny Alvarez (Apr 25, 2006)

Very NICE Mark!!!!!!!!!!!


:T:TExcellent job!!


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## shops2k (Jan 31, 2009)

Thank you Rodney and Lester for the kind compliments. I've been enjoying them for a little while now and every time I listen to them I have a hard time believing I designed and built these. We absolutely love them.:thankyou:
Lester. to answer your question:


> did you consider making the curved sides as part of the enclosure volume and discard the idea in favor of straight sides? Just wondering because it would seem to significantly increase the build difficulty


It was much easier to design as square boxes and then wrap them.


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## digital desire (Dec 17, 2006)

Very, very impressive!

What drivers were used, and design of crossover?


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## FNG212 (May 31, 2009)

DD just beat me to my question. Do you have a parts list for the drivers and crossover? You mentioned a pre-fab crossover, is it adjustable at all? Have you been able to take any REW data? I've got a bug for new 3-way fronts for my HT and I really like your design. How well does that 600Hz crossover work for low instruments like percussion and low strings? Would you recommend a lower crossover, maybe 400Hz?


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## windforce2009 (Feb 14, 2009)

Those are very beautiful speakers. I love cherry color stained wood. The rounded edge is very pleasing. I showed them to my wife and she says when I build my next pair I should do something like that. )


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## keelay (Dec 11, 2008)

A compliment to you! Sounds like your wife has some confidence in you. Maybe you could let us all in on your methods.  I too would love to make something very unique showing some awesome craftsmanship like this.

Kyle


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## Fabricator (Apr 19, 2009)

( i didn't read this whole thread)

great build ! 

looking that those setting on the cans = :scary:
i hope they didn't fall over.


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## shops2k (Jan 31, 2009)

Hi Guys, been away from the forum for a while and didn't get any notices of posts for a while. The answer to DD's and FNG212's questions Here is a link to the first post of "another newbie" which has all the detailshttp://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/diy-speakers/16395-another-newbie.html To answer Fabricator, nothing really seems to budge these, they weigh in at around 80lbs. each. And Kyle I've seen your home theater setup it looks fabulous. It has to be the best use of anything made by IKEA, and I bet it sounds spectacular. As for any special techniques...I guess I just rely on my years as a cabinetmaker when I worked for one of the oldest woodworking companies here in Ottawa(who has now closed their doors) I had a lot of good teachers who were real craftsmen. I guess a little has rubbed off...Mark


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## mgrabow (Dec 24, 2009)

Nice job. Kind of retro looking...I like the grills on...


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