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Although it's not the greatest day here in lovely NW NJ -- very windy -- I ventured down to the garage/igloo to resume construction of my Studio 2 Towers. I've decided on overkill: double front baffles (1 1/2" total)and four windowpane (if that's the right term) braces per cabinet: one between the tweeter and woofer, and three more between the woofer and the 5" round port (thanks, Wayne!), which I'm placing on the front. The maximum space between any two braces is about 10". Because the braces are the same size as the cabinet tops and bottoms, I cut them at the same time and with the same fence settings on my trusty Ryobi BT3100, which I love. I'm happy to report that they fit perfectly. I have no idea whether it will make an audible difference, but I rounded over the interior brace edges to make sure there were no sharp projections. Come to think of it, maybe I'll round over the inside edges of the driver cutouts. Am I crazy? Any other tips/suggestions? Can you believe it -- I've run out a glue! What a pain. Some pictures of the construction process to date are at the link below. Studio 2 Tower Construction Pix
Re: Updated Studio 2 Tower Construction Pix
Looks like they're coming right along! Are you planning to route the baffles for flush mount drivers?
Wayne, Absolutely, both drivers will be flush mounted. Thanks again for your help.
If not patented, I will use on my project... Nice job.
Sounds like your speakers are going to look absolutely gorgeous. Thanks for continuing to show your progress with the photo updates.
I'm sure I came across the idea on someone's web site, just can't remember whose. What I like about it is that it's virtually foolproof, provided you cut the braces at the same time as, and with the same settings used for, the top and bottom of the box. Studio Two Tower Construction Pix
. Which of course I borrowed from someone else...........
I'm getting soft in my old age. It was too cold Sunday to do much, but I glued in the braces, stapled in the insulation and biscuited, glued and clamped on one of the "inner" front baffles. I've posted some additional pictures of these steps. I've decided I'm going to try something new (for me) for the outer front baffles: a piece of MDF, veneered, with outer 1" - 2" edges of solid hardwood, rounded over, all around. That way, I won't have to veneer the roundovers, which has caused me problems before. I don't have a jointer, but I'm hoping my Ryobi BT3100 will give me clean enough cuts that I'll be able to biscuit the edges to the MDF cleanly. Now, if only it would stop snowing (!) and warm up! Studio 2 Tower Construction Pix
There's nothing like a perfect box, is there? The cuts and joinery look flawless. What's the ETA? Where does the tweeter go? Various Stuff
12" Titanic sub which is on the chopping block as Wayne has provided me with the 60"X19.5X19.5 design that will make it FLAT TO 16HZ!!!!!!! Oh Yeah! My Stupid Website
That is one sweet subwoofer.
Man, you've made a lot of cool speakers. I like your Straight 8's and your four π's. Classy looking. And those single driver speakers look like they're probably pretty nice sounding too, 'specially with the Welbourne amps. I like the Antique Electronics K502 amp too. It's probably a little more sensitive to its load, but very satisfying and nice sounding. As an aside, did you see the tubes4HiFi EL34 kit that manualblock was talking about? He sent me some photos and it looks like a great deal. I'm going to post them on a image hosting site in the morning, so watch for his posts in the tubes forum and/or here.
You're gonna hate me for telling you this: It's been above 60o here in Tulsa for over a week.
that you were the famous Bill Epstein. I've followed your posts and visited your site for a long time. Your stuff is amazing, and your tips on techniques and materials have been incredibly helpful.
Ya mite try veneering the MDF and then joining the solid piece leaving it (the solid) slightly thicker than the MDF. Then sand the solid down to meet the veneer. Alternatively, leave a reveal between the veneer and solid with a V-Groove or Core Box bit or even just chamfer with a block plane to accentuate the joint rather than trying to hide it.