Buyout PR Subwoofer Project...

[tomzarbo]

Those look very nice!
How do they compare to the Voxel?

Thanks! They perform very similar really. I think the F3 is close to the Voxel's at around 35 Hz. In my mind at least this sub seems to have a bit more 'visceral' impact, possibly because of the PR's being used and the fact that they are so close to the floor... but that's unsubstantiated opinion!

TomZ

[kenny_k]

Inspiring!

[tomzarbo]

Thanks, Kenny.

I few more pics of the top which gives a decent look at the finished product.
Warning: They're a bit dusty.




I have to do a bit more sanding still. This is reconstituted veneer and I've found that stuff to be slightly uneven thickness-wise. A little block sanding with 220 grit seems to take it down to flat again.

The sides are one continuous piece of veneer with the seam on the solid back side. I used that piece of romex copper wire under the veneer near the seam to add just enough material so it fit together just perfect -- can't even see it. Since the veneer shrinks a tiny bit as it is ironed, and as it dries, cutting through both thicknesses without adding a bit of extra material will cause a small gap to form. I don't mind getting out the tub-o-wood putty, gosh knows it never has a chance to get a coating of dust on it... but it's nice to not need it for a change!

I think I'll be making bases for these like I've done in the past. Nothing too fancy, just a 1" thick slightly rounded over base with a textured black finish for durability. I think these need something to bring the pizazz level up just a bit since I'm going fancy with the veneer.

TomZ

[tomzarbo]

More progress...

made these bases out of two pieces of 1/2" MDF. 45 degree bevel on the top, rounded corners to match the radius of the enclosure (I used a compass to transfer the curve to the base and just cut the curve on the band saw.)

There is a 6" x 6" 1/2" thick piece of MDF as a spacer between the base and cabinet. The base will be texture painted, then gloss black applied.

I'm using some binding post pairs to get power to the driver. I didn't want to ruin the back of the box by drilling a hole in it, so I decided to go through the base. I found a 45 degree "V" router bit that I was able to use to make an inside cut that matched the outside 45 degree bevel on the base. This will allow the binding post screw terminal to fasten flush and tightly. Between that and some bulk removal drilling with a fostner bit and some careful work with a chisel, she's got a path for the electrons to flow.

Probably hard to see, but I doused the routed areas in the base with wood glue in an effort to stiffen up the MDF fibers. I'm hoping if it absorbs into the MDF some it may add just a touch of strength to it since it's fairly thin and could be broken if it were whacked into with something, maybe a vacuum cleaner or something like that. I also dropped several drops of super glue in all the wood screw holes for the drivers. I've found that doing so helps keep the hole from busting open when there isn't much meat on the opening side.

Some boiled linseed oil on the stripped ebony veneer and some BIN primer on the bases.

TomZ

[tomzarbo]

Dos Post

[KEtheredge87]

Lookin good sir! I think the angled binding posts adds a lot of style points! Also nice to see some good bases being made for those. I feel like that could become a Tom Zarbo design trademark.

[tomzarbo]

I finally wrapped these up. Here are the results:



This is Striped Ebony veneer. I used boiled linseed oil first, sealer, then several applications of grain filler, then some more sealer... finally, a whole bunch of coats of clear lacquer.
The base is 2 layers of 1/2" MDF with black Rustoleum textured paint, followed by black lacquer.

It's not perfect, but my best attempt yet spraying a finish. Seems like the closer to perfect it gets, the more you see the flaws.

...more pics...

[tomzarbo]

I'm running them off of a Dayton APA150 amp for now. My Onkyo amp must have a weak output, it's not using all the excursion it seems.... though I am using a 1 to 2 RCA splitter... but that amp should be able to murder the 5" TB sub...

I'll try it on another amp to see. The bass with two of these is low enough to be really convincing that it's a big sub. I think I'll end up gifting these as the subs in a set of 2.1 speakers to a few co-workers paired up with a set of Bantams with curved sides. I really like these, though. That veneer is the most convincing "man-made" grain pattern I've seen yet.

Anyway, another project wrapped up... and a bit more learned on the 'finishing' side of things. Still a way to go on that front, though! Thanks Kevin K for the tips, I admire your perfect finish work even more now that I've given it a good try.

TomZ

[Kevin K.]

Looks Great Tom! Not sure how helpful my notes were, it's hard to explain some of the little tips and tricks involved in spraying through words in a message.

As for perfect finishes, mine fall short more times than not. I've also learned recently, every material is it's own animal. Never had much trouble shooting lacquer, but shooting a Satin Black Paint finish is kicking my butt every time I try. Might be something as simple as my choice in the paint material, not sure yet. Trying to spray cabinets in a dusty warehouse certainly isn't helping either. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is it's not as easy as some of those guys make it look in the YouTube videos. It will definitely take some practice but when it turns out right, man is it nice. Stick with it, I know you're going to get better and better at it with each new project.

[Drjay]

Beautiful work!

[tomzarbo]

Thanks guys!

No Kevin, your help helped. You're right, it's just going to take me a few times to get the hang of it. And yes, it seems each type of veneer acts differently to the process. Beings I used a spray can instead of a proper gun, I had a shinier top than sides, but it still all looks good to me. Almost to the point of being okay if I had purchased it retail, but not quite. At least I have the tools now do get it done right, just need to perfect the technique. I still really like rub on poly, though. It's just SOOOOooooo easy!

Well anyway, I'll plug one of these subs into the new Dayton 2.1 amp and see what it can do with the Bantam's speakers. Hopefully it's a good match output wise.

TomZ

[Kevin K.]

I'm betting this sub will be a good match, it was an impressive little booger and didn't take a lot of power to make it sing.

[fassj]

I know this thread is a few months old but I'm looking for designs for a small PC subwoofer that I can make using the drive and amp I currently have. Would TomZ's design work for my driver and amp combo or would I need to change any of the parameters?

Current driver is https://www.parts-express.com/peerle...-ohm--264-1604
Current amp is https://www.parts-express.com/lepai-...3118--310-4002

I built a ported box for these but am getting some port noises. Here's the current box and dimensions. I'm pairing this with some AudioEngine A2+ desktop speakers.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[tomzarbo]

Your box is just WAY too small if you ask me...…. .17 cu. ft. equals about 4.9 liters, it really needs a lot more room than that.

I used that driver in my 'Summer Winds' project...

http://projectgallery.parts-express....-summer-winds/

...and

In that design it was in a 13.6 liter cabinet, vented with a 1.5" x 7" long port (actually 1.59" for the black ABS at home improvement stores). This yields a tuning of around 37 Hz or so.

Your vent looks fairly small as well and I don't see much if any roundover on it.

If you don't want to make another box, could you try to stuff the vent with some wadded up socks and see how it sounds that way? You may be able to live with it sealed... at least the chuffing will be gone. Crank down the crossover to minimum, crank up the volume a bit more... it may be acceptable.

TomZ

[fassj]

That Summer Winds project looks amazing!

I agree my box is too small, I was trying to match the recommended size on the Peerless specs. I'm all for rebuilding a new box. I have another thread where it was suggested that I would likely be better off using the Tang Band W5 5 1/4" in a larger enclosure. I'm leaning towards a passive radiator design similar to what you've built in this thread using that W5 driver.

Would you be able to recommend which PR's would be a good match for the Tang Band W5-1138SMF 5-1/4" and a box volume? I'm using the Lepai LP210PA amp if that helps.