mini statements

[davepellegrene]

I have finally posted pics of my progress so far. Here is a link to them. This has been a lot more work then I thought, but I am really enjoying it.
Dave
<A HREF="http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?p=395031#post395031">http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?p=395031#post395031</A>

[Soupy]

> I have finally posted pics of my progress so
> far. Here is a link to them. This has been a
> lot more work then I thought, but I am
> really enjoying it.
> Dave
>
> <A HREF="http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?p=395031#post395031">http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?p=395031#post395031</A>

O.K. Boys ...

We got Dave here who says he's building his 1st speakers !

Check out the Workshop. Note the wear on the sawhorses .... Birdhouse building perhaps? Clamp assortment looks much like the aisle at Lowes. You can tell by the pure sloppiness (yeah sure) he's never laid a bead of glue before. That can't be a dust collection system? Veneering is obviously that of person with no idea what he's doing!

Near to finished product says it all doesn't it? Guy has definitely never built any speakers before!

..... Newbee??? More like Instructor at The Norm Abrams School of Woodworking !!

What are ya doin next weekend Dave?

Soupy

[Max_Andrews]

That's the way to get your feet wet! Awesome job so far, can't wait to see them all done an set up. You're building subs too right?

[Todd G.]

[philiparcario]

> That's the way to get your feet wet! Awesome
> job so far, can't wait to see them all done
> an set up. You're building subs too right?
i figure he makes furniture for a living not speakers! nice work dave!

[davepellegrene]

I am a remodeling contractor by trade with many years as a finish carpenter/cabinet maker. Now I have to rely on my plumbing and electrical skills to finish these up. That's going to be scary! I will be asking lots of questions when all the speaker parts come. All my soldering skills are on water lines so hopefully I wont have to get my torch out for this project.
Dave.

[davepellegrene]

> That's the way to get your feet wet! Awesome
> job so far, can't wait to see them all done
> an set up. You're building subs too right?

I built a sub box a few months ago the size of the Dayton 10" sealed box. I got the Dayton 250 watt amp from "Santa",my wife. I haven't ordered the speaker yet. Not sure I built the box right yet. I will have to post some pics of it to see if it is going to work.
I painted it with white automotive paint to see how it was going to look on MDF. The finish came out nice. I primed with bin 123, the alcohol based, and that sealed the MDF up good. I used acrylic enamel and wanted to see if it was going to be to hot for the bins. Seems ok.

[bill]

You don't solder crossovers with a torch!

We'll talk you through the soldering bit when you're ready. You will use rosin-core solder and a 25 watt soldering iron. Do not use the solder, flux, irons or torches you use for plumbing; the two are incompatible. Fortunately, crossovers are easy to assemble, and since you bury them inside the box, appearance is not an issue.

I envy your woodworking skills. Gorgeous work!

Best regards,
Bill

> I am a remodeling contractor by trade with
> many years as a finish carpenter/cabinet
> maker. Now I have to rely on my plumbing and
> electrical skills to finish these up. That's
> going to be scary! I will be asking lots of
> questions when all the speaker parts come.
> All my soldering skills are on water lines
> so hopefully I wont have to get my torch out
> for this project.
> Dave.

[johnastockman]

> I am a remodeling contractor by trade with
> many years as a finish carpenter/cabinet
> maker. Now I have to rely on my plumbing and
> electrical skills to finish these up. That's
> going to be scary! I will be asking lots of
> questions when all the speaker parts come.
> All my soldering skills are on water lines
> so hopefully I wont have to get my torch out
> for this project.
> Dave.

Wow, Dave! Son of %&$#@ that's nice work! I thought you said you were a noob <;) You are going to be very happy! Ditto what Bill said about XO soldering. And no guns, just the 25-30 watter pencil is fine with some good quality electronic solder. I practiced soldering some wire together before I attacked my first XO...gives you a good feel for how much and how long to apply the heat. Can't wait to hear your listening impressions!

John A.

[davepellegrene]

I cant wait to get these playing. Just looking at the construction difference from my old speakers and what the speakers themselves look like compared to the ones for the minis.
This was my first attempt with veneering. I had no idea you just use carpenters glue. My background with laminating kitchen counters helped a lot. That and I have done a lot of edge band gluing. Who would have thought I would have learned that from a speaker building site.
I dug out my soldering iron. It says 45 watts. Is that to much?
I wont drag out my torch unless things go down hill fast.
Thanks Dave

[johnastockman]

Dave, 45 should be OK...just long enough to heat the joint so solder will flow. Caps can be damaged from too much and/or too long (done that). The unit I have now is an adjustable pencil type that goes from 5 to 40 watts. 95% of the time I have it about 30. For larger gauge wire I use the 40, but most XO components have thin leads, so you don't need a lot of power to get those up to temp.

John A.

[davepellegrene]

> Dave, 45 should be OK...just long enough to
> heat the joint so solder will flow. Caps can
> be damaged from too much and/or too long
> (done that). The unit I have now is an
> adjustable pencil type that goes from 5 to
> 40 watts. 95% of the time I have it about
> 30. For larger gauge wire I use the 40, but
> most XO components have thin leads, so you
> don't need a lot of power to get those up to
> temp.

> John A.

I saw one of those at PE for like 10 bucks. Probably worth the investment. Is there a way to test the crossover when it is finished. I assume that anyone of the parts could be faulty or a bad solder joint.
Dave

[gowa]

[marvin]

I like that cabinet styling!! Should look very nice with your new component cabinet.

Marvin

> I have finally posted pics of my progress so
> far. Here is a link to them. This has been a
> lot more work then I thought, but I am
> really enjoying it.
> Dave
>
> <A HREF="http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?p=395031#post395031">http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?p=395031#post395031</A>

[donradick]

> I saw one of those at PE for like 10 bucks.
> Probably worth the investment. Is there a
> way to test the crossover when it is
> finished. I assume that anyone of the parts
> could be faulty or a bad solder joint.
> Dave

The most common crossover problem is miswiring -
not connecting the components as specified or
leaving out something. (I know from personal experience!)

I'm building the mini-statements right now, and
have recently completed (and double checked!) the
crossovers. Give me a few days, and I can provide you with my crossover layout and development process from the raw crossover schematic to finished construction.

-Don

[johnastockman]

> I saw one of those at PE for like 10 bucks.
> Probably worth the investment. Is there a
> way to test the crossover when it is
> finished. I assume that anyone of the parts
> could be faulty or a bad solder joint.
> Dave

Well, I don't know of a test, like with a meter, but the best way is to hook it up and listen. I've caught a few wiring errors on my part (no blown drivers because of it), but I've never had a bad component. I just visually inspect all the joints and the phase of the wiring from the terminal to the driver. A 1.5 volt battery at the terminal can show a phase issue with dual woofers. That's how I found that one of the woofers in an MTM was out of phase...one speaker sounded great, the other had no bass.

Get the one that has replaceable tips. I like the chisel type tip for most work.

John A.

[davepellegrene]

> The most common crossover problem is
> miswiring -
> not connecting the components as specified
> or
> leaving out something. (I know from personal
> experience!)

> I'm building the mini-statements right now,
> and
> have recently completed (and double
> checked!) the
> crossovers. Give me a few days, and I can
> provide you with my crossover layout and
> development process from the raw crossover
> schematic to finished construction.

> -Don
Pictures would be great. I think the layout will be the part I will have trouble with.