DIY Speaker Building, Repairing, & Upgrading

[Beerserker]

Just between you and me...

The irregular shape of the pineapple kills standing waves inside the box, giving the sound the sweet and tangy flavor of the islands.

[Animo]

Beerserker,

You, are me, 11 years ago.
Some similarities......
design and cut MDF to sketch. pick out and buy the best possible drivers available for the money....set up work table and saw rails. cut circles without a circle jig or router, and finally, like you, no dust management system.

Some differences.....
designed and built crossover from scratch.

Mounted one of the 2 woofers inverted into the cabinet, with the use of 12 precisely cut and glued staves......


The result is I ended up with a speaker that compares to high end brands, costing almost 10 times what I spent. That's not just my opinion, but the opinion from several audiophiles that have heard them and have more experience in the hobby than myself. I really gloat when people come over and ask what brand is it, and they are amazed when they find out the truth.
I look forward to watching your project progress.

[Beerserker]

Thank you Animo, but you give me too much credit there. I would be lost without my router and circle jig. I have almost no wood working skills at all and need all the help I can get in the form of tools to make the task easier. And I lack the patience to learn crossover design, there are so many good existing documented builds out there that it is so much easier just to pick one and copy it with your own touches.

My background is all in building and racing cars and motorcycles, so I am good with metal, body and paint, blow torches, pistons and greasy filthy things. My prior carpentry experience before speaker building was in the 7th grade wood shop. I built a birdhouse that no self-respecting bird ever sank so low as to live in.

Despite all this I must battle on! For my pride as a man I refuse to pay exorbitant amounts of money for powerful reference quality sound when I know I am capable of doing it myself. You understand this and are rightfully proud of your creations.

11 years is a long time my friend. When do you plan to answer the call to arms again?

[Animo]

Originally Posted by Beerserker

Thank you Animo, but you give me too much credit there. I would be lost without my router and circle jig. I have almost no wood working skills at all and need all the help I can get in the form of tools to make the task easier. And I lack the patience to learn crossover design, there are so many good existing documented builds out there that it is so much easier just to pick one and copy it with your own touches.

My background is all in building and racing cars and motorcycles, so I am good with metal, body and paint, blow torches, pistons and greasy filthy things. My prior carpentry experience before speaker building was in the 7th grade wood shop. I built a birdhouse that no self-respecting bird ever sank so low as to live in.

Despite all this I must battle on! For my pride as a man I refuse to pay exorbitant amounts of money for powerful reference quality sound when I know I am capable of doing it myself. You understand this and are rightfully proud of your creations.

11 years is a long time my friend. When do you plan to answer the call to arms again?

I'm not that skilled. Couldn't have done anything without a lot of help from my best friend. We had sent out one side to a friend in California, at Aura Acoustics (Jeoffry Dillon), to analyze and design the crossover. Then when it shipped back, we bought all the crossover parts and followed his schematics. I'm also into cars and boats and motorized things. As far as taking up the call to arms, check out the"easy route" I took and completed this past summer........

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=111277

[Beerserker]

Originally Posted by Animo

I'm not that skilled. Couldn't have done anything without a lot of help from my best friend. We had sent out one side to a friend in California, at Aura Acoustics (Jeoffry Dillon), to analyze and design the crossover. Then when it shipped back, we bought all the crossover parts and followed his schematics. I'm also into cars and boats and motorized things. As far as taking up the call to arms, check out the"easy route" I took and completed this past summer........

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=111277

Ah yes. I looked at that ED Kit a few months ago as I was searching for sub build ideas. It was among the ones I was considering, but I am choosing a different route. Still I can appreciate that sub for the beast that it is. Nice work!

[kareface]

Oh snaps, I didn't notice this thread before. How goes it fellow DIYers. I finished today putting on the last coat of paint on the speakers I've been working on for a couple months. Spent over 18hrs sanding different coats of primer and paint over the last week. Gotta wait 2 months before I can begin the polishing process. 8(

The speakers turned out really well tho, I was ecstatic once I pulled the tape off and got a look at the final product.





Rest of the build images are in the gallery, too lazy to post them all, lol.

[Beerserker]

They look sharp. What wood is the front baffle, looks like maybe red oak? That stain is very vibrant in any case.

People are always amazed at the amount of sanding a good painted finish takes, but quality takes patience and effort as I'm sure you know. Your speakers are going to look killer!

[kareface]

It's just normal oak you can get from home depot. In my gallery you can see the oak is just a normal white before I start. Hard to tell it apart from the MDF. I spent a lot of effort mixing stain colors and I found a really good place to get very vibrant stains to use. The sanding takes SOOOO long, lol. However, I can't wait till I can finish it up. This is the finish I'm aiming for once I can polish it up. I have 2000p sand paper, cutting fluid and grade A car polish ready for once the paint cures.

[Animo]

Looking real good. I'm sure you will be quite proud when you are finished.
As my boating buddies say when it comes to restoring our 40+ year old classic boats,
it's all in the prep work.

[Beerserker]

Originally Posted by sentinel41

It's just normal oak you can get from home depot. In my gallery you can see the oak is just a normal white before I start. Hard to tell it apart from the MDF. I spent a lot of effort mixing stain colors and I found a really good place to get very vibrant stains to use. The sanding takes SOOOO long, lol. However, I can't wait till I can finish it up. This is the finish I'm aiming for once I can polish it up. I have 2000p sand paper, cutting fluid and grade A car polish ready for once the paint cures.

The famous Shinobiwan's work I see. Weather that guy is a prodigy or a savant I don't know, but he cranks out the best DIY speakers I have ever seen. His builds are insane.

What type of paint did you use? Acrylic urethane? Lacquer?

[kareface]

Clawlock catalyzing primer and Resistant catalyzing varnish. They have a super high solids formula (45-55%) and provide a super hard water resistant finish. You can put a glass down on top of the speaker and never worry about it leaving a mark. It's also really nice because you don't need 10 coats of everything to get a good result. You can be more aggressive with the sanding and not have to worry about tearing off anything. I really like his work, but I don't think that using more coats of thinner paints is the way to go. You can achieve the same finish with a harder paint and end up with something that'll last a lot longer.

Edit: Animo, did you take a FR and spectral decay measurement on your speakers? I'm curious how they fair.

[Beerserker]

I'm not familiar with the finish materials you are using but you shouldn't have trouble getting them to shine. However, you don't want to use finishes that are too hard. Some are too hard to be color sanded and buffed. I remember PPG had a clear-coat out one time that had to be sprayed perfectly because it was too hard to take polishing. Luxury car makers used it because of its shine and durability.

[kareface]

Originally Posted by Beerserker

I'm not familiar with the finish materials you are using but you shouldn't have trouble getting them to shine. However, you don't want to use finishes that are too hard. Some are too hard to be color sanded and buffed. I remember PPG had a clear-coat out one time that had to be sprayed perfectly because it was too hard to take polishing. Luxury car makers used it because of its shine and durability.

If that is a problem you can always put a clear coat over top and buff that instead.

[Beerserker]

True, but it would be counterintuitive to use a very hard base and softer clear, as the clear will take all the wear. But I digress, it wont be a problem in your case anyway. I like modern finishes too, the thought of using 9 coats of black lacquer and sanding between each like they used to do is god-awful. The depth such a finish has is great though.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by sentinel41

Oh snaps, I didn't notice this thread before. How goes it fellow DIYers. I finished today putting on the last coat of paint on the speakers I've been working on for a couple months. Spent over 18hrs sanding different coats of primer and paint over the last week. Gotta wait 2 months before I can begin the polishing process.

Congratulation. They look beautiful. What color is that?

[zicmubleu]

Sentinel41 and Beerserker you guys are artisans! That finish is outstanding on the oak board. I would never have the patience to do that much work to get a great finish, I am truly impressed. Two Minwax hand rubbed coatings of stain on plain pine or cabinet plywood is my best effort. I liked Crazyblue's subwoofer finish but I think you are taking this a step further. I am looking forward to reading this thread, thanks for posting to it.

Steve

[kareface]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

Congratulation. They look beautiful. What color is that?

The stain or the paint? The paint is black.

Originally Posted by zicmubleu

Sentinel41 and Beerserker you guys are artisans! That finish is outstanding on the oak board. I would never have the patience to due that much work to get a great finish, I am truly impressed. Two Minwax hand rubbed coatings of stain on plain pine or cabinet plywood is my best effort. I liked Crazyblue's subwoofer finish but I think you are taking this a step further. I am looking forward to reading this thread, thanks for posting to it.

Steve

Thanks, they turned out better then I expected. This is my first time working with MDF, wood glue, HVLP's, wood stain, ect. I learn quick tho, lol.

[zicmubleu]

Originally Posted by sentinel41

The stain or the paint? The paint is black.

Thanks, they turned out better then I expected. This is my first time working with MDF, wood glue, HVLP's, wood stain, ect. I learn quick tho, lol.

Ahh, so that is sprayed on stain, very nice. I can't say I have any knack for using a sprayer, HVLP or otherwise, and even a brush challenges me to get a smooth finish so I end up using a rag but it would never give such a glossy look. Beerserker said he worked on car finishing and maybe you did too, that would explain your ability with the spray painting. I would say you are a natural at woodworking based on this speaker assembly and being your first time. Nothing better than listening to your favorite music on speakers you built yourself, multiple rewards. I assume you used a router to get that nice rounded edge on the face board, the corners look very good from what I can see.

[kareface]

Originally Posted by zicmubleu

Ahh, so that is sprayed on stain, very nice. I can't say I have any knack for using a sprayer, HVLP or otherwise, and even a brush challenges me to get a smooth finish so I end up using a rag but it would never give such a glossy look. Beerserker said he worked on car finishing and maybe you did too, that would explain your ability with the spray painting. I would say you are a natural at woodworking based on this speaker assembly and being your first time. Nothing better than listening to your favorite music on speakers you built yourself, multiple rewards. I assume you used a router to get that nice rounded edge on the face board, the corners look very good from what I can see.

No, I put it on with the sponge brushes. The gloss is mostly because of the glossy polyurethane clear coat over it, also applied with a sponge brush. I only used the HVLP for the paint job. I did use a router for the speaker holes and recesses but I didn't route the corners. I found that just using the palm sander was easier for me then the router. I've never done car finishing before either, I'm doing almost everything with the speakers for the first time.

[Beerserker]

Great veneer job crazy, bet no one else has a set of polks like that.
I think you should come be one of my minions, I'll give all the veneering jobs to you.

@zicmubleu, thank you for the props. I don't know about "artisan" but maybe "capable".