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I thought that the vanes I carved out last weekend were pretty good, until I snooped further at LansingHeritage and saw samples of horn projects by those guys. They're nuts and I was seriously humbled by their level of craftsmanship. But like they say, "When in Rome..." I will not be out-analed. One piece of info I took away was that the vanes are actually sweeps of 25 1/4" radius arcs. This gave me an idea for a new approach to carve the vanes. Build myself a new jig based on a 25 1/4" radius circle jig. Instead of trying to cut 1.5" of material at once with a template and laminate router bit, this jig allowed me to make multiple passes with a straight plunge bit. Much faster and easier! And the vanes turned out smooth and razor-sharp. The outer surface isn't finished yet, but the horns were assembled and functioning. Not going to say much about the sound yet. We all know that all audio component requires break-in (kidding). The crossover was built for the 2380A horns I haven't adjusted the the L-pad components yet. First impression is that the smith horn sounds smoother with less "bite" than the 2380A. Then again, it could be the crossover. The new horns do however have a much wider sweetspot. With the 2380A, I was limited to one spot on the couch. With these horns, I can sit anywhere on the couch. Unfortunately, you have to be sitting. Vertical dispersion sucks. Stand up and you notice a change in sound. more to come ... Gar. More 2397 Project Photos. New photos start at #10.
Maniac, I say. Is that Poplar, the vanes? Poinz
Yes, poplar. Used it because it was cheap and workable. Originally used stacked baltic birch plywood, but was a pain to cut through.
Good God man, nice work, forget the guys that do it full time all the time. Great looking horns and I am sure you will nail down the dispertion Tim
Truly excellent Gar. But I don't know about the part about being in Rome and out-analed.
Odd. I have had, in my other life as a construction animal, to mill poplar, as doors (which had to be modified) were made of it. Tough, leathery, dense, warped out of the cut like crazy, high feed pressure, hell on blades. I asked because I couldn't figure out why anybody would use the stuff for a machining-intensive application on purpose. I wonder if the high ambient humidity around here has something to do with it. Poinz
"Workability" is relative. Compared to the stacked baltic ply for my first attempt, the poplar was very easy to carve. I thought of using MDF but did not want to deal with the dust. All other wood types were too expensive for this project so I ended up using the poplar by default. This attempt was my "mock-up" to see if I like the sound. All signs are pointing in that direction, so when I re-do this later this summer, I'll be opening the wallet for solid maple or cherry. gar.
Cherry is lovely; very workable, takes a nice detail, terrific medium color, finishes up easily, stable. Maple has all the above virtues except that it's a lot harder, more problematic to machine. When you're down at the hardwood guy's place, ask him to show you some African Mahogany, and some Jarrah. He may not have both, or either, but I bet he does; and they're becoming two of my faves. You want to know more about them, ask. Aloha, Poinz