# Trompie`s Curved "Statement Family" Building thread.



## trompie (Aug 18, 2011)

My speaker building project.

About 12 years back a bought some ******** tree planks that was cut from huge old trees (older then a 100 years according to town folks that know some of their history). The piece of land was bought for the development of an church so some of them were cut down and processed into planks.

At that time I didn't had any plans for them so now 12 years later I decided it was time to use some of them in my speaker project.

Fortunately for me my wife had no objection to the size of the Statement speakers. I however had to modify my home to accommodate the speakers so a few walls had to go (they were kind of a nuisance anyway) coupled with some other alterations.

This was my first speaker project.The build took me about 2 months to complete for the set of five. I worked 95% of the time alone with some occasional help from my wife/twin brother and friends.
I spend quite some time in designing and building jigs so that I was able to do most of the work alone.

The Statements way in at 80 kg each (176 pounds) and the Minis are 41 kg (90 pounds) each

I still need to make a dedicated/matching stand/cabinet for the TV and other equipment so the TV on top of the center is only temporarily.

Most of the pick`s were taken wit my cell phones camera so I do apologize for the poor quality in advance.
I also would like to mention that I`m not fluent in English and that some of the words might not have the meaning that I intended.


I am very proud to show you my "Statement family".


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## trompie (Aug 18, 2011)

*Trompie`s Curved "Statement Family".*










MiniStatements used as surrounds.










Some picks without drivers


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## trompie (Aug 18, 2011)

*Some more picks in progress.*





































Good picture to get an idea of the design of my Statements.The look that I was after.Curved on the sides and top.


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## trompie (Aug 18, 2011)

*and some more picks of the center speaker.*

View from top without the front baffle.









crossovers ready for placement.









view through back port









Almost finished as I still need to add the feet's that lay on top of the speaker.


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## trompie (Aug 18, 2011)

*and some more pics.*




























Back view of one of the Statements









A view trough the Statements lower woofer before damping material.


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## trompie (Aug 18, 2011)

*some more picks of the Mini`s and Magnet placement*

The reason why you would see more picks of the Mini`s s is because they are MUCH easier to handle (alone) then the full size Statements.
The Statements way in at 80 kg each (176 pounds) and the Minis at 41 kg (90 pounds) each.



















Pic of the feet that a friend made for me that can adjust individually if needed for level placement of the speakers. Its made out of an aluminum rod.










Magnet placement for holding the covers (that I still need to design and make).

I have taken the idea a little further then only on the front of the baffles and added some magnets to the side of each speaker as well to hold the covers in place when I remove them. The center speakers magnets are on top. 

It`s kind of difficult to see the front magnets on this pics.


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## trompie (Aug 18, 2011)

*My top jig.*

Here are some of the jigs that I made and used. This is what I came up all on my own so I hope to inspire some of you to consider a curved speaker build. Please do ask questions if you would like to know more.

The jigs helped me to achieve the "curved" shape that I had in mind.




























Thanks to my uncle for his orbital sander that did a excellent job.










This jig help with the cutting inside the speaker panel/side for the bracings and tops to fit nicely.


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## trompie (Aug 18, 2011)

*My top jig.*

This is how I made my tops and the jig that I used.

I used a jig saw to get close to the shape that I wanted and then I used my router and jig to do it more precise.




































One of the MiniStatements top in progress.


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## trompie (Aug 18, 2011)

*Some of the tools that I used.*

Below is some of the tools that I used. Some of theme are my own and some was lend to my by family members.

My brothers Radial arm saw.









My home made router table that I made for this project.









My old wood planer and in the background some of the planks that were going to be used.


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## Mauritzvw (Sep 19, 2010)

Beautifully crafted Trompie!


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## jinjuku (Mar 23, 2007)

Wow. The Craftsmanship is just top notch. I'm just happy my 45's line up:rofl:


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## robbo266317 (Sep 22, 2008)

The finish highlights the character of the timber very nicely. You must be very pleased with the results.
On a side note, have you made allowance for the timber movement from season to season?

All the best,
Bill.


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## trompie (Aug 18, 2011)

Thanks for the good comments guys. I real do appreciate it very much.

The idea was to share my construction technique/jigs in the hope that someone would be able to pick up a tip or two.

@Bill 
Here in South Africa we have mostly dry weather (I live deep inland) and since they are indoors they would not be prone to extreme climate/temperature changes.
I did try to seal the wood on both sides equally to prevent unnecessary moisture from entering/escaping the wood(not sure if this is the correct words to use though).
I also braced the side panels heavily as I were aware of the potential timber movement.
It is an extremely hard and dens type of wood that was in storage for about twelve years and there is currently no signs of any type of cracks/movements visible on the speakers.
I believe that if they are maintained and looked after properly that they would not show any defects for years to come.

I want to thank you for pointing this out as it could have easily been something that someone may not have been aware off when using real timber.


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## robbo266317 (Sep 22, 2008)

trompie said:


> I did try to seal the wood on both sides equally to prevent unnecessary moisture from entering/escaping the wood(not sure if this is the correct words to use though).


Sealing it both sides was a good idea as you are correct that it is the uptake and the loss of moisture which makes the wood change size.
I really like the jigs you made, simple yet effective and again the finish you have achieved really does justice to such beautiful timber.

Cheers,
Bill.


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## trompie (Aug 18, 2011)

*Here is an update on how they sound.*

I started this tread not to show of my work but I truly wanted to try and inspire/motivate someone to consider/making their own curved speaker builds. So this is why I tried to show people what I did and how it was achieved.
I belief that given the right tools (and patience  ) most of you are are capable enough to build speakers as good and even better then mine.

Please feel free to ask me any questions related to my build/project/jigs if you think I might be able to help in your build.


So how do they sound. This is a difficult one for me to answer/explain so lets try ... and this of course is according to me and my ears and goes for the whole "family".


They sound : 

"true" I`m referring to the quality of the recording you use. Great recording = Excellent sound and listening experience.

"open" and "Wide" with "depth". I can rely hear that mids come to live, it must be the fact that they play through the speaker boxes. They have the ability to let me place the singer/s and instrument/s more precise. I can literally hear the one singer standing next to the other one and sing. That was rely weird in the beginning. Choirs sound unusually good when they fill the whole room behind and sometimes even in front of the singer/s. The sound not only have a left and right positioning but now they have an near,far and almost hight dimension as well. I was definitely not used to that. I sometimes do my listening in a dark room and I know its physically imposable for that sound/person to play/sing from where it currently is coming from. They have the extra ordinary capability of literally breaking through my rooms dimensions. The vocals/instruments its just there it doesn't sounds like if they were being generated by my speakers. 

"Detailed" as I`f heard sounds in songs that I know I new very well and didn't picked that up before. That goes from bass level up to the high notes. I kind of expected this to happen as I have read reviews of some of the guys who have build them.

The bass is (though some people could never get enough :devil: ).... AMAZING. I relay did not see that coming, that being said nor did any of my friends or family. It sounds very "controlled" from low levels up to high levels of volume. It was and still is weird as in the beginning I played some songs that I knew, and thought to myself "Now why would I like some more bass" and then I plaid some more songs and go "Were does THAT bass came from and then it hit me I`m comparing them to my previous speakers and the songs I have last listen on the old ones, that now sounds so....... "boxy" and "unrealistic".
The Statements only produce the correct/required bass when needed. In that department they are absolutely brilliant. They rely perform flawless. It`s just there ALL around you in the room.

When my friends asked me how they're sounding now that I`m supposed to be use to them, they say" don't even bother to answer because that smile says it all".

To me they sound mesmerizing, kind of TOO Good and when I listen to them they simply Demand Respect.

I would like to give credit to Jim,Curt and Wayne and everyone els that may have been involved in the development of the designs.

Thanks.
Trompie

I will soon post more details/picks of the jig and how it works with different arches and how I used it.

Link to Curt`s speaker page for more technical detail.
http://www.speakerdesignworks.com/index_page_2.html


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## tesseract (Aug 9, 2010)

Trompie, your speakers are so beautiful and based upon proven designs. Good work and an inspiration to us all. Worthy of the dancing banana. :dancebanana:

Please tell us more. :reading:


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## trompie (Aug 18, 2011)

*Arches for the sides and tops of the Speakers*

Thanks for the nice compliment tesseract. It`s much appreciated.

Here are some more picks about the arches that I made for the side/top panels of my Statements. Pleas note that two of each were made. All the sides and tops on all the speakers have the same curves.

This picks is not of the actual build itself but rather a few that I put together to give a better idea of the thoughts that I had on how to achieve my goal.

The first pick is about the" curve shape" that I wanted. I kept in mind the thickness of the final planks/product and worked around that as a guideline. No special formulas were used, I used the shape that kind of looked good to me at that time.










This is the "Gluing" arch made according to the curve shape that I wanted. None of the edges on these were routed for the rollers as the router would not be used on them.










a pick to show how it followed the planed curve shape.










.... and some picks to show how it was used.
The planks that I used were first put through my old wood planer to get the correct thickness and the correct angle on the sides for easy gluing. Keep in mind that the planks in this picks is only for demonstration purpose and are not correctly prepared. The g-clamps is also a quick fix as the arches were actually bolted to the steel frame.










and when the glue dried the sides was close the curved shape that I wanted.


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## trompie (Aug 18, 2011)

*Roller arches "outside"*

The arches that would be used with the router were routed so that the wheels would follow the "rails" more easily. I applied some wood glue on the "rails" to try and keep them from degrading to fast by the wheels of the router jig.









Pick of the "outside" arch.









"outside" arch on top of the curved shape board.









The RED lines indicate where the router bit would cut and were the router jig wheels will be running on the rails of the arch. The lines runs parallel to each other. The red line on the board (which is the outside of our speaker panel) WILL determine the shape of the arch. Keep in mind the length of the router bit and length it is sticking out of the router as it will have an influence on the arch as well.


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## trompie (Aug 18, 2011)

*Roller arches "inside"*

Pick of the "outside and inside" arch on the board.









The green line on the board ( in the middle of the two arches) determine how the inside arch`s curve would finally look and also where the router wheels would need to run in order for the router to achieve the shape required. Again note that the lines runs parallel to each other and keep in mind the length of the router bit and length it is sticking out of the router as it will also have an influence on the arch. If not done correctly then the thickness of the speaker panel would be incorrect/uneven.


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## robbo266317 (Sep 22, 2008)

Thanks for the pics Trompie. 
Hopefully this will inspire others to be a bit more adventurous when they are designing their next speaker build.
The tip about using glue to harden the edges of the curve is one that is essential when using mdf panels as guides for a router otherwise they deform and give inconsistent results.

Cheers,
Bill..


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

Really nice work Trompie. The wood and the finish are beautiful, and the curves really stand out. I especially like how you integrated the curved top with the curved sides, that can't have been easy. Thanks for posting your behind the scenes look at the process, too, I'd love to see some projects inspired by yours.


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## Michigan_Man (Jan 22, 2011)

Stunning!


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## Wildcard26 (May 22, 2007)

WOW!...It's been a while since I have seen a project that took my breath away. Ecellent job!


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