Wayne Parham Messages: 18793 Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)
Your build is lookin' great!
I like the ring you've used to add "meat" behind the woofer for mounting screws. We do the exact same thing. It adds thickness where it's needed and eliminates the need for a double baffle. These speakers are heavy enough.
We do the same thing around the waveguide, which I think answers your question about that.
You could use wood screws to mount the drivers, sure. But I wouldn't. It isn't much more trouble to use T-Nuts and they provide much more clamping force without stripping. Not that you need much clamping force - 10 foot/pounds per screw is plenty - but still, the metal threads are much stronger and long-lasting.
You can add bracing if you want, but it's really only needed between the baffle and back. The rest of the panels are small enough to shift panel resonance way out of the passband. We tie the sides together at the same place - between woofer and tweeter - which is overkill but serves to provide a "perch" for the insulation that spans the cabinet interior. That's what is really important, to span the cross-section with insulation separating the midwoofer and the port. It prevents midrange from entering the port, but bass passes right through. That's its function.
As for gasket material, you could probably use your wax strips. I don't know - never used them - but the gaskets in vented loudspeakers aren't stressed so most anything that makes a decent gasket will work in this application. Almost any flat non-corrugated cardboard material is fine for a gasket. I like 40 mil PVC material, commonly used for making shower pans.